As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, historian Stephen Marche argues that the nation is destroying itself, a crisis rooted in its founding contradictions. In his book The Next Civil War, Marche interviewed hundreds of experts to understand the decline, but admits the self-destruction remains a mystery even to contemporaries.
The Seeds of Destruction from the Beginning
Marche points to warnings from the nation's founders. George Washington's Farewell Address predicted hyperpartisanship with startling precision, while Abraham Lincoln prophesied that if destruction came, Americans would be its authors. The current crisis, Marche argues, has been present since the founding.
A Pew Research poll found that 59% of Americans believe the country's best years are behind it, reflecting a backward-looking political culture. Originalism, the legal framework championed by Trump-era courts, has become dominant, with courts flooded by arguments about 250-year-old views on gun rights following the Bruen decision.
The Revolution's Contradictions
Marche highlights the founders' love of liberty derived from slavery. Jefferson wrote the Declaration while served tea by a valet who was the son of his slave and father-in-law. George Washington wrote of submitting to impositions until Americans become "as tame and abject slaves, as the blacks we rule over."
The revolution was a civil war as much as a liberation struggle; Benjamin Franklin's son was a loyalist. Yet the mythology of American exceptionalism—the belief that the US is unique and exceptional—has persisted, now fueling a nostalgic political movement.
Trump as the Ultimate Nostalgia Act
Marche characterizes Donald Trump as the embodiment of this backward-looking impulse. "Make America Great Again" is a nostalgic slogan. Trump's violation of political norms, Marche argues, is consistent with a revolutionary country where patriotism was defined by violent overthrow of established order.
After January 6, Rush Limbaugh praised the rioters by invoking Sam Adams and the Tea Party. Trump's proposed "anti-weaponization fund" symbolically chose $1.776 billion, referencing the year of independence. Marche asserts: "Nobody can say that he is un-American. He is all too American."
Greed and Spectacles of Violence
Marche contends that the revolution's motives were grounded in greed: the crown halted expansion into Indigenous lands and imposed taxes. Colonists paid one shilling in tax versus 26 shillings for British subjects. Mob violence, such as tarring and feathering, was a grand amusement. The movement from subject to citizen was "a spectacle of violence."
This legacy persists: "Grab 'em by the pussy" is as consistent with the revolutionary spirit as "all men are created equal." Americans, Marche argues, are addicted not to liberty but to liberation—the throwing off of shackles. This poison is now consuming the nation.
