| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 105.1

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to the AHR online. About 203 words from this article are provided below; about 525 words remain.

If you are a individual member of the American Historical Association, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time. AHA members can go to the AHA individual membership section to locate their member numbers.
If you are not a member of the American Historical Association, you can:: • Join the AHA and receive many member benefits including print and electronic issues of the American Historical Review.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the American Historical Review (104.3-present). Note: the Research Pass does not provide access to JSTOR's holdings of the American Historical Review.
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 105.1 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Canada and the United States

Kevin Mattson. Creating a Democratic Public: The Struggle for Urban Participatory Democracy During the Progressive Era. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. 1998. Pp. 208. Cloth $45.00, paper $16.95.

At the beginning of this book, Kevin Mattson confesses his lack of interest in academic history. By exploring activists and intellectuals of the past who fought to create a better democracy, he hopes to revitalize the political culture of today. He focuses on early twentieth-century efforts to create community-based forums and discussions wherein the political and social issues of the day might be debated. Such institutions and the conversations they generated he sees as central to a vital democracy and thus the creation of a "democratic public." The latter is a concept of Mattson's own creation, and by it he means something that "forms when citizens gather together to deliberate and make public judgments about local and national issues that affect their lives" (p. 4). This teaches citizens the skills necessary to participate effectively in a democracy. Mattson seeks to understand how activists sought to create such institutions during the Progressive era, their successes and failures, and the lessons they drew from their experiences. . . .

There are about 525 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.