Republic Of Drivers Summary

Book Review of

Cotten Seiler, Republic of Drivers: A Cultural History of Automobility in America (University of Chicago Press, 2008).

In his book, Republic of Drivers, Cotton Seiler’s thesis is how for better and worse the interstates have changed our lives (Seiler 1). Talk about how the interstates built or ruined the nations. It essential questions are cultural, philosophical, and political, not automotive nor technological nor even psychological, narrowly defined. Cotton examine how driving a car or private vehicle has come to be part of modern American identity. It a well-known fact in Americans, unless you live in big city like New York or Chicago, or are too poor to afford a vehicle are connect to their cars. Seiler had little of research,

however, has followed the cultural changing the direct and has used critical theory and authors have come from a basic of labor history, business background and transport background.
Clearly all of this stands are well aware of the impact of the cultural approach, but they want another tool in their research and writing rather than as the essential and underlying basic from which to argue. Seiler had two different narrative that he was trying to show. The first one was him stating that the book was questions the cultural, philosophical and political, not automotive nor technological, nor even psychological, narrowly defined (Seiler 2). What this means, he wants to test how driving has made Americans feel, think and act to describe the subjectivity- simply put, the way of being in and perceiving the world around us- organized and reinforced by driving (Seiler3). Driving now has become so important for American transportation. They need this because it gets them place faster. Even the cover of the book shows us that we are getting behind the wheel and seeing what happens as a driver. Seiler make his case by selecting two period of automotive background to do analysis on, the pioneer years from 1895 through 1920s and the post war boom years which was the 1950s. The two years both saw the increase of cars sales and the creation of highways. Seiler explains that the begin of 1895 saw the approval or more likely of how driving was going to be how people went places. It was establishing how people are were going to community. His opinion is that mass automobility had come in around the 1902 because the car was going to change Americans. In the age of consumer, the automobile had the capacity to give American drivers this free men, this independence, this being in the largest possible degree completely master of one’s self, constitutes one of the greatest charms of country travel by automobile (Seiler 43). These features created the automobility as a public good and make sure that the growth of a complex structure surround system. Driving a car gave first white middle class and working people social authority in country of economic lavishness. They had the freedom to choose from a range of consumer product and labels. Driving also gave freedom even though it was control by traffic regulations and laws. This also gave women potential of freedom and was also help get out more. Going into the 1945-1950s, Seiler expands his thesis about the automotive industry and self-reliance (Seiler 42). The car registrations rose from 40 million to 62 million and there was one automobile for every three persons.
To keep up with the large number of vehicles that were being made, the government made building of interstate highway network, not only a modern route for mobility, but also a convenient route. Seiler thought that the massive payoff and merger of new level of automobility can be observed as American reply to the cold war problem between the democracy and communism. The problem between the two opposed political ideologies; the united states was planning on give freedom of the individual while the Soviet Union was based on collective will. The European countries tested with socialism to see if it would work. The foreign policy architects of the Truman and Eisenhower administrations were convinced that the outcome of the cold war depended upon the vitality of American individualist virtue (Seiler 70). The creation of interstate system was not the result of cold war, but it was important part of it. Driving on the highways could help Americans hide from the soviets. The act of driving became, in this historical context, a sort of palliative ideological exercise that was seen to reverse, or at least to arrest, the post war “decline of the individual” and the deterioration of “American character” of a heroic and expansionist past (Seiler 72). There was a principle of freedom on the road which neutralize management.
Comparing the thesis of Republic of Drivers with the textbook by James Oakes, Of the people (concise 2nd edition, 2013), they both talk about African American and women rights. In Seiler book, he talks about black American equal automobility by spending a chapter to testing the risks, hazards and pleasure of black American when driving and owning a vehicle. Discrimination, violence and threatening parallel to with bigger access to both cars and the roads, especially in American south. Seiler did not alone talk about how it changes for African American but also with women. Women on the other hand was not offer the type of class because driving was understood as a male active even though the large number of female drive was increase. It was thought that suburban women might need the vehicle to run modern household items, but they were believed to be only weak drivers. Women back then were not taken serious as driver even though women were more safe driver; people still thought that driving was a mean of men expressing themselves as tough characters. Both books talk about how women were not treated the same as men did. They were not giving women equal rights. Republic of Drivers is a history of important aspect of American idea and culture belief. They focus on the driving of African American and women rights in automobility while the of the people focus on how they got these right and the work that had to be put to get there.
One can also compare Seiler’s thesis with what articles have to say on Millennials and their automobility.

In a 2013 Huffington Post article entitled “Millennials Would Rather Ditch Car Than Smartphone Or computer,” Tyler Kingkade writes, “Every other age group in the survey said losing their car would have the greatest negative impact on their life, expect millennials”. This different then what Seiler said because millennials are saying that they could not live without their smartphone while Seiler argues that cars are the most important things to people. The ways that the article and Seiler are similar is that the other ages said that they could not live without a vehicle. Similarly, in a 2016 Christian science monitor article entitle “Why are millennials forgoing driving?” Christina Beck writes, you still have people passionate about driving. But you have more people now who are frustrated with driving and have options that didn’t exist in the

past.
Seiler’s intended audience for his Republic of Drivers is for anyone researching automotive history and may want to get history of it would most benefit from reading this book.

Reader need to be familiar with the information because it hard to understand. Personally, for me it was harder to read than any other book I read. Readers need to be fully with both theory and all the information drawn from different rules that they need to follow in order to engage the whole with the narrative. This book discuss how Americans love for cars and how automobile used to be an important part of American identity. People who live outside the country may want to read this because it shows how cars became a big trend in American history. To assist, his readers, Seiler includes the following aid in his book: Index, pictures, timelines. Seiler include pictures in the book by having on page 53 showing women driving cars and making the automobile a fashion accessory in the late 1890. He also includes timelines, for example “A 1936 driving manual packer quotes affirms driving as training for citizenship: “learning to drive must be closely connect with learning to live… you cannot teach people to be good driver must be closely connected with learning to live …... You cannot teach people to be good drivers without teaching them the same kind of things that make them good citizens” (Seiler 67). In each time, he would talk about specific time event for that specific time. Lastly, he also has an

index in the back of the book it goes from page 217 to 230.
This book is recommended reading for anyone into history of cars. It more complex history. Also, it harder to understand so it would be more beneficial for people who are really into reading. It for history teacher who want student to understand American love for cars and how automobile use became so important to American identity. This book is for people who want to know the automotive history and well become a major part for the history studies for student who are going to be getting experience of history of cars.