------AUTUMN 2012 THE WILSON QUARTERLY THE WILSON QUARTERLY But there continue to be a few continue But there aca demic historians who write for a broad most visible is of the and one public, again like social scientists, not to men again like social scientists, literarytion scholars—to develop an have almost might that jargon opaque non-spe the repulse to designed been history often was left “Popular” cialist. whose work historians, to nonacademic at but looked readers by was enjoyed the the professionals—viz. askance by snide disparagement of the academy’s whose McCullough, David biographer and edifica pleasure has provided work to millions. tion professionalization. Historians, like so Historians, professionalization. joined university facul cial scientists, ties and began to write for their more and— peers than for reader, the general By Jill Lepore Press Princeton Univ. 416 pp. $27.95 ------

BROOKE ALLEN

The 20th century of saw a narrowing focus, an increased specialization and an increased focus, ing, we continue to read them for their to read continue we ing, most of and their masterful syntax, flair, perspective. all their big-picture them, no insignificant part of the histori them, is that while many and the result craft, an’s groundbreak no longer of their ideas are ary immortality they eventually achieved. to mellifluous was, narrative Exciting, is de Tocqueville, George Bancroft, Jacob Bancroft, George Tocqueville, is de CarlyleThomas all com and Burckhardt, to the liter posed their epics with an eye ried on by the great historians the great of the 19thried by on Macaulay, Babington Thomas century: Alex Parkman, Francis Taine, Hippolyte any in our language, and brought sophis and brought in our language, any ticated literary techniques to the craft of was Their tradition car history writing. as literature are long, long gone. During gone. long long, are as literature Hume and David the Enlightenment, as grand as wrote prose Gibbon Edward THE ERA WHEN SERIOUS HISTORIANS AS HISTORIANS SERIOUS WHEN ERA THE to writethat also qualified pired works ESSAYS ON ORIGINS ESSAYS REVIEWED BY History for “We the People” the “We History for OF THE STORY AMERICA:

THECURRENT STORY BOOKS OF AMERICA ------AUTUMN 2012 THE WILSON QUARTERLY THE WILSON QUARTERLY keep some people in and others out. in and others out. people keep some like who writes Who tells the story, the wars, the laws and who wages is always part of that struggle. is, instead, to suggest that it follows to suggest instead, is, All certain conventions. narrative also but they are places, are nations Who has a part of imagination. acts like who can be story, in a nation’s a citizencome and who has a right or even foreordained, isn’t to vote, like the na The story’s plot, stable. itsof nature the and borders tion’s Laws alwaysis shifting. electorate, fought to passed and wars are are To say that the United States say is a To itstory that it is fiction; is not to say uments—things like travel narratives, narratives, travel like uments—things the inaugural ballots, the Constitution, the biography, the presidential address, the and IOU, the campaignbiography, Historical inquiry on relies dime novel. of evidence becausestandards docu she Neither, to be trusted.” ments aren’t grand narratives: are implies, cussion of John Smith’s famously unre Smith’s of John cussion of the founding of James account liable historythe on disquisition a to town of cul inaugural address, the presidential Barackof that with minating Obama. description, own to Lepore’s According “The doc concern essays book this in . ------. As . The NewThe The New Yorker TheNew is a new collection The New Yorker TheNew . She has even written with (along . The Story of America to say), but there are enough of them to are but there to say), a dis from a satisfactorymake whole, (there are essays, for instance, on Edgar on for instance, essays, are (there and Clarence Charlie Chan, Allan Poe, things quite different that have Darrow informs us, “how American democracy informs us, is bound up with the history of print.” all quite fit the mold the pieces Not ralthe disparate an overarpieces under “Ameri casethis in of that chingtheme, as the jacket blurb can origins”—to show, initially in appeared rather a collections, essay with so many to cor attempt has been made awkward of Lepore’s essays, almost allwhich of essays, of Lepore’s Yorker fellow scholar Jane Kamensky) a frothy Boston. set in 1770s novel romantic a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize), for the Pulitzera nomination Prize), and she contributes frequently to wide periodicals lyread apart from storytelling of an earlier standards era: nu Her historical garnered have works (including honors mainstream merous literature before going on forPhD a on going before literature Through in AmericanYale. studies at to the she has adhered out her career, Tellingly, Lepore’s first ambition was to was ambition first Lepore’s Tellingly, and she be a writer rather a scholar, than English major in did an undergraduate Jill Lepore, the Harvard historian who Jill Lepore, a staff is also writer for

THE STORY OF AMERICA - - -

AUTUMN 2012 THE WILSON QUARTERLY THE WILSON QUARTERLY (If you doubt how difficult this is, difficult this is, doubt how (If you I disenfranchise myself with try it. As suffrage . . . . “comptroller.”) the time Andrew expanded—by Early paper voting was, to say the to say Early was, paper voting to bring had your You a hassle. least, Then a scrap of paper. ballot, own and (b) to (a) remember had you to spell the names and how know titles of every candidate and office. was standing for Jones” “John H. If “John Jones,” wrote and you election, out. be thrown would vote your the people, not just the propertied the not just people, the cation was enormous: cation was enormous: such as the Diebold voting machine or, or, machine such as the Diebold voting ID Voter the South Carolina currently, fascinating Lepore’s introduced. law are puts the Scissors” Paper, “Rock, essay booth into historicalvoting perspective, near know don’t that we demonstrating do about our ly think we as we as much the early In years political institutions. to write had voters of the Republic, and the potential for ballots, their own and falsifi intimidation, manipulation, tinue to believe, deep in our hearts, that in our hearts, deep to believe, tinue meant the People” “We the Founders’ all believeto seem also that We men. white was always voting of the act an inalien justly administered—hence right, able our righteous when innovations outrage ------ing rule All evidence to the contrary, we con we All evidence to the contrary, A number of the essays of the A number this col in subject than he normally gets. our elected government and our nation our elected government Ad is tempted to give one al discourse, the sense on formore little a credit ams the vantage point of the 21st century, of the 21st century, point the vantage observe as we the fruits of 200 however, democracy of Jacksonian years in both has been the done thing to deridehas been the done this theory as reactionary fun at and to poke From of monarchism. as a relic Adams mocracy is the government of the worst, mocracy of the worst, is the government the the ignorant, the tyranny idle, of the it a century and a half, For ill informed.” ‘the common Herd of Mankind’—the Herd ‘the common de phrase was a commonplace—then political philosophy. If democracyis political philosophy. as people and if the people are, the by believed, Adams like John Federalists vent of Andrew Jackson in the 1820s, the 1820s, in Jackson of Andrew vent “wasinevneither rise democracy’s and prevail It countered itable nor swift. ple. After all, as Lepore reminds us, the as Lepore us, reminds After all, ple. was “democracy” word now-hallowed ad the a slur until actually considered Founders never foresaw many things we we things many never foresaw Founders inevitable—such consider now as uni to take an obvious exam suffrage, versal sometimes startling ways. It’s important It’s startlingsometimes ways. in this era of vo for us to remember, the that “originalists,” cal constitutional lection illustrate this contention in in illustratelection this contention

THE STORY OF AMERICA

- - - - - CORBIS AUTUMN 2012 THE WILSON QUARTERLY THE WILSON QUARTERLY tism.”) until the 1890s that It was not America the so-called adopted Aus “with its radicaltralian ballot, provi provide should that governments sion ballots.” Farewell Address, George Washington Washington George Address, Farewell alternate“the domination warnedthat sharpened of one factionanother, over natural to par the spirit of revenge, by and ages which in different ty dissension, countries has perpetrated the most hor frightful is itself a despo enormities, rid - Thomas Nast’s political cartoons helped bring down the New political cartoons helped Thomas Nast’s the in “Boss” Tweed City political machine of William York by 1870s. Reformers in many American cities were outraged voting. blatant manipulation of the Boss’s - - - - early American news A travesty, yes, but the method method but the yes, A travesty, the electorate, poor men and im men and poor electorate, the the least likely to were migrants, to write. how know vote—scrap-voting had become become had vote—scrap-voting least not or less a travesty, more because the newest members of Jackson was elected president in president elected was Jackson nearlyall men could white 1828, all did not plan for, and would and would did not plan for, his in fact, in liked; have not dation.” (The of development dation.” the party system was anoth er eventuality the Founders parties (thus limiting voters’ parties voters’ (thus limiting “massive choices) and led to and intimi corruption, fraud, how to write—or to read, for to write—orhow to read, innovation This that matter. the risefacilitated of the major slate of candidates for their the voter, For favored party. was no need to know there that came to be called “party “party that came to be called listed the entire and tickets,” lots in partisan newspapers lots in partisan newspapers ( openly partisan) papers were turned out to be a mixed blessing at best. blessing at best. turned out to be a mixed parties stepped into Political printingbal by breach the by which it was eventually it improved which by

THE STORY OF AMERICA s - - - - - New AUTUMN 2012 New Yorker’ n (2006). She teaches (2006). is the author of several is the author of several

Moral Minority: Our Minority: Skep Moral THE WILSON QUARTERLY THE WILSON QUARTERLY reader. We should be grateful that We reader. ROOKE ALLEN Lepore’s strength as a popular his popular a as strength Lepore’s books, including books, Fathers tical Founding College. at Bennington literature B A number of these essays are surprisingA number of these essays are they are invariably, and enlightening; But this also too short simplistic. and tai works, “popular” is because they are span of the to the attention lored Yorker to the also tailored they are Let’s literacyof standards elegance. and hear it for popular history! torian is her ability to make her target audience—informed non-special but at the look a second ist readers—take taken for long have we political culture and realize that our system was granted, not historically inevita not preordained, very planned. well always, not even, ble, past, except Lincoln’s, are are past, except Lincoln’s, dreary reading.” Of the inaugural address, address, inaugural Of the in his noted James Garfield mind have half a diary: “I of the none. Those to make - - - - - It’s clearIt’s po of our aspects that many self-serving, the ritual obsessive, and the the ritual obsessive, self-serving, surprises few.” Jr., nearly a century later, thought much thought much nearly a century later, Jr., “The quotient platitude thing: same the rhetoricthe stately and high, be to tends in his diary:“I mind to make half a have Lincoln’s, except Those of the past, none. Arthur Schlesinger drearyare reading.” the pneumonia that would send him to that would the pneumonia Length did not later. a month the grave as James Garfield noted make for quality, accordingly: The worst was worst was The William accordingly: on whose speech went Henry Harrison, on hours and brought than two for more saw the inauguration as a forum for pop ulist oratory and developedthe address after being sworn in at Federal Hall. His Hall. after in at Federal being sworn was characteristicallyaddress brief and but subsequent presidents to the point, which calls only for an oath of affirma inadvertently set a Washington tion; Congress he addressed when precedent many in our political culture, developed in our politicalmany culture, is no mention There almost accidentally. in the Constitution, of such an address another excellent essay, “To Wit,” she Wit,” “To essay, another excellent historythe discusses presidential the of so like that, a custom inaugural address, sanct and traditional are in reality noth are traditional sanct and and Lepore is at her most ing of the sort, In she takes these on. when provocative litical culture that we look on as sacro as on look litical that we culture

THE STORY OF AMERICA