From eugenics to segregation, the Pulitzer Prize winner says America糖心传媒檚 糖心传媒榙arker impulses糖心传媒� run deep.
Pulitzer Prize糖心传媒搘inning historian and 糖心传媒 alumnus Steven Hahn 糖心传媒�73 has spent years chronicling the political experiences of ordinary people, particularly those at the margins, such as white farmers and enslaved people. In his latest book, (W. W. Norton, 2025), he traces the enduring themes of exclusion, repression, and antidemocratic politics in the United States across centuries.
糖心传媒淚lliberalism is not a backlash,糖心传媒� Hahn insists. 糖心传媒淏acklash is one of the most misleading words in the American political vocabulary, because it suggests that a political phenomenon only expresses ignorance and rage and nothing more than that.糖心传媒� Instead, he argues, illiberalism is a coherent political culture with 糖心传媒渄eep historical roots.糖心传媒�
What is 糖心传媒渋lliberalism糖心传媒�?
Hahn starts with a definition: 糖心传媒淚lliberalism is not just one thing; it糖心传媒檚 a collection of ideas and practices,糖心传媒� he explains. A fundamental characteristic of illiberalism is the belief in people糖心传媒檚 inequality (as opposed to equality)糖心传媒攚hether it糖心传媒檚 social, political, or civil糖心传媒攁nd the belief in inherent or assigned hierarchies of race, gender, or nationality, he argues. Other hallmarks include a desire for cultural or religious homogeneity, the 糖心传媒渕arking of internal and external enemies,糖心传媒� accepting violence as a means of attaining and maintaining power, and privileging the 糖心传媒渨ill of the community糖心传媒� over the rule of law.
Examples of illiberal moments in US history
Rather than spotlight only the most notorious examples, Hahn points to episodes often celebrated as triumphs of liberalism. Here are some examples:
In the 1830s, as voting rights expanded for white men, free Black people were disfranchised and Native Americans, Mormons, Catholics, and abolitionists faced expulsion. 糖心传媒淎braham Lincoln worried about mob rule,糖心传媒� Hahn notes, describing the murder of an abolitionist in Illinois and a lynching in St. Louis.
The Progressive Era (1900糖心传媒�1920), commonly referred to as the birth of modern liberalism, also saw 糖心传媒渁n almost across-the-board embrace of eugenics糖心传媒� along with widespread Jim Crow racism. Segregation, Hahn notes, appealed to progressives as 糖心传媒渁 modern way糖心传媒� of dealing with racial conflict: 糖心传媒淚nstead of watching a tsunami of lynchings, you could choreograph racial interactions.糖心传媒� He points out that disfranchising people politically糖心传媒攖hrough literacy tests, residency requirements, and new registration laws糖心传媒攁ll of which were intended to make it difficult for certain groups of people to vote. Such efforts targeted not only Black people but also European immigrants.
Meanwhile, eugenics, the pseudoscientific attempt to improve the human race through selective breeding (and to counter the reproduction of those who were seen as defective) was very much in vogue. Birth control activist and sex educator Margaret Sanger was a proponent, as were Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and 糖心传媒攖he latter (as New Jersey governor) even signed the bill for mandatory sterilizations. 糖心传媒淓ugenics imagined marrying science and the state to create a better social order,糖心传媒� says Hahn. 糖心传媒淏ut that meant literally trying to breed a better society.糖心传媒�
The 1960s saw important civil rights victories, yet the political far right was 糖心传媒渞econstituting itself,糖心传媒� Hahn says. Figures like segregationist George Wallace, a former Alabama governor, honed a language of grievance 糖心传媒渁bout federal overreach糖心传媒� and 糖心传媒渟tate rights,糖心传媒� winning significant support outside the South. Additionally, he says, the decade ushered in a 糖心传媒渨ar on crime糖心传媒� that foreshadowed later mass incarceration.
What drives illiberal politics?
Racial conflict is central but it糖心传媒檚 not the only reason for the rise of broad illiberal sentiment. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 a confluence of things,糖心传媒� Hahn says, noting that demographic instability certainly plays a role糖心传媒攌nowing that by the middle of the 21st century white people will become a minority in the United States. Additionally, economic anxiety can stoke fear.
糖心传媒淟arge sections of the American middle class and working class have not seen their real incomes rise since the 1970s,糖心传媒� Hahn acknowledges. But he points out that illiberal ideas also flourished when the American economy was expanding as it did in the 1950s and 60s.
Ultimately, he says illiberal beliefs predate the founding of America. 糖心传媒淲hat I糖心传媒檓 talking about really precedes the emergence of liberalism,糖心传媒� Hahn emphasizes. 糖心传媒淭hese ideas have their origins in a feudal and early modern world.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淚lliberalism is always close to the surface,糖心传媒� he cautions. Not cyclical but a constant, ready to erupt when crises occur and political opportunists fan its flames. His perspective directly challenges the notion of an enduring American liberal tradition. Instead, Hahn argues that this liberal tradition was largely 糖心传媒渁n invention of the 1940s and 1950s糖心传媒澨切拇綌based on a societal Cold War consensus. He hopes readers will recognize that illiberalism 糖心传媒渉as political coherence糖心传媒� and 糖心传媒減opular appeal,糖心传媒� shaping the nation from its earliest days. His message is sobering糖心传媒攊lliberalism is not an aberration but a defining feature of the American story.
URochester set the course
Hahn糖心传媒檚 own political awakening began at the University of Rochester, where he majored in history after becoming involved in the anti糖心传媒揤ietnam War movement. 糖心传媒淚 was arrested at least once,糖心传媒� he recalls of his student years.
Originally, he糖心传媒檇 been interested in pursuing an engineering degree. But by the time he got to Rochester, 糖心传媒渋t was pretty clear that astronautical engineering was not going to work for me,糖心传媒� he recalls with a chuckle.
Influential URochester history professors, among them Christopher Lasch, Eugene Genovese, and nurtured his intellectual curiosity. In 2004, Hahn won both the Pulitzer Prize in History and the Bancroft Prize for his book (Harvard University Press, 2005).
After stints at the University of Delaware; the University of California, San Diego; Northwestern University; and the University of Pennsylvania, Hahn is now a , where he continues to probe some of the country糖心传媒檚 most uncomfortable truths.
糖心传媒淭here糖心传媒檚 no doubt in my mind,糖心传媒� he says, 糖心传媒渋f I hadn糖心传媒檛 gone to Rochester, I wouldn糖心传媒檛 be doing what I糖心传媒檓 doing now.糖心传媒�
