Acclaimed as the definitive study of the period by one of the greatest
American historians, The Rise of American Democracy traces a
historical arc from the earliest days of the republic to the opening
shots of the Civil War. Ferocious clashes among the Founders over the
role of ordinary citizens in a government of "we, the people" were
eventually resolved in the triumph of Andrew Jackson. Thereafter, Sean
Wilentz shows, a fateful division arose between two starkly opposed
democracies--a division contained until the election of Abraham Lincoln
sparked its bloody resolution. Winner of the Bancroft Award, shortlisted
for the Pulitzer Prize, finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a
New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2005 and best book of New York
magazine and The Economist.