How the United States nearly disunited

The simple version of American history depicts the original 13 American colonies banding together as one, declaring their independence in 1776, fighting and winning an eight-year-long War of Independence against the British, and then triumphantly establishing the United States of America.But how united was this new nation? Political historian Eli Merritt asserts that despite its harmonious sounding name, the United States was actually more like a shotgun marriage that nearly ended in a quick divorce.Merritt is the author of a new book, “Disunion Among Ourselves: The Perilous Politics of the American Revolution.” “The American Union was an unwelcome alliance formed by bitterly conflictual colonies and regions,” he wrote. The primary purpose of the original American government, he said, was to prevent the colonies from disintegrating into civil war.Merritt is a professor of political science at Vanderbilt University and writes political commentary for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and for his Substack, American Commonwealth. Merritt said that America’s founders warned of the danger of demagogues.“The first step in democratic breakdown is the election of a demagogue to power,” he wrote. "The demagogue is someone who wins votes by dividing the people not uniting the people … through fear mongering, through hate mongering, through bigotry. And sadly, it works. “The demagogue converts into an authoritarian once drinking at the cup of power. … We did see precisely that with Donald Trump.”Merritt argues that the founding story of the U.S. affirms that “when a government turns unconstitutional and repressive, you have the right of revolution, which means first, the right of resistance.”Merritt said he believes that Juneteenth is a far more significant day of independence than July 4. “This is the emancipation of 4 million enslaved people,” he said. “It is clearly the most important event in all U.S. history.”