Last year, Jill Lepore joined us for her new book ‘These Truths—A History of the United States’. She returns to American history in The New Yorker, with an absolutely fascinating read on ‘the last time democracy almost died’. She writes about the public discourse in the United States in the 1930’s, with anxiety about the future of American democracy at an all-time high.
In the 30’s, everyone was talking about how democracy was in danger. It was this public discussion, fostered by the government and public organizations, which actually saved democracy according to Lepore. She illustrates how history can be a guide to our actions now, and how we can take comfort in the fact that we’ve been here before.
Daniel Ziblatt, who was here in January, also discusses this topic in his book ‘How Democracies Die’. Click here to watch his presentation and the discussion that followed.