They wanted him to punish white Southerners for seceding from the Union and starting a civil war, but instead he ignored them and sided with his Southern constituency who didn’t want any changes that would benefit or protect blacks. The Know Nothings were formed as a result of this surge and became popular for some time before fading away. Both of these works glorified the deeds of, by then, the largely non-existent Ku Klux Klan, which reformed as a much more powerful and vicious organization in 1915. In the deserted area of America in the 1935’s one family in particular has been able to make the best of their situation and kept the upmost happiness in their family. Both of these works glorified the deeds of, by then, the largely non-existent. He writes that while there were some positive changes during this time, it was also a period of segregation and racism. However, it is possible for them to agree on some things if the leader of America says or does something that makes the citizens hopeful about the future. In the fifth chapter, Meacham explores how President Franklin D. Roosevelt guided America out of the Great Depression in the 1930s. Meacham then explains what he means by the “soul” of America. Shortform has the world’s best summaries of 1000+ nonfiction books and articles. Anti-immigrant sentiment was not prevalent until 1848 when there was another wave of European immigrants after revolutions across Europe. And, until he was finally censored, his smear tactics gained him a lot of points; but they lost the country at least twice as many. That’s the basic premise of Jon Meacham’s book and the main reason why you should read it: it concerns you directly. Moreover, Lee’s questionable deification allowed Southerners to believe they lost because of lack of manpower and industrial strength rather than military prowess. Wilson’s presidency also coincided with the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan. Although passing civil rights legislation was important, Johnson also knew that it would be difficult to accomplish. But once he became president, Roosevelt did go too far when he tried to change some laws so they’d better fit his agenda; however, after realizing how much power he had gained by being elected twice as President of the United States of America and allying himself with other countries in World War II against Japan and Germany (the Axis Powers), FDR changed course and became more cautious about making changes without considering their consequences first because this would have been dangerous for democracy around the world if it were successful elsewhere. In January, George Wallace became governor of Alabama and said in his inauguration speech that he would stand up against federal efforts to enforce desegregation laws because segregation was good for America. From this mixed record, historian Jon Meacham concludes that Roosevelt sided more with America’s better angels than its worst ones. He does this with songs of sorrow that introduce each chapter. Burdened with feelings similar to the above, Jon Meacham decided to try and find the meaning of America’s past in the ongoing battle of two primal human feelings: hope and fear. He hopes that by doing so, he can help Americans embrace their better qualities again in order to prevail over fear and madness. Douglass warned against judging people too harshly based on their flaws because everyone has weaknesses. Andrew Johnson was chosen by Southerners as their champion because he opposed Reconstruction policies and helped pass laws protecting black citizens’ rights. Because “no passion” – to quote Edmund Burke – “so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.”. In 1965, he and other activists were attacked by police officers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. – came to be a dire necessity after the election of, After all, unless we find a satisfying answer to the question “how the. The Audacity of Hope: Five Ways to Fight Fear, History Hangs in the Balance of Two Extremes: Fear and Hope, We Already Did This: There Were Trumps Before Trump, If history hangs in the balance between hope and fear, then it’s all but obvious that it is cyclical: periods of hope bring great leaders to power (Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, the Roosevelts, Truman), but periods of fear are benefitted (and even. This allowed them to maintain their dignity in defeat and build an infrastructure for white supremacy. The Soul of America is a book about the history of racial justice and anti-immigrant nativism in the United States. At first, most Americans opposed going into war in Europe. A president sets a tone for the nation and helps tailor habits of heart and of mind. For that reason, Wilson’s efforts to expand women rights are part of this national interest because it expands equal opportunity for people who have been denied such opportunities before. The author wanted to show to the readers what it is that the entire American nation needed to go through in order for it to be here where it is now. The story of America is... one of slow, often unsteady steps forward. eNotes plot summaries cover all the significant action of The Soul of the American University. * Resist tribalism – Too many people don’t listen to other ideas or analyze them critically. History hangs precariously in the balance between such extremes. The movie The Birth of a Nation (a baldly racist paean to white supremacy) inspired some men to resurrect the KKK, which was active across all states by 1924. Sign up for a 5-day free trial here. And the atmosphere of communist paranoia – exacerbated by the revealing of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg as Soviet spies – will be infamously utilized by one of the most brutal fearmongering politicians in the history of the country, Joseph McCarthy. ,” influenced by its comparison between America and an alchemist’s pot, changed that once again – and for the better! The Civil War had barely ended when Virginian journalist Edward Alfred Pollard published “The Lost Cause,” calling for Southerners to refuse to yield to the demands of Washington and transfer the war for white supremacy from the battlefields to the political arenas. After that, he had enough support and passed it on June 19th of 1964. These events paved way for Nixon’s win over Hubert Humphrey in November who escalated war efforts during his presidency by increasing troop levels from 525 thousand to almost one million by December 1969 as well as bombing campaigns across Cambodia and Laos that killed hundreds of thousands more civilians than US forces lost during all of World War II (16 million). According to Meacham, American democracy hung in the balance during this time because many feared it would devolve into totalitarianism whether in right-wing fascism or left-wing communism. Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Jon Meacham looked at critical moments in American history and how they relate to the present. He employs all of those skills in The Soul of America, a thoroughly researched and smoothly written roundup of some of the worst parts of American history and how they were gradually overcome. Meacham gives readers a long-term perspective on American history and a reason to believe the soul of America is ultimately one of kindness and caring, not rancor and paranoia. However, in practice and law, white supremacy continued on for decades. He also talks about how FDR led a country that was generally isolationist into World War II against Germany and Japan. The South lost the war, but it won the peace through propaganda efforts. He attributes this growth to many factors such as unprecedented defense spending during World War II, The GI Bill which granted veterans college tuition and guaranteed home loans, earlier legislation like The Morrill Act of 1862 which created land-grant universities, and Theodore Roosevelt’s Progressive legislation against monopolies and other unfair industrial practices at the turn of the century. What's special about Shortform: Sound like what you've been looking for? However, he sees the general mood of bitterness and resentment as even more dangerous because it’s easier for extremist ideas to take hold in such an environment. Reason. However, support grew after Germany invaded Poland and then moved on other countries in Europe. The book is about one of the most significant events from the American history- from the early days of the United States of America to the present day. . Click To Tweet, A president sets a tone for the nation and helps tailor habits of heart and of mind. Read a quick 1-Page Summary, a Full Summary, or watch video summaries curated by our expert team. Although the South lost, it spread a false narrative that slavery wasn’t really why they seceded from the Union. The year had begun poorly with the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, which emboldened North Vietnamese troops against half-a-million American soldiers stationed there. For example, by the end of his career he supported women’s suffrage which is discussed in the next chapter. Coughlin was another critic who advocated isolationism and nonintervention in regards to Nazi Germany. He has authored several best-selling books, the most famous of which is “American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House” which won him the “Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography” in 2009. Unfortunately, their gamble backfired when Wilson supported Jim Crow laws instead. Furthermore, lynching continued without any real efforts to stop them from happening until later on during his presidency. Many people doubted that Franklin Roosevelt could restore order because there had been an assassination attempt against him. By late 1968 16,899 Americans had died in Vietnam at an average rate of 48 per day since 1965 when it started under President Lyndon B Johnson. According to Meacham, no group did more damage during Reconstruction than the KKK. And Lyndon B Johnson transformed from a Southerner who tolerated discrimination into the president who signed sweeping civil rights reform. News, author interviews, critics' picks and more. We Already Did This: There Were Trumps Before Trump Roosevelt’s views on poverty and immigration were shaped by his time as New York City’s police commissioner from 1894 to 1897. Tribalism is a primal instinct. He manipulated the new media of television to spread fear and hate in America. That’s the basic premise of Jon Meacham’s book and the main reason why you should read it: it concerns you directly. In fact, that’s exactly what’s happening at the moment. Throughout history, there have been periods where fear has prevailed. Even though the Second World War ended with a famous victory which roused not only the American nation but also the world, the specter haunting Europe ever since 1848. will soon come to haunt the United States as well. 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