Includes bibliographical references and index.

The cause of independency : Thomas Paine and the making of a revolutionary. The true pain : from ruin to revolution ; The true Paine : the "happy something" of America ; The birth of a new age : the Enlightenment and the cause of "independency" -- A tale of two cities : democracy and mobocracy. Of democracy and demagogues : ancient Athens and the rise of the demos ; Philadelphia : the American Revolution and "the inclemencies of the season" ; Paris : the French Revolution and the razor of the republic ; Paine's bridge : revolution and governance in an age of rage -- Democracy in the Twenty-first century and the "art of living freely." The American Jacobin : the return of the bourgeois revolutionary ; Why big, fierce rights are rare : the importance of "rights talk" in confusing times ; Adam Smith and the liberty-enhancing economy ; Living freely in the Twenty-first century.

"This is a book about revolutions. Most countries are the progeny of revolution. At the birth of this nation, the Founding Fathers faced the quintessential question of self-governance: how do you keep democracy from devolving into violent anarchy or brutal despotism? Drawing on little-known facts from the founding, Jonathan Turley reveals how the United States escaped the cycles of violence and instability that plagued other democratic movements, from ancient Athens to 19th-century France." --

On the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, law professor, legal analyst, and bestselling author of The Indispensable Right Jonathan Turley explores how the unique origins of American democracy set it apart from other revolutions, whether it can survive and thrive in the 21st century, and how the unfinished story of the revolution will play out in a rapidly changing world.

This is a book about revolutions. Most countries are the progeny of revolution. At the birth of this nation, the Founding Fathers faced the quintessential question of self-governance: how do you keep democracy from devolving into violent anarchy or brutal despotism? Drawing on little-known facts from the founding, Jonathan Turley reveals how the United States escaped the cycles of violence and instability that plagued other democratic movements, from ancient Athens to 19th-century France.

As the nation approaches a new era marked by artificial intelligence, robotics, and profound economic shifts, America must again withstand the pressure of radical forces that seek to curtail our natural liberties under the guise of popular reform. In this crisis of faith, many politicians and pundits are questioning the very principles of American democracy, and some law professors are even calling for scrapping the Constitution.

Synthesizing sources from history to philosophy to the arts, Turley offers a hopeful account of how the lessons of the past can guide us through today’s “crisis of faith” in democracy and see us into the future. He notes: “From redcoats to robots, our challenges have changed. Yet, we have remained. Our greatest danger is not forgetting the history detailed in this book, but forgetting who we were in that history.”