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A Short History of American Democracy by Roy F. Nichols; Jeannette P. Nichols; TwentiethCentury United States: A History by Roy F. Nichols; Jeannette P. NicholsReview by: M. SwearingenNew York History, Vol. 26, No. 3 (July, 1945), pp. 386-387Published by: New York State Historical AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23149695 .
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Book Reviews July
A Short History of American Democracy. By Roy F. and Jeannette
P. Nichols. (D. Appleton-Century, New York, 1943. Pp.
xvii, 626.)
Twentieth Century United States: A History. By Roy F. and Jean
nette P. Nichols. (D. Appleton-Century, New York, 1943.
Pp. xiii, 435.)
These two texts, by the well-known husband and wife team of
Nichols, are "hot-off-the-griddle" works to catch a special demand.
Both books are synthesized mainly from previous works by the same
authors; the second of them—done apparently by Mrs. Nichols alone—
is hardly more than a reprint of the last part of the first one, with a
summary introduction and conclusion especially fitted to it. They
both probably owe their existence to acceleration, V-12 and ASTP.
The Short History of American Democracy is well constructed
around the central theme which World War II has given such
emphasis, i.e., that the American people have slowly worked out
through their history a type of society which grows more democratic
with each generation. This reviewer has often insisted, both orally and in print, that a text-book should have such a theme. If a text
book has any purpose it is to give an organized outline of subject
matter for the convenience and help of the student. This requires a
theme, and a theme there must be, even at some risk to scholarly
objectivity. In this respect, the Nichols work is well done; the
thread is not lost and the subject has meaning as it adheres to the
thread.
The use of democracy as such a thread or theme in American
history can nevertheless produce questionable results in so far as inter
pretation is concerned. Your reviewer is not convinced that the
American social order set up in the colonies was "fundamentally"
different from Europe (see p. 32) or that it was really "democratic"
(p. 40) in its most important aspect, its spirit. A class structure so
easily arose from it, when economy permitted, that the persistence
of European attitudes might well be assumed.
Another like point has to do with the persistence throughout
American history of anti-democratic forces which—whatever their
ultimate origin—are as much a part of the American way as democracy
itself. The democratic tradition tends to prevail, it is the preferred
tradition, and it is the tradition which gives us hope, but the opposite
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i94í Book Reviews
tradition has just as much continuity, still remains dangerous, and to
this reviewer looks almost as 100% American as the other. The
Alien and Sedition Acts, the nativism of the mid-i8oo's, the KKK of
the 1920's, and the deeply entrenched industrial conservatism of
today are not necessarily European or Asiastic. They appear to he
just about as indigenous as Abraham Lincoln or the American Civil
Liberties Union. This approach might well be incorporated into a
text-book with the "democratic" theme.
The writing in both the books under review is good, and the illus
trative material in the way of maps, tables, charts, and pictures seems
uncommonly well selected. The emphasis throughout is on social
history. In connection with this the authors have encountered the
perennial dilemma which haunts everyone who tries to give proper
notice to cultural factors; books, authors, artists and scientists have
been hard to incorporate neatly into text-books, and most writers
who attempt to do it ultimately fall back on simple chapters which
are little more than catalogues. The present authors have succeeded
far better than the average, and somehow manage even to convey the
impression that they have read the books they mention and under
stood the scientists whose works they describe. This is no minor
achievement.
On the whole, the worst fault of the Nichols work shows more
in the first of these two volumes, and it is a fault inherent in highly condensed histories. The condensation has been carried so far,
especially in the first 250 pages, that clarity cannot be achieved. For
example, the account of Southern secession given on pp. 224-230 is
far too sketchy to explain secession to this reviewer.
Only one more comment need be made. As in any work with such
a central idea, the liberal and progressive attitude predominates. Mr.
and Mrs. Nichols leave little doubt where their sympathies lie as they
describe the conflict between little men and big men. This is the
prevailing mood in text-books. It is curious, however, that the
mood tends to fade, in nearly all such books, in the chapters which
cover the immediately contemporary period. A spasm of caution
seems to grip the pen hand of an author when he settles down to write
about what happened day before yesterday.
Elmira College. M. SwEARINGEN
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