According to Douglas Challenger, American democracy just survived a near-death experience during the slow-motion coup that was the four years of Donald Trump's presidency. It culminated in his rejecting his electoral loss and pressuring officials and political allies to back his claims that the election was fraudulent and, at the end, inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol in an effort to stay in power. During his time as president, he attacked the press, undermined truth with lies and conspiracy theories, and flouted countless institutional norms such as the peaceful transition of power and the rule of law that American democracy has depended on to function. There are several important causes to the rise of Trump and his base including persistent personal and institutional racism, Christian nationalism, deindustrialization, rising economic inequality, and the inability of governing elites (of either party) during the neoliberal decades since Reagan to adequately address these forces of our collective pain and disintegration. The abandonment of the working and middle classes over the past 40 years has generated a populist anger turned toward government in general. Still, he wants to argue for yet another cause for Trumpism: the lack of effective civic education in the schools and universities. This lack has left many people politically illiterate and open to supporting an authoritarian leader who gives expression to their misdirected rage and nostalgia. Trump would have gone nowhere without his angry, xenophobic, racist, misogynist and politically illiterate base. In the era of rising authoritarianism, civic education and political literacy, especially for future voters, is key to protecting democracy. A renewed commitment to it would help the country repair the divisions in society and help restore a common bond and sense of purpose. The article also highlights how New England institutions are creating and integrating civic education into their curriculums.