The language of each era. Counted, not interpreted.
How often twenty-four words and phrases appeared in American English books, year by year. A rise means a word was printed more, by supporters, opponents and historians alike. It is a measure of attention, not of sentiment.
Ideologies
Founding ideas
Rights
Emergency and security
Choose up to three terms to compare.
- nationalism
- fascism
- democracy
| Year | nationalism | fascism | democracy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1790 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5.4 |
| 1800 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.4 |
| 1810 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3.3 |
| 1820 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 2.1 |
| 1830 | 0.03 | 0.10 | 3.3 |
| 1840 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 10 |
| 1850 | 0.03 | 0.00 | 10 |
| 1860 | 0.06 | 0.00 | 9.2 |
| 1870 | 0.06 | 0.00 | 4.9 |
| 1880 | 0.07 | 0.00 | 4.4 |
| 1890 | 0.77 | 0.02 | 4.9 |
| 1900 | 0.19 | 0.01 | 6.2 |
| 1910 | 0.41 | 0.01 | 6.3 |
| 1920 | 1.2 | 0.04 | 18 |
| 1930 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 8.9 |
| 1940 | 2.7 | 5.1 | 32 |
| 1950 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 20 |
| 1960 | 4.1 | 1.2 | 14 |
| 1970 | 5.9 | 2.7 | 16 |
| 1980 | 4.0 | 1.7 | 11 |
| 1990 | 4.3 | 1.3 | 18 |
| 2000 | 6.1 | 1.7 | 20 |
| 2010 | 7.0 | 1.9 | 27 |
| 2020 | 10 | 3.2 | 34 |
When each term peaked. Five-year average.
The year each term was printed most often between 1789 and 2022, and the era it fell in.
Ideologies
- nationalism
- 2022 The recent era
- fascism
- 1937 The interwar years and the New Deal
- communism
- 1962 Civil rights and Vietnam
- totalitarianism
- 2022 The recent era
- authoritarianism
- 2022 The recent era
- populism
- 2022 The recent era
- isolationism
- 1944 World War II
Founding ideas
- constitution
- 1860 Sectional crisis and Civil War
- liberty
- 1795 The founding
- democracy
- 2022 The recent era
- tyranny
- 1793 The founding
- rule of law
- 2022 The recent era
- patriotism
- 1814 The early republic
Rights
- civil liberties
- 2006 After September 11
- civil rights
- 2001 After September 11
- due process
- 1834 The early republic
- free speech
- 2021 The recent era
- equal protection
- 1834 The early republic
- suffrage
- 1868 Reconstruction
- segregation
- 2022 The recent era
Emergency and security
- habeas corpus
- 1863 Sectional crisis and Civil War
- martial law
- 1863 Sectional crisis and Civil War
- unconstitutional
- 1832 The early republic
- national security
- 2008 After September 11
How to read it. And how not to.
It counts words, not opinions. A book warning against fascism and a book advocating it both count the same. Constilumen does not score sentiment, because automated sentiment scoring is unreliable on historical text and would put a judgment on the chart.
Meanings drift. “Liberty” in 1800 and “liberty” in 2000 are the same letters with different associations. The chart cannot see that.
The corpus is books. It reflects what was published and digitized, which over-represents some voices and periods. Newspapers, speech and private writing are not included.
The record ends in 2022. That is the last year the source publishes. Constilumen will not extend it with estimates.
The full method is on the Methodology page.
Words beside events. On the timeline.
Add any of these terms as a lane under the decisions and laws of the same years.