--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Still, it strikes me that, taken…" description: "\"“Still, it strikes me that, taken together, they do make an argument, and it is this: the rise of American democracy is bound up with the history of re..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/jill-lepore-4886_american-democracy_still-it-strikes-me-that-taken-together_354647.png" --- # Still, it strikes me that, taken together, they do make an… ![“Still, it strikes me that, taken together, they do make an argument, and it is this: the rise of American democracy is bound up with the history of reading and writing, which is one of the reasons the study of American history is inseparable from the study of American literature. In the early…” quote by Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/jill-lepore-4886_american-democracy_still-it-strikes-me-that-taken-together_354647.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/jill-lepore-4886_american-democracy_still-it-strikes-me-that-taken-together_354647.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/471/jill-lepore-4886_american-democracy_still-it-strikes-me-that-taken-together_354647.png) > ““Still, it strikes me that, taken together, they do make an argument, and it is this: the rise of American democracy is bound up with the history of reading and writing, which is one of the reasons the study of American history is inseparable from the study of American literature. In the early United States, literacy rates rose and the price of books and magazines and newspapers fell during the same decades that suffrage was being extended. With everything from constitutions and ballots to almanacs and novels, American wrote and read their way into a political culture inked and stamped and pressed in print.”” [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. American democracy grew alongside expanding literacy and print culture, linking political development with literature. **In simple terms:** Democracy and reading grew together. Key Takeaway Recognize how literacy shapes civic life. Themes democracy literacy culture politics history Mood reflective analytical Type historical educational When to use this quote - education reform - media policy - public discourse - literary studies Key Concepts print media civic engagement national identity Questions to Reflect On - How does modern digital media compare to 19th‑century print? - What role does literacy play in today’s democracy? A Different Perspective Print access alone doesn’t guarantee informed participation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-democracy/) [American history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-history/) [American literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-literature/) [American Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-wrote-3268828/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Reading and writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-and-writing/) [Study American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study-american-433072/) ## Related quotes > [The problem that we have is that most Americans don't even study American history, let alone Pinochet, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin and all these guys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/the-problem-that-we-have-is-that-most-americans-don-t-even-study/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [When I sat down with all the songs before recording, I realised I'd written a few songs specifically about places in America - there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/when-i-sat-down-with-all-the-songs-before-recording-i-realised-i-d/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [“The American,” he wrote, “is the Englishman left to himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-hannan/the-american-he-wrote-is-the-englishman-left-to-himself/) [Daniel Hannan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-hannan/) > [If you are attempting to study American history, and you don't understand the force of white supremacy, you fundamentally misunderstand America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/if-you-are-attempting-to-study-american-history-and-you-don-t/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [One of the special beauties of America is that it is the only country in the world where you are not advised to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/one-of-the-special-beauties-of-america-is-that-it-is-the-only-country/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Super PACs and a corrupt campaign finance system are destroying American democracy. 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Generally speaking Indians don't read books. It's not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/i-think-most-native-american-literature-is-unreadable-by-the-vast/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [Throughout African-American literature, the writer has, in a sense, been burdened by the necessity of pleading the case for the whole race. For example,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-ligon/throughout-african-american-literature-the-writer-has-in-a-sense-been/) [Glenn Ligon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-ligon/) ## More by Jill Lepore > [Weirdly, there have been a lot of critics of conservatism, but very few critics of innovation. As a culture, we are deeply paranoid about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/weirdly-there-have-been-a-lot-of-critics-of-conservatism-but-very-few/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [History is only written from what remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/history-is-only-written-from-what-remains/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [The study of history requires investigation, imagination, empathy, and respect. 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Tweenhood. The young old. The quarter-life crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/mainly-the-more-faddish-and-newer-stages-of-life-are-really-just/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [“Politics is a story about the relationship between the past and the future; history is a story about the relationship between the past and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/politics-is-a-story-about-the-relationship-between-the-past-and-the/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [Not long before my mother died, I found a long-lost portrait of Jane Franklin's granddaughter, Jane Flagg, aged nine - oil on canvas -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/not-long-before-my-mother-died-i-found-a-long-lost-portrait-of-jane/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [“In 1934, after Upton Sinclair was defeated in his campaign to become the next governor of California, he labeled the advertising concern that defeated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/in-1934-after-upton-sinclair-was-defeated-in-his-campaign-to-become/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) [Explore all 105 Jill Lepore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) ## More American democracy quotes > [ Elvis \[Presley\] had a stepstool, if you will, to success because he came from the dominant culture. 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