This paper examines Sinclair Lewis's 1935 novel It Can't Happen Here, arguing that it deserves recognition as one of Lewis's most significant works. The paper summarizes the novel's plot, in which fictional dictator Berzelius "Buzz" Windrip rises to the American presidency on a platform of patriotism and populism, then dismantles constitutional democracy. It explores the novel's central themes — authoritarian rule, censorship, resistance, and the fragility of civil liberties — through the experiences of protagonist Doremus Jessup. The paper then connects the novel's warnings to real-world American political discourse, drawing on commentary from both conservative and liberal critics of successive U.S. presidents, and concludes that vigilant political activism remains the most reliable safeguard against tyranny.
The paper uses sustained close reading combined with contextual application. Rather than simply retelling the novel's plot, it extracts key passages — such as the constitutional amendments in Point Fifteen — and interprets their ideological significance. It then applies that interpretive framework outward to real-world political discourse, a technique known as historicist or socially engaged literary criticism.
The paper opens with a claim about the novel's underappreciated importance, then moves through a detailed plot summary organized around its major dramatic turns. A central section focuses closely on the novel's political program. The paper then pivots to contemporary relevance, surveying commentary from across the political spectrum before closing with the author's own moderating thesis. This structure moves from text to context in a clear, linear progression.
Upon hearing the name of Nobel Prize winner Sinclair Lewis, The Jungle often comes to mind first because of the impact that book made in its time and ever since. Yet It Can't Happen Here should be judged just as — if not more — important than any of Lewis's books. The work, which describes what would happen if America voted a dictator resembling Stalin or Hitler into power "to save the day," clearly reflects the fears of Lewis's own era. It also strongly warns today's readers what could occur if civil society does not remain watchful.
The main story of It Can't Happen Here revolves around Doremus Jessup, a moderate sixty-year-old Republican and editor of a small-town newspaper in Vermont. Everyone, including Jessup, said in 1935: "If there ever is a Fascist dictatorship here, American humor and pioneer independence are so marked that it will be absolutely different from anything in Europe." What occurred next proved them wrong.
Under the Corpo (Corporate) Movement, a dictator by the name of Berzelius "Buzz" Windrip runs for president during the depths of the Depression, promising to save his country from welfare cheats, promiscuity, runaway crime, and a liberal press. His campaign is based on family values, the symbol of the flag, and patriotism. He portrays advocates of traditional American democracy as anti-American.
At first, Windrip grabs the country by storm — he is just what the doctor ordered. However, after he wins the election, the sinister truth is revealed in his platform, "The Fifteen Points of Victory for the Forgotten Men." Windrip explains his governing philosophy with blunt clarity: "There are two parties, the Corporate and those who don't belong to any party at all, and so, to use a common phrase, are just out of luck!"
When hearing Windrip's platform, Jessup begins to fear the worst. He believes that even if people worry at first about Buzzy, even if he has a few faults, they will rally behind him as a great liberator. "I don't know whether he's more of a crook or a hysterical fanatic," Jessup comments. Riots and revolts eventually do break out against Windrip's tyranny, but they are repeatedly crushed by the president's private army, the Minute Men.
The document known as "The Fifteen Points of Victory for the Forgotten Men" outlined a sweeping program of authoritarian control. Its declarations included: all finances and labor unions would be placed under federal control; everyone must follow the New Testament; all companies must give the government six percent of their war profits; the United States would build its military larger than any other nation in the world; the government would double the present money supply; the United States could not "too strongly condemn the un-Christian attitude of otherwise progressive nations in their discrimination against the Jews"; all African Americans would be barred from voting and from working as lawyers, teachers, or doctors, and would be taxed heavily; and all working women would be required to serve solely as homemakers and mothers.
The thirteenth point clearly denounced left-wing members. Ironically, however, Communism closely mirrored the fascism of the Windrip presidency in practice:
Any person advocating Communism, Socialism, or Anarchism, advocating refusal to enlist in the case of war, or advocating alliance with Russia in any war whatsoever, shall be subject to trial for high treason, with a minimum of twenty years of hard labor in prison and a maximum of death on the gallows, or other form of execution that the judges may find appropriate.
The final point of the fifteen totally negated all that had made America strong since its founding:
Congress shall, immediately upon our inauguration, initiate amendments to the Constitution providing (a) that the President shall have the authority to institute and execute all necessary measures for the conduct of the government during this critical epoch; (b) that Congress shall serve only in an advisory capacity...; and (c) that the Supreme Court shall immediately have removed from its jurisdiction the power to negate... any or all acts of the President...
This authoritarian program — abolishing congressional independence and stripping the Supreme Court of its power of judicial review — represented the complete unraveling of the constitutional system that had defined American government since 1787.
There are also true skeptics who believe that all presidents should be closely watched, regardless of their political inclinations. How can a person who rises as far as the presidency be anything but power-hungry and a control freak? And how can a politician reach the top without making numerous promises to supporters that may or may not be in the best interests of the country? This does not mean, however, that a dictator will come to power. For now, America appears free from having a Hitler rise to the presidency. The most recent presidents may be considered unethical by some, but they have remained within the guidelines of the Constitution — and political activists have seen to that. The quotes from organizations cited above show that as soon as a president, or even a candidate, sways too far from what is believed to be the law of the land, he is criticized by his detractors.
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