It Can't Happen Here

It Can’t Happen Here (1935) is a dystopian political novel by Sinclair Lewis. The narrative details the rise, consolidation, and partial collapse of an American fascist dictatorship and is told through the perpesective of 60-year-old protagonist Doremus Jessup, owner-editor of a small Vermont newspaper and self-described middle-class liberal intellectual. Initially a cynical and detached political observer, Jessup becomes an increasingly active member of the resistance.

Considering themes like American Totalitarianism and The Conditions Necessary for Liberal Democracy to Survive, Lewis argues for a politically engaged and informed citizenry that can resist the empty promises of demagogues, and for establishment political and economic elites to be aware of how they may inadvertently create the conditions that allow totalitarianism to flourish.

Plot Summary

The novel is divided into three sections, with Chapters 1-12 introducing the primary characters and describing the conditions that allow Berzelius “Buzz” Windrip to become president. Chapters 13-18 describe the rapid consolidation of Windrip’s regime and the erosion of democratic norms. Chapters 19-38 cover the resistance struggle against the regime, focusing on Jessup, his family, and his friends.

The book begins in 1936, as Berzelius “Buzz” Windrip campaigns for the Democratic nomination, running on a populist platform that promises to restore US glory and prosperity while portraying himself as an avatar of the common man. Though Windrip is charismatic and popular, the intellect behind his campaign is his secretary, Lee Sarason.

Doremus Jessup, a newspaper owner-editor in Fort Beulah, Vermont, covers Windrip’s rise and fears that Windrip will implement totalitarian rule if elected. However, he does little and is frequently told by others that such an outcome is impossible.

Windrip wins the Democratic nomination and easily defeats his Republican opponent, Walt Trowbridge. After his inauguration, Windrip rapidly consolidates his power. He makes his private militia, the Minute Men, an official part of the US Army and ends the power of Congress and the Supreme Court, making himself the country’s unchecked leader.

“Temporary” martial law is declared, and the Minute Men violently put down any resistance. Windrip also implements labor camps for the unemployed, and suspected dissidents are rounded up and sent to concentration camps. Women, Black people, and Jews are stripped of their rights, and Sarason constructs a massive propaganda apparatus that takes over newspapers and schools.

Jessup initially despairs. However, after hearing about a rabbi and a professor who were murdered by a Windrip cabinet member, he acts. He writes an anti-Windrip editorial, which leads to his arrest by his old handyman, Shad Ledue, who now leads the local Minute Men.

During the ensuing trial, Jessup’s son-in-law interrupts the proceedings and is summarily executed. Jessup’s paper is forced to print regime propaganda, and Minute Men raid his home several times looking for banned books. Jessup’s best friend, Buck Titus, warns him that he is likely to be arrested and sent to a concentration camp, and arranges for the family’s escape to Canada. However, they are forced to turn back at the border.

After several of his friends are sent to Trianon, the local concentration camp, Jessup quits at the paper and forms a cell of the New Underground, a Canada-based resistance group led by Walt Trowbridge. He is joined by his lover, Lorinda Pike; his friend, Buck Titus; and his daughters, Mary and Sissy. The cell publishes critiques of the regime and assists refugees fleeing to Canada.

Jessup’s work is eventually discovered, and he is sent to Trianon, where he is regularly beaten and tortured. While Jessup is imprisoned, his cell continues to operate. Mary, whose husband was killed defending Jessup, joins the Women’s Flying Corps and eventually kills the judge responsible for her husband’s death by crashing her plane into his. Sissy seduces Shad Ledue to gather information about him, which she uses to have him sent to Trianon, where the other prisoners burn him to death.

At the same time, the regime buckles under the pressure of supporting its ever-growing army and militia, not to mention economic mismanagement and graft. Windrip grows increasingly paranoid and power-hungry, and rebellions begin in the Midwest. Sarason, frustrated with Windrip, takes power in a bloodless coup. However, his weak and ostentatious rule quickly loses support, and he is deposed by Colonel Haik, the leader of the Minute Men.

Haik’s rule is even harsher than Windrip’s or Sarason’s. In a last-ditch effort to reinvigorate patriotism, he declares war on Mexico. This instead provokes a wide-ranging revolt against the regime. Rebels seize territory in the Midwest but then settle into a stalemate caused by the collapse of the education system.

Lorinda and Sissy arrange for Jessup’s escape from Trianon. He flees to Canada, where he continues his work. However, frustrated with living in exile, Jessup desires to return to America as a spy. After Haik’s coup, his request is granted. The novel ends as Jessup goes undercover, running a New Underground cell in regime-controlled Minnesota.