In America we tend to have a view of our politics as exceptional — and specifically, impervious to authoritarian takeover. We think of ourselves as the democratic shining city on a hill (even Reaganites!) that will act as a beacon to other nations, steadily rolling back despotism and dictatorship around the world.

It hasn’t quite happened that way — and indeed, we’ve proven quite volatile here at home over the question of small “d” democratic vs. authoritarian rule. We have had authoritarian presidents in our history: Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, John Adams, George W. Bush, Woodrow Wilson, Richard Nixon, Donald Trump, etc. We’ve had authoritarian social movements like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), neo-Nazis, Christian Identity, Army of God, “Patriot” movement, white power, militia movements and others who did not subscribe to the idea of refraining from the use of political violence to “solve” problems.

In reality, we’ve long had a dance between democratic ideals and reactionary authoritarianism in the United States since our founding, and even before. We don’t seem to collectively know this history quite well enough though, it seems — because it still always feels surprising. There was collective shock at the advent of Trump, even though in many ways he was simply the apotheosis of a right-wing sprint to the Dark Side that began as a backlash to the peace, love, and dope of the 1960s. The events of the January 6 coup attempt certainly caught a lot of people by surprise.

Here’s a lookback at the interplay of these two major thematic arcs in America history. This timeline is a work in progress that will grow over time.