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Coughlin was a priest who hosted an extremely popular political radio show in the United States in the 1930s. He eventually started supporting European Fascists and spreading antisemitism. Levitsky and Ziblatt use his rhetoric as an example of how far-right ideas have often been popular in U.S. history, but haven’t gotten a foothold in national politics because of political party gatekeepers.
Father Charles Coughlin Quotes in How Democracies Die
The How Democracies Die quotes below are all either spoken by Father Charles Coughlin or refer to Father Charles Coughlin. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 2
Quotes
In short, Americans have long had an authoritarian streak. It was not unusual for figures such as Coughlin, Long, McCarthy, and Wallace to gain the support of a sizable minority—30 or even 40 percent—of the country. We often tell ourselves that America’s national political culture in some way immunizes us from such appeals, but this requires reading history with rose-colored glasses. The real protection against would-be authoritarians has not been Americans’ firm commitment to democracy but, rather, the gatekeepers—our political parties.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Father Charles Coughlin Quotes in How Democracies Die
The How Democracies Die quotes below are all either spoken by Father Charles Coughlin or refer to Father Charles Coughlin. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 2
Quotes
In short, Americans have long had an authoritarian streak. It was not unusual for figures such as Coughlin, Long, McCarthy, and Wallace to gain the support of a sizable minority—30 or even 40 percent—of the country. We often tell ourselves that America’s national political culture in some way immunizes us from such appeals, but this requires reading history with rose-colored glasses. The real protection against would-be authoritarians has not been Americans’ firm commitment to democracy but, rather, the gatekeepers—our political parties.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
