Prologue: "America is great because ..." -- Introduction: The consent of the governed -- Asking different questions -- "We must take human nature as we find it" -- "The people thought Gen. Jackson worthy" -- "A triumph of the virtue of the people" -- "By permission of the Great Spirit above, and the voice of the people" -- "The people are incapable of protecting themselves" -- Puncturing faith in democracy -- Nurturing hope for democracy -- We the fallen people : renewing our thinking -- We the fallen people : transforming our behavior -- Epilogue: "If America is good ..."
Summary:
"The success and survival of American democracy have never been guaranteed. Arguing that we must take an unflinching look at the nature of democracy-and therefore, ourselves-historian Robert Tracy McKenzie explores the ideas of human nature in the history of American democratic thought, from the nation's Founders through the Jacksonian Era and Alexis de Tocqueville"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.