Fortress America: How We Embraced Fear and Abandoned Democracy

Abstract

Great historians creatively and imaginatively interpret the past to better understand the present, and this is precisely what Elaine Tyler May does in her impeccably argued, gracefully written Fortress America. “Why have Americans become so fearful?” asks May. “How has that fear been expressed and addressed in the nation's culture, institutions, and laws?” (p. 1). Crime steadily declined, but fear increased, and as a result, “active citizenship declined and the common good withered” (p. 5). Above all, “the obsession with security over the past half-century has only made Americans less safe and secure” (p. 11). Following World War II, fear of communists far exceeded their actual threat. But housing construction and decisions echoed these fears, especially the quest for privacy. Americans developed a bunker mentality. “Every home a fortress,” one official urged (p. 37). Exaggerated fear of crime—and of African Americans—lead to militarizing the police force and massive increases...