Whistleblowers: Honesty in America from Washington to Trump

A “brisk and interesting” exploration of exposing misconduct in America—from the Revolutionary War era to the Trump years (Jill Lepore, The New Yorker).

PROSE Award winner in the Government, Policy and Politics category

Misconduct by those in high places is always dangerous to reveal. Whistleblowers thus face conflicting impulses: by challenging and exposing transgressions by the powerful, they perform a vital public service—yet they always suffer for it. This episodic history brings to light how whistleblowing, an important but unrecognized cousin of civil disobedience, has held powerful elites accountable in America.

Analyzing a range of whistleblowing episodes, from the corrupt Revolutionary War commodore Esek Hopkins (whose dismissal led in 1778 to the first whistleblower protection law) to Edward Snowden, to the dishonesty of Donald Trump, Allison Stanger reveals the centrality of whistleblowing to the health of American democracy. She also shows that with changing technology and increasing militarization, the exposure of misconduct has grown more difficult to do and more personally costly for those who do it—yet American freedom, especially today, depends on it.

“A stunningly original, deeply insightful, and compelling analysis of the profound conflicts we have faced over whistleblowing, national security, and democracy from our nation's founding to the Age of Trump.” —Geoffrey R. Stone, award–awinning author of Perilous Times

“This clear-eyed, sobering book narrates a history of whistle-blowing, from the American Revolution to Snowden to Comey, and delivers the verdict that the republic is at risk—a must read.” —Danielle Allen, award-winning author of Our Declaration

© 2019 Yale University Press (Ebook): 9780300189568

Release date

Ebook: 24 September 2019