The Age of Acrimony - How Americans Fought to Fix Their Democracy 1865-1915

Jon Grinspan

Summary

“[Grinspan is] a gifted writer … The reader is swept along as if in the midst of one of the era's mass parades.”-Eric Foner, The Nation

A penetrating, character-filled history “in the manner of David McCullough” (WSJ), revealing the deep roots of our tormented present-day politics.

Democracy was broken. Or that was what many Americans believed in the decades after the Civil War. Shaken by economic and technological disruption, they sought safety in aggressive, tribal partisanship. The results were the loudest, closest, most violent elections in U.S. history, driven by vibrant campaigns that drew our highest-ever voter turnouts. At the century's end, reformers finally restrained this wild system, trading away participation for civility in the process. They built a calmer, cleaner democracy, but also a more distant one. Americans' voting rates crashed and never fully recovered.

This is the origin story of the “normal” politics of the 20th century. Only by exploring where that civility and restraint came from can we understand what is happening to our democracy today.

The Age of Acrimony charts the rise and fall of 19th-century America's unruly politics through the lives of a remarkable father-daughter dynasty. The radical congressman William “Pig Iron” Kelley and his fiery, Progressive daughter Florence Kelley led lives packed with drama, intimately tied to their nation's politics. Through their friendships and feuds, campaigns and crusades, Will and Florie trace the narrative of a democracy in crisis. In telling the tale of what it cost to cool our republic, historian Jon Grinspan reveals our divisive political system's enduring capacity to reinvent itself.

Available since: 04/27/2022.

Print length: 384 pages.

Other books that might interest you

101 Amazing Facts about Prince...

Jack Goldstein

On the 19th May 2018, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tied the knot in a beautiful royal wedding ceremony. But just how much do you know about the Prince and his former actress wife?  
In this fascinating audiobook, narrator Kent Harris talks us through over 100 amazing facts about the royal couple, covering everything from how the two of them met through to the many ways in which Meghan has broken the mould of a traditional princess.  
Whether you’re interested in the royal rule book and official protocols, or you simply want to know more about the controversies that have surrounded both of these two prominent figures, this is the perfect audiobook for you!

Show book

Prepare to Meet Thy Doom - And...

David Kushner

From "Masters of Doom" author, David Kushner, comes "Prepare to Meet Thy Doom”, a compilation of true gaming stories covering many facets of America’s biggest entertainment business: the video game industry.  In addition to more than a dozen fascinating tales of game creation, play, business, and controversy, “Prepare to Meet Thy Doom” follows up on Kushner’s previous bestseller, “Masters of Doom” with a long-awaited update on id Software founders John Romero and John Carmack.

Show book

Ali's Well That Ends Well -...

Ali Wentworth

New York Times bestselling author Ali Wentworth offers a comedic look at family, friendship, and lessons learned during the Covid-19 pandemic in her new collection of laugh-out-loud comic vignettes. 
Like many, Ali Wentworth spent the pandemic seesawing between highs, lows, and baking an unnecessary amount of chocolate cake. Between binging every tv show in existence to conquering TikTok to becoming a (semi) empty-nester, Ali experienced her share of turmoil (including an early case of Covid), but she also grew a little, learned a lot, and found comfort in some unexpected people and places. 
In Ali’s Well That Ends Well, Wentworth turns her gimlet eye to the year no one saw coming. With her signature irreverent style, she shares the most hysterical, absurd, and sometimes trying episodes that her family endured during the terrible global pandemic. Thoroughly relatable, absolutely charming, and filled with moments both hilarious and poignant, this terrific collection once again showcases the comedic genius of a beloved star who is “the girlfriend you want to have a glass of wine with, the one who makes you laugh because she sees the funny and the absurd in everything" (Huffington Post).

Show book

Chester Alan Arthur - The...

Zachary Karabell

Chester Alan Arthur never dreamed that one day he would be president of the United States. A successful lawyer, Arthur had been forced out as the head of the Custom House of the Port of New York in 1877 in a power struggle between the two wings of the Republican Party. He became such a celebrity that he was nominated for vice president in 1880—despite his never having run for office before.Elected alongside James A. Garfield, Arthur found his life transformed just four months into his term, when an assassin shot and killed Garfield, catapulting Arthur into the presidency. The assassin was a deranged man who thought he deserved a federal job through the increasingly corrupt "spoils system." To the surprise of many, Arthur, a longtime beneficiary of that system, saw that the time had come for reform. His opportunity came in the winter of 1882–83, when he pushed through the Pendleton Act, which created a professional civil service and set America on a course toward greater reforms in the decades to come.Chester Arthur may be largely forgotten today, but Zachary Karabell eloquently shows how this unexpected president—of whom so little was expected—rose to the occasion when fate placed him in the White House.

Show book

Come by the Hills

Cameron McNeish

'Observant and witty.' -Muriel GrayIn Come By The Hills Cameron McNeish shares his journeys through Scotland on foot, by bike and in his wee red campervan. He is still an adventurer, but these days things are a bit different. Reaching summits is still enjoyed, but no longer a priority. Instead, he takes us on a wide exploration of Scotland's hills, forests, and coastlines, and the ancient tales that bring a turbulent history to life. He takes us into the loveliest of glens, Etive and Lyon, to our most distant islands in the Hebrides and Shetland, and reminisces on wonderful characters such as Dick Balharry, Finlay MacRae, and the early working-class climbers when they first took to the hills.

Show book

Hurlbut's Story of the Bible Part 6

Jesse Lyman Hurlbut

Some years ago, the editor of an English magazine sent a communication to "the hundred greatest men in Great Britain" asking them this question: "If for any reason you were to spend a year absolutely alone, in a prison for instance, and could select from your library three volumes to be taken with you as companions in your period of retirement please to inform us what those three books would be." The inquiry was sent to peers of the realm, prominent leaders in politics, judges, authors, manufacturers, merchants, gentlemen of leisure—men who would represent every aspect of successful life. In the answers it was found that ninety-eight of the hundred men named "The Bible" first on the list of the three books to be chosen. (From Book introduction)

Show book