Recent developments have made many social scientists and commentators wonder whether the United States is still a relatively modern, secular, and democratic society. Instead, America shows signs of the cultural despair that preceded the rise of fascism in Nazi Germany.

Taking a careful look at such critical moments as the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Depression, the assassination of President Lincoln, and the eves both of the Civil War and of the American Revolution, this book shows that Americans have long shown authoritarian and even fascist tendencies: signs of despair that the nation is running out of time. In these critical moments, it finds evidence of a regressive cycle consisting of crisis, followed by the sanctification of central authority, and further crisis.

With its deep roots in Anglo-American culture, the current crisis awaits decisive resolution.