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Republic of Drivers: A Cultural History of Automobility in America
Rising gas prices, sprawl and congestion, global warming, even obesity—driving is a factor in many of the most contentious issues of our time. So how did we get here? How did automobile use become so vital to the identity of Americans? Republic of Drivers looks back at the period between 1895 and 1961—from the founding of the first automobile factory in America to the creation of the Interstate Highway System—to find out how driving evolved into a crucial symbol of freedom and agency.
Cotten Seiler combs through a vast number of historical, social scientific, philosophical, and literary sources to illustrate the importance of driving to modern American conceptions of the self and the social and political order. He finds that as the figure of the driver blurred into the figure of the citizen, automobility became a powerful resource for women, African Americans, and others seeking entry into the public sphere. And yet, he argues, the individualistic but anonymous act of driving has also monopolized our thinking about freedom and democracy, discouraging the crafting of a more sustainable way of life. As our fantasies of the open road turn into fears of a looming energy crisis, Seiler shows us just how we ended up a republic of drivers—and where we might be headed.
Cotten Seiler combs through a vast number of historical, social scientific, philosophical, and literary sources to illustrate the importance of driving to modern American conceptions of the self and the social and political order. He finds that as the figure of the driver blurred into the figure of the citizen, automobility became a powerful resource for women, African Americans, and others seeking entry into the public sphere. And yet, he argues, the individualistic but anonymous act of driving has also monopolized our thinking about freedom and democracy, discouraging the crafting of a more sustainable way of life. As our fantasies of the open road turn into fears of a looming energy crisis, Seiler shows us just how we ended up a republic of drivers—and where we might be headed.
230 pages, Paperback
First published December 15, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 11, 2015
A cultural history of not the car nor the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, Republic of Drivers employs poststructuralism (and a hefty truckload of jargon) to historicize “automobility,” that is, the heterogeneous sum of all things driving (cars, roads, fuel, signage, the auto industry, traffic law, licensing requirements, etc.) and how they shape and inform what Seiler considers distinctly “American” understandings of the self.
Seiler focuses his study on two historical time periods when American ideas of individualism, modernity, and freedom were significantly challenged. First, 1895-1920, when the proprietary capitalism of autonomous farmers and craftsman was replaced by the corporate capitalism of the disempowered and Taylorized factory worker, whose only solace lay in the newfound consumer culture. Second, the 1950s, when cold war anxieties threatened American ideas of freedom, individualism, and masculinized strength. In both time periods, automobility provided a means for locating the free and modern self, while at the same time, extending and naturalizing the power and control of governing bodies.
In his second chapter, where he addresses women, femininity, and driving, and his fourth chapter, in which he addresses African American mobility, Seiler addresses how the promises embodied within driving (promises that conjured a modern adaptation of Turner’s frontier thesis) were largely limited to white men, an arrangement that in and of itself also threatened “Freedom.”
Seiler focuses his study on two historical time periods when American ideas of individualism, modernity, and freedom were significantly challenged. First, 1895-1920, when the proprietary capitalism of autonomous farmers and craftsman was replaced by the corporate capitalism of the disempowered and Taylorized factory worker, whose only solace lay in the newfound consumer culture. Second, the 1950s, when cold war anxieties threatened American ideas of freedom, individualism, and masculinized strength. In both time periods, automobility provided a means for locating the free and modern self, while at the same time, extending and naturalizing the power and control of governing bodies.
In his second chapter, where he addresses women, femininity, and driving, and his fourth chapter, in which he addresses African American mobility, Seiler addresses how the promises embodied within driving (promises that conjured a modern adaptation of Turner’s frontier thesis) were largely limited to white men, an arrangement that in and of itself also threatened “Freedom.”
September 29, 2014
Interesting and important topic matter, dry read. If you can make it past the first chapter, it gets better.
September 12, 2025
I have been wanting to write a book or do this research on the insanity of car culture in America. I’m in undergrad and in no way am an expert but would love to continue researching these things, especially after experiencing culture of another country and cities that were not built around cars. Wished it was more critical but takes an objectively good and balanced historical inquiry of this subject
April 9, 2022
Read for history course
December 11, 2025
Buen libro sobre historia d coches y carreteras en USA. Me’n vaig a esmorzar!
April 1, 2014
Charles Exner
Reflection 3
April 1 2013
Summary and Analysis
The third text for the class, Cotton Seiler’s Republic of Driver, is a look at the way in which automobiles and American culture have interacted since their introduction. The book begins with a lengthy academic discussion about the terminology used by Seiler which is helpful. The later chapters of the book deal with “individualism.” The first chapter discusses the beginnings of individualism in the United States and the later chapters focus on how woman and African-Americans used automobiles to achieve their own “individuality” and the roadblocks that stood in the way of that achievement. The chapters have advertisements of the era being discussed to add a helpful frame of reference, and most statements are cited, with more than adequate notes at the end.
This book is an approachable read; Seiler is not confined to academic circles for his audience. The audience could consist of anyone interested in infrastructure, transportation, or American culture. Because of his even-handed description of cars and their effects on society, I think that automobile enthusiasts would like this as well (not true for Fighting Traffic). Anyone interested in social justice, marketing, or marketing towards minority groups/women would also find this book of interest.
The epilogue is a bit incongruent with the rest of the book. As I mentioned, the book is by and large even-handed, but the author gives his own value judgments in the end. He leads us to ask ourselves, “knowing more about ‘individualism’ and what brought it about, is it really a good thing? Will that philosophy disappear along with the car? What effects will the automobile have in more collectivist cultures?” These questions are all important and, similarly to my reaction to Fighting Traffic, “individualism” is not something that I have looked at in any historical context and so I am appreciative.
Evaluation
This book is very informative, but a bit too dry to be persuasive. Apart from the chapter on Taylorization, it’s not too clear what Seiler’s opinion of individualism is. He does state on the back cover that the intention is more informative and is very successful in that regard. I found the second half of the second chapter to be the most educational. I have often wondered why automobiles were originally a man’s toy, so the parallel of women taking care of horses and men taking care of wagons makes sense.
Later on, the discussion of the Green Book and of the interstates as a color-blind is interesting. On the interstate, the driver becomes the automobile, which is the reason why racism isn’t encountered. The expansion of this anonymous space helped to speed up the demise of Jim Crow in the South. Bable to openly and freely travel down the interstate is something that I have always taken for granted, because of my heritage, so I never thought of what it might mean to someone whose grandparents were not free to go where they pleased. Once again, a connection I never would have made. Much of the rest of that chapter assumed a certain level of political theory background or political theory history background that I sadly lack, but this is a book that I will likely revisit in the future.
Synthesis
This quick read is a great complement to Fighting Traffic. While Fighting Traffic details mainly how the lay of the land was shaped by and for automobiles, Republic of Drivers looks at how the American mindset was shaped by and for automobiles. It looks at the historical prerogative for embracing the automobile as carelessly as we did, and it really does make sense in that context. Seiler takes a less critical look at motordom than Norton, so it is a good idea to read Fighting Traffic first. It also covers a much more abstract facet of automobiles and transportation than the other text and more so than most of our guest speakers, too.
The text seems to be a jumping-off place more than anything. It goes over very specific ways in which the automobile has changed our cultural psyche and a more general overview would be nice, as well as one which doesn’t assume as much background knowledge on the Taylor-period. I now have a greater desire to look at the dawn of industrial age or of Capitalism itself to provide some background knowledge on the dawn of the motor age. The problem is, the further back you go, the more history you’re expected to know—it’s as if you have to start with the Egyptians’ attitudes towards chariots to understand American attitudes towards cars!
Reflection 3
April 1 2013
Summary and Analysis
The third text for the class, Cotton Seiler’s Republic of Driver, is a look at the way in which automobiles and American culture have interacted since their introduction. The book begins with a lengthy academic discussion about the terminology used by Seiler which is helpful. The later chapters of the book deal with “individualism.” The first chapter discusses the beginnings of individualism in the United States and the later chapters focus on how woman and African-Americans used automobiles to achieve their own “individuality” and the roadblocks that stood in the way of that achievement. The chapters have advertisements of the era being discussed to add a helpful frame of reference, and most statements are cited, with more than adequate notes at the end.
This book is an approachable read; Seiler is not confined to academic circles for his audience. The audience could consist of anyone interested in infrastructure, transportation, or American culture. Because of his even-handed description of cars and their effects on society, I think that automobile enthusiasts would like this as well (not true for Fighting Traffic). Anyone interested in social justice, marketing, or marketing towards minority groups/women would also find this book of interest.
The epilogue is a bit incongruent with the rest of the book. As I mentioned, the book is by and large even-handed, but the author gives his own value judgments in the end. He leads us to ask ourselves, “knowing more about ‘individualism’ and what brought it about, is it really a good thing? Will that philosophy disappear along with the car? What effects will the automobile have in more collectivist cultures?” These questions are all important and, similarly to my reaction to Fighting Traffic, “individualism” is not something that I have looked at in any historical context and so I am appreciative.
Evaluation
This book is very informative, but a bit too dry to be persuasive. Apart from the chapter on Taylorization, it’s not too clear what Seiler’s opinion of individualism is. He does state on the back cover that the intention is more informative and is very successful in that regard. I found the second half of the second chapter to be the most educational. I have often wondered why automobiles were originally a man’s toy, so the parallel of women taking care of horses and men taking care of wagons makes sense.
Later on, the discussion of the Green Book and of the interstates as a color-blind is interesting. On the interstate, the driver becomes the automobile, which is the reason why racism isn’t encountered. The expansion of this anonymous space helped to speed up the demise of Jim Crow in the South. Bable to openly and freely travel down the interstate is something that I have always taken for granted, because of my heritage, so I never thought of what it might mean to someone whose grandparents were not free to go where they pleased. Once again, a connection I never would have made. Much of the rest of that chapter assumed a certain level of political theory background or political theory history background that I sadly lack, but this is a book that I will likely revisit in the future.
Synthesis
This quick read is a great complement to Fighting Traffic. While Fighting Traffic details mainly how the lay of the land was shaped by and for automobiles, Republic of Drivers looks at how the American mindset was shaped by and for automobiles. It looks at the historical prerogative for embracing the automobile as carelessly as we did, and it really does make sense in that context. Seiler takes a less critical look at motordom than Norton, so it is a good idea to read Fighting Traffic first. It also covers a much more abstract facet of automobiles and transportation than the other text and more so than most of our guest speakers, too.
The text seems to be a jumping-off place more than anything. It goes over very specific ways in which the automobile has changed our cultural psyche and a more general overview would be nice, as well as one which doesn’t assume as much background knowledge on the Taylor-period. I now have a greater desire to look at the dawn of industrial age or of Capitalism itself to provide some background knowledge on the dawn of the motor age. The problem is, the further back you go, the more history you’re expected to know—it’s as if you have to start with the Egyptians’ attitudes towards chariots to understand American attitudes towards cars!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews