THE BREAKING POINT
America’s History of Civil Unrest, Political Violence, and Government Force
America does not suddenly reach its breaking point. The pressure builds.
Through injustice. Institutional failure. Political anger. Public fear. Government force. And the growing belief that peaceful remedies are no longer enough.
THE BREAKING POINT: America’s History of Civil Unrest, Political Violence, and Government Force examines the confrontations that have scarred modern America—and the forces that pushed ordinary citizens, political movements, extremists, and government institutions toward violence.
From the urban unrest of the 1960s and Watts, Kent State, and Attica, through Ruby Ridge, Waco, the Oklahoma City bombing, the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Ferguson, the unrest following George Floyd’s death, and January 6, this book traces decades of conflict between Americans, their government, and one another.
But the story does not end with riots and mass demonstrations.
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199 pagesPublished 2026-09-07
Inside the Book — A Preview
America does not suddenly reach its breaking point. The pressure builds.
Through injustice. Institutional failure. Political anger. Public fear. Government force. And the growing belief that peaceful remedies are no longer enough.
From the urban unrest of the 1960s — Watts, Kent State, and Attica — through Ruby Ridge, Waco, the Oklahoma City bombing, the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Ferguson, the unrest following George Floyd's death, and January 6, The Breaking Point traces decades of conflict between Americans, their government, and one another — and the forces that pushed ordinary citizens, political movements, extremists, and government institutions toward violence.