Americans, from the beginning, were both bullies and democrats. Despite the hesitancy of elites, most patriots at the time of our nation's birth believed that ordinary people were entitled to rule themselves and fully capable of doing so. They also believed they had the right, and even the obligation, to impose their will on people whom they deemed inferior. These two core beliefs are key to understanding American history and the American character, and we do an injustice to ourselves and our nation when we pretend otherwise.
-- Founding Myths, pp. 244-45
