American democracy has been called the “oldest continuous democracy in the world.” Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt’s How Democracies Die takes that idea head-on, warning that the system is under attack, fragile, and at risk of collapse. It’s a bold claim—and the book makes a compelling case. But here’s the problem: the more I read, the more I realized something the authors don’t want to admit. Our democracy hasn’t suddenly started dying. It’s been broken, corrupted, and incomplete from the very beginning.
1700s: The Founding Era
After the American Revolution, the U.S. entered what the book calls a “partial democracy.” And you know what? I agree. For its time, America really was the most democratic nation on Earth. But it was messy from the start. Early laws restricted government criticism, showing that even in this “golden era,” freedom wasn’t absolute. Democracy was being born, yes—but it was also being tested.
1800–1860: Division Before the Civil War
Here, the cracks widened. The North operated with real competition between parties, while the South was essentially a one-party authoritarian state run by wealthy white Democrats. The slavery debate pushed the country into chaos—fistfights in Congress, bitter in-fighting, and an unraveling of democratic precedent that culminated in civil war. Whatever order had existed, by the 1840s–1860s, it was gone.
1860–1880: Reconstruction
This era is often painted as a rebirth of democracy. African Americans voted in large numbers and even ran for office. That’s progress. But let’s not romanticize it. The South was under military occupation. Laws were enforced by Northern troops, making “democracy” in the South feel more like rule at gunpoint. Precedent returned in name, but in reality, democracy was fragile and uneven.
1880–1934: The Gilded Age and Jim Crow
The authors call this a flourishing period for democracy. I say: absolutely not.
- In the North: Politics was corrupted by political machines and industrial barons. Men like John D. Rockefeller didn’t just build fortunes—they bought influence, bought politicians, and bent laws in their favor. Meanwhile, candidates were picked in “smoke-filled rooms” by party bosses. The authors argue this “saved” democracy by keeping extremists out. That’s laughable. If the people are rallying behind so-called extremists, it’s because the system has failed them—not because voters are too stupid to know better. The idea that elite cigar-smokers saved democracy is insulting.
- In the South: Democracy barely existed at all. Jim Crow laws, poll taxes, and the terror of the KKK made sure white supremacy ruled. Sure, elections were held—but only for white voters. To call this democratic is to erase the experiences of millions of immigrants, Black Americans, and non-white citizens who were systematically locked out. For them, America was a weak democracy at best but closer to an oligarchy in reality.
1934–1980: Roosevelt and Beyond
Then came Roosevelt, and here’s where I part ways with the book again. The authors criticize FDR as undemocratic. I see him as one of the most democratic presidents since Washington.
He was elected by massive margins. He reshaped the economy, created the middle class, guided us through WWII, and oversaw what became the most prosperous period in human history. Yes, he made mistakes, but under his leadership America achieved something no other country had ever done: decades of unprecedented prosperity.
Of course, it wasn’t perfect. Jim Crow still plagued the South, and entire communities remained locked out of the “American Dream.” So I can’t call it fully democratic. But for the average American who finally saw upward mobility, this was an era of real progress.
1980–Present: Polarization and Decline
From the 1990s forward, politics took a sharp turn. Extremism became front-page news. Media amplified division. Both parties leaned harder into tribalism. By the time Donald Trump entered the scene, the stage was set for a figure who could ride that chaos to power.
Levitsky and Ziblatt argue Trump is an existential threat to democracy. But here’s my counter: what democracy?
Look back. From censorship in the Founding era, to Southern one-party rule, to robber barons buying Congress, to smoke-filled rooms, to Jim Crow, America’s democracy has been fractured, compromised, and exclusionary from the very beginning. Trump is not some unprecedented monster breaking a pristine system. He’s just another chapter in a long, messy, deeply imperfect story.
If our democracy survived all of that, do we really think one 70-year-old man can single-handedly end it? I don’t.
Final Thoughts
How Democracies Die is a powerful book, but it tiptoes around the elephant in the room: America’s democracy has always been flawed, fragile, and uneven. Yes, Trump tested the system. But ask yourself this—can someone really destroy something that was never whole to begin with?
That’s the uncomfortable truth this book avoids. And that’s the question I’ll leave you with:
Have we ever truly lived in a democracy at all?
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