The Hidden History of American Oligarchy

America has beaten oligarchy before, three times in fact, and this history-backed guide makes the case it can happen again.

Billionaire-funded politics, a captured judiciary, and consolidated media have brought American democracy to a genuine crisis point, and the 2020 pandemic made the scale of that looting impossible to ignore. But this isn't the first time concentrated wealth has threatened self-governance, and the historical record offers more than warning. It offers a roadmap.

Drawing on American history from the founding era through the present day, this book traces how ordinary citizens pushed back against oligarchy at three critical moments, and what those battles reveal about winning today.

What's inside:
• The full arc of oligarchic power from the British aristocracy the founders opposed, through the feudal Confederacy, to FDR's battles with “economic royalists” who tried to kill the New Deal
• How unlimited campaign contributions, media consolidation, and judicial capture work together as a system
• Concrete policy steps to break up media monopolies, limit political money, and reclaim stolen public wealth
• A practical framework for building a movement rooted in democratic history

For readers who want American history with purpose and a path forward, not just a diagnosis.

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction: America Slides Into Oligarchy and Dances Close To Tyranny
• Part One: The Crisis of Oligarchy
• Part Two: How Oligarchy Led To The Civil War
• Part Three: How Oligarchs Hung On After the Civil War: Controlling Free Commoners
• Part Four: A Third Oligarchy Rises With The Reagan Revolution
• Part Five: When Oligarchy Becomes Tyranny
• Part Six: Breaking Oligarchy, Restoring Democracy
• Notes
• Acknowledgments
• Index
• About the Author

“With his awesome command of history and politics, Thom Hartmann presents a terrifying, captivating, and meticulously documented analysis of the treachery by which the ruthlessly deranged gained the loyalty of the desperate using money's power to corrupt. An urgent and essential read for those who seek a world that works for all.”
-David C. Korten, author of Change the Story, Change the Future

“Thom Hartmann's must-read new book is equally frightening and inspiring. It offers both a dire warning about the threat posed to our nation by the growing power of oligarchs and a prescription on how to save our nation from it.”
-Dean Obeidallah, host of The Dean Obeidallah Show, SiriusXM Radio

“Thom Hartmann has written a chilling account of how far our nation has strayed from democracy and is slowly embracing oligarchy. His focus on possible remedies, however, is the chief virtue of this fine book.”
-Dan Sisson, author of The American Revolution of 1800

“Thom Hartmann is America's history teacher, a national treasure laying it out scary and clear: tyranny can happen here. Oligarchy's choking democracy.”
-Mimi Kennedy, actress, board member, Progressive Democrats of America

“For every American interested in protecting our democracy, everyone puzzled about how America came to the brink of authoritarian rule, and for all who enjoy a being educated and entertained by enthralling, eyeopening, riveting journey in U.S. history, the Hidden History of Oligarchy is a must read!”
-Don Siegelman, former Governor of Alabama, author of Stealing Our Democracy

“Thom Hartmann shines a much-needed spotlight on the oligarchs' brutal class war as it now crescendos in the Trump era. He makes clear that if we understand exactly what we're up against, we can save our country, reject sociopathic greed and build an America that promotes shared prosperity.”
-David Sirota, award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author

“I would gladly follow Thom Hartmann into hell. I'd be unafraid because with Thom there, I knew the Devil's minions couldn't touch me. I strongly cry huzzah for this latest course on teaching me what a Democracy is.”
-Ed Asner

“This absolutely brilliant book is an empowering call to action, as well as a beautifully concise summary of the US's historical battle to preserve democracy over repeated attempts by the oligarchy to create tyranny. A page-turning must read for all Americans at a time when tyranny's claws are digging very deep.”
-John Perkins, New York Times Bestselling Author

“Brilliantly illuminating of the reality of oligarchy in our past and our present and the imminent danger of oligarchy morphing into tyranny. On almost every page, I learned things that I should have known earlier as an American, but wasn't likely to find elsewhere. Urgently required reading if we are to advance toward democracy.”
-Daniel Ellsberg