Jill LePore attacks the relationship of America’s Democracy with its people over its history through the writings of various political activists and historians, most notably Thomas Jefferson, Noah Webster, Frederick Jackson Turner, and Sean Wilentz. \u00a0She begins with an idealistic image presented to children regarding the positive impact of a Democracy in the United States. \u00a0After all, it is important to establish an acceptance for the way the country operates into its citizens at a young age.\u00a0 Almost immediately after, however, LePore presents the arguments of Noah Webster and Thomas Jefferson ad they rivaled in their theories of who should hold control in the government.<\/p>\n
Noah Webster was what one could call an elitist, while Thomas Jefferson argued for the masses of the people.\u00a0 LePore provides adequate evidence from both sides to shape their arguments, which both contain respectable logic.\u00a0 Webster was concerned that the \u201cvillage idiot\u201d had as much of a say in a Democratic government as a well-educated man, while Jefferson argued that that was exactly the moral way.\u00a0 These \u201cmonocrats\u201d like Webster, however, lost influence and eventually became irrelevant as the Democratic government took hold in the early 19th<\/sup>Century.\u00a0 It is interesting, however, to think about how history would have shaped itself had the reverse occurred, and what we would consider man\u2019s rights to be today.\u00a0 Would the masses come to accept an elitist regime or would they have rebelled themselves, resulting in a Democracy at a later date?<\/p>\n LePore also presents Frederck Jackson Turner\u2019s theory of land as the root of American Democracy.\u00a0 The United States was different; for a vast majority of its history there was always land to expand, thus land was available to the common man with much more availability than in Europe.\u00a0 Americans have European roots, and in Europe land was power.\u00a0 Thus by following the same idea, there was much more power to be shared in America than their ancestors previously experienced.\u00a0 As can be seen all over the world, once new segments of the population begin to gain political power at an increasing rate, more of the population comes to desire their share as well.\u00a0 With Turner\u2019s theory, Democracy was inevitable.\u00a0 The resources in North America were too vast for the population to sit in content with a lesser role than some of their peers, allowing a small segment of the population to rule over them.<\/p>\n Lastly, LePore presents Sean Wilentz\u2019s demonstrations of how individuals can indirectly affect politics through their actions.\u00a0 Even without political power, in his primary example, a slave is able to influence later legislation by attempting to revolt.\u00a0 This then became a political move, because if it had not happened, policies would not have been changed when they did.\u00a0 The people, therefore, don\u2019t have to have \u201cofficial\u201d political power to influence politics.<\/p>\n Wilentz\u2019s ideas, along with Democracy\u2019s flaws of greed and corruption, tease at the idea of imperfections in a Democratic government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jill LePore attacks the relationship of America’s Democracy with its people over its history through the writings of various political activists and historians, most notably Thomas Jefferson, Noah Webster, Frederick Jackson Turner, and Sean Wilentz. \u00a0She begins with an idealistic image presented to children regarding the positive impact of a Democracy in the United States. … <\/p>\n