Republic of Wrath by James A. Morone
Description: Republic of Wrath scans American history to explain what is different about the passionate present—and how the past might guide us toward a better future.
HOW AMERICAN POLITICS TURNED TRIBAL from GEORGE WASHINGTON to DONALD TRUMP “A brilliant exposé of the uglier undercurrents of American political history.” — Kirkus (starred review) REPUBLIC OF WRATH scans American history to explain what is different about the passionate present—and how the past might guide us toward a better future. ORDER James Morone on Talking Points Memo How Republicans Can Save the Party on USA Today Judicial Overreach in High Partisan Times Identity Politics Keeps American Society He
G eorge Wallace rocked New York’s Madison Square Garden in October 1968. Twenty thousand supporters stood on their seats, waved Confederate flags, and roared at his provocations. “We don’t have riots in Alabama,” he shouted. “They start a riot down there, first one of ’em to pick up a brick gets a bullet in the brain.” Protesters dangled a noose from the balcony, and the intoxicated crowd began to scream “kill ’em, kill ’em, kill ’em.” A small group of African Americans from a Baptist church in Harlem sat q
I n 1800, a slave named Gabriel meticulously plotted a rebellion in Richmond, Virginia. He was a skilled blacksmith whose owner rented him out and pocketed most of the wages. Gabriel stood more than six feet tall and could read and write. He had once bitten off a white overseer’s ear but escaped the gallows thanks to a quirky loophole in the legal code—he recited a biblical passage at his trial and was punished, instead, with a brand on his left hand.
Republic of Wrath by James A. Morone