Yo, Miss! (No. 58)

Teaching United States History on the Brink of Trump 2.0

It is especially difficult to be a U.S. History teacher in America right now. We might be close to watching the architects of Project 2025 via Trump dismantle the American republic as we know it. Meanwhile, we are teaching how American democracy developed.

For a long time the story of America was the story of progress with a fair share of backlash. I would also argue that we did not resemble much of a democracy until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Our democracy has been a work in progress.

The goal for many Americans has been for us to become a true multiracial democracy.

But now I am not sure where we are headed.

I always let my students draw their own conclusions while studying the history and sources in my class. If we just look at the Trump cabinet appointments right now, I fear that they will work very hard to take a wrecking ball to so much of the progress we have made. I think too many Americans do not realize what we are about to potentially lose starting on January 20, 2025.

As a student and teacher of history, I know that we have had other threats to our progress as a nation. But as I teach what other Americans have sacrificed and built to get us where we are today, it will be especially tough to watch it get dismantled.

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This is why Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny is such an important book to read now. It offers us a historical lens and practical tools for resisting the erosion of democracy—tools that feel urgently relevant as we confront the serious threat posed by initiatives like Project 2025. With its explicit goal of dismantling the administrative state, concentrating executive power, and rolling back key civil rights protections, Project 2025 represents a calculated effort to undermine the progress that has defined our democratic development.

Snyder’s lessons, drawn from studying authoritarian regimes, remind us that the descent into tyranny is often gradual and depends on the complacency or disempowerment of citizens. His call to “defend institutions” feels especially critical as we witness attempts to dismantle the very structures that ensure democratic accountability. How we do that is still TBD until Trump gets sworn into office.

Snyder calls on individuals to resist normalization. Lesson 1 of Timothy Snyder’s On Tyrrany is “Do Not Obey in Advance”. He explains that most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like the ones we are about to face again, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want. Then they offer themselves without being asked. He explains that “A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.” I find this to be the most tangible advice right now.

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I have always believed that the story of American democracy is one of struggle and progress, of backlash and perseverance. Yet standing at this precipice of Inauguration Day January 20, 2025, I find myself wondering how we will protect our democracy and how we can resist in an effective way.

Snyder doesn’t offer easy answers to my concerns. However, he does remind us that democracy’s survival depends on our collective action, however small it might feel sometimes. One way I will work to preserve our democracy is by continuing to teach an honest American History to my students and to everyone who will listen online.