PositiveThe New York Times Book ReviewAllan J. Lichtman’s important book emphasizes the founders’ great blunder: They failed to enshrine a right to vote in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights ... Lichtman, a professor of history at American University, uses history to contextualize the fix we’re in today. Each party gropes for advantage by fiddling with the franchise ... Lichtman ticks through the vital reforms ... Lichtman sounds dispirited about his own proposals ... Just beyond the scope of Lichtman’s book hovers the great question of our time. Why has partisan conflict grown so fierce? ... Lichtman ends with a little flicker of hope. Growing outrage, he thinks, could ignite demands for change. With luck, this fine history might just help to fan the flame.
Lisa McGirr
RaveThe New York Times Book ReviewMcGirr makes two major contributions to the historical record. First, she vividly shows how enforcers targeted immigrant and black communities...Second, McGirr tells us that Prohibition gave birth to big government — an argument that could have a major impact on how we read American political history.
