Insights from Historian Timothy Snyder
In 2017, during the first term of President Donald Trump, historian Timothy Snyder published a little book entitled On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. Snyder’s specialty area is the history of Nazi Germany, Russia, and Ukraine and the impact of authoritarian governments on the lives of its citizens and the health of a nation as a whole. The book has gained renewed interest in the second term of Trump because of his blatant use of Executive Orders to bring about changes in the form and function of the federal government. And while these changes normally must first be mandated by Congress, the Republican Senators and Representatives, who control both houses of Congress, have basically allowed Trump to act without their input or formal approval. As a result, Trump has been largely able to operate without any boundaries or limits on his exercise of power.
The first lesson of On Tyranny is “Do not obey in advance.” Snyder explains, “Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.” We see the truth of this description by the way the Republican controlled Congress freely gave Trump the power to act in any way he chooses without accountability. Already in the early months of the Trump presidency, he has used threats of huge monetary fines and/or lawsuits against people and institutions he has deemed as enemies of his long-range plan for the country. Law firms that were involved in efforts to impeach Trump or convict those who raided the Capitol in an attempted coup on January 6, 2021, quickly acquiesced and folded to Trump’s threats and made deals to give pro bono legal assistance to avoid further threats. Universities have been attacked for their DEI programs, supposed unregulated antisemitism in student protests about the war in Gaza, and “liberal curriculum” promoting “woke ideology” (more on that in a later blog). Some universities like the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, and Duke University caved quickly to meet Trump’s demands without any organized pushback.
However, many other individuals, organizations, and universities have refused to immediately fold and instead have fought back against Trump’s threats with lawsuits of their own. These groups and individuals have in Snyder’s words, “did not obey in advance.” You see, power is not a fixed entity, but rather something that is gained or lost in one’s interactions with others. Unquestioned or unchallenged obedience to a ruler sends a message that they get away with more than they thought. They gain power. Challenging, disobeying, and refuting that power can have the opposite effect.
The Art of the Deal or the Art of the Threat?
Several years ago, Trump published a book called The Art of the Deal, in which he describes how he went about making business deals that benefited him and his business. He claims he can do the same in government. However, in practice, his modus operandi is not the art of the deal but the “art of the threat. ” True negotiations with another seek to provide a benefit to all involved. In contrast, Trump uses threats with the goal of making people afraid, and so they give into the threat. Snyder’s advice is “don’t be so quick to give in.” In the five months of Trump’s second presidency, we now know he loves to threaten college presidents, national leaders, lawyers, protesting students, business executives and others to get his way. The threat may be real, and if so, one’s fear will be real. Snyder is not denying those realities. His point: Do not be so quick to act out of fear. Step back, consider your options, consult and join with others. There are hundreds of lawsuits, demonstrations, and acts of civil disobedience because people did not allow fear to guide them, and they gained courage through solidarity with others.
The Threat Comes to Philadelphia
Right now, we who live in Philadelphia are facing a moment where we must stand together in opposition to Trump’s threats and whims. One year from now, the nation will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States as a sovereign nation. As the place where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were written and passed into law, and as the first home of the U.S. Capitol, Philadelphia plays a central role as to what that recognition will involve. The Trump administration has ordered that the National Park employees review plaques, paintings, and other forms in information in the park, and evaluate them for “information that ‘inappropriately disparages American past or living.” There are over a dozen such items that have come under question because they talk about how many of the founding fathers were slave holders, including the first president, George Washington. There is a display entitled “Life under Slavery” that describes whipping, torture and rape experiences by people who were enslaved. Other displays highlight the brutality and abuse experienced by those who were enslaved. One of the plaques tells the story of Ona Judge, an enslaved woman owned by President Washington, who escaped to freedom. Another display refers to US history as being “both admirable and deplorable.” The true history of the United States is one of great accomplishments and disgraceful injustice. As Snyder writes in the introduction to his book, “History does not repeat, but it does instruct.”
The Trump administration wants to celebrate history as fantasy, rather than grapple with the ongoing struggle to be who we say we are as a nation. Activist Danielle Sered says it well: “Sometimes I think of America not as a place or a nation, but a promise.” Cultural critic James Baldwin wrote “American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it.” Poet Langston Hughes simply said: “America was never America to me.”
We can not and should not give into Trump’s wishes for our society just because he orders it or attempts to scare us into submission. We must protest, write editorials, and if necessary, disrupt any attempt to give into make the 250th anniversary just another example of Trump’s Big Lie. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has already challenged Trump’s order, and so can we. In general, we need to take Snyder’s advice: “Don’t obey in advance.” Consider the threat. Consider the cost. Consider your options. Consider who shares your concerns. And like so many others in our society, we may conclude that it is time to push back and resist, rather than give in.
- Timothy Snyder. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. New York: Crown Publishing, 2017
- Fallon Roth. More than a dozen displays in Philly, Including at Washington’s former home, have been flagged for a Trump admin review. The Philadelphia Inquirer. July 28, 2025
- Quoted in Danielle Sered, Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair (New York: The New Press), 2019
- Langston Hughes’ poem “America”