1. In terms of democratic regression in the United States, the example that most people think of is of course the rise of Jim Crow in late 19th century as part of counter-revolution against Reconstruction era. But there was an earlier example also pertinent for now.
2. The early 19th century, peaking with Andrew Jackson's reign, used to be portrayed as an era of the democratic revolution & mass enfranchisement (the Schlesinger/Wilentz view). But that's true for white men. Other groups lost voting rights previously held.
3. In the early Republic some women had the vote (widows who headed household), as well as some freed Black men and Native men. Most (not all) saw their voting rights curtailed with the rise of white male democracy.
4. An important take-away from Daniel Walker Howe's What Hath God Wrought (2007) is that Jacksonian democracy was a project to create a "white republic" (or even more precisely, a white man's republic). 
5. A demagogue who emphasizes a politics of empowering white men combined with disenfranchising out groups is, of course, a familiar figure. Some thoughts on the deeper roots of the current crisis. jeetheer.substack.com/p/never-trump-…
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
