Winner of the Bancroft Award: "Monumental...a tour de force...awesome in its coverage of political events."--Gordon Wood, "New York Times Book Review" Acclaimed as the definitive study of the period by one of the greatest American historians, "The Rise of American Democracy" traces a historical arc from the earliest days of the republic to the opening shots of the Civil War. Ferocious clashes among the Founders over the role of ordinary citizens in a government of "we, the people" were eventually resolved in the triumph of Andrew Jackson. Thereafter, Sean Wilentz shows, a fateful division arose between two starkly opposed democracies--a division contained until the election of Abraham Lincoln sparked its bloody resolution. Winner of the Bancroft Award, shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize, finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a "New York Times" 100 Notable Books of 2005 and best book of "New York" magazine and "The Economist," 75 illustrations.