America From Tom to Abe; A hip historian's take on how democracy took root.(Sean Wilentz on his book "The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln")(Interview)

Publication: Newsweek

Publication Date: 31-OCT-05

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Byline: Malcolm Jones

Sean Wilentz ends his massive history, "The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln," with a description of a photograph taken in 1865: 13 men, six white, seven black, the jury empaneled to try Jefferson Davis, ex-president of the Confederacy, on charges of treason. To Wilentz, the picture is an apt emblem of "the hopes of the Civil War era as to how a post-slavery United States might look." Sitting in his office at Princeton, Wilentz shakes his head in admiration. "All these white guys and...

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