The Plot Against America

Six months after Lindbergh’s inauguration, Philip’s family goes to Washington, DC, on a sightseeing tour. Some of their friends are talking about migrating out of the country. Alvin has gone to Canada to enlist in the military to fight against Hitler with the British. 

Philip gives Alvin’s background. His father died when Alvin was 6, and his mother when Alvin was 13, after which Alvin came to live with the Roths. At age 21, he had worked for Abe Steinheim, a wealthy construction magnate who made Alvin his driver. Philip says that “Alvin couldn’t bear Steinheim and reviled him constantly,” (47) adding he was a bully and a swindler and neglectful and cruel to his family. He cheats his employees of decent wages and uses his influence to cut in line at restaurants: “He is a walking advertisement for the overthrow of capitalism” (49), says Alvin. Abe had planned on sending Alvin to Rutgers, but Alvin enlisted instead, which infuriates Philip’s father. Alvin wants to fight Hitler instead of supporting a corrupt Jew like Steinheim, whom he refuses to be indebted to. 

Lindbergh wins the election, with 57% of the popular vote: “It turned out, the experts concluded, that twentieth-century Americans, weary of confronting a new crisis every decade, were starving for normalcy, and what Charles A. Lindbergh represented was normalcy raised to heroic proportions” (53). Lindbergh travels to Iceland to meet with Hitler, then signs an accord guaranteeing peaceful relations between Germany and the United States. When he returns, he makes a national address and states, “It is now guaranteed that this great country will take no part in the war in Europe” (54). He also recommits to continuing to build America’s military might, particularly in the realm of rocket technology. Ten days later, a similar accord is signed with Prince Konoye of Japan. 

Philip takes his stamp album with him to Washington because he is afraid that “a malignant transformation would occur in [his] absence” (57). He remembers his nightmare and feels guilty for not removing the Lindbergh stamp from his collection. 

The family arrives at a Washington, DC hotel in the early afternoon. A man named Taylor approaches them outside and offers his services as driver and tour guide for $9 per day, then agrees to $7. As he drives them, Taylor tells them stories about the great presidents. When Hermann says that he would include FDR in the list, Taylor says nothing. At the Washington Monument, Philip’s mother asks him to stop talking critically about Lindbergh. She says they don’t know Taylor. Herman says, “You’re telling me to keep my thoughts to myself as if the Washington Monument is situated in Berlin” (62). At the Lincoln Memorial, Herman overhears a woman comparing Lincoln to Lindbergh. Herman moans and the woman notices. A young, strong man intervenes and walks away with the woman; Philip hears the man call his father a “loudmouth Jew” (65). 

Herman is furious. He points to the monument after the woman leaves; “[a]ll men are created equal” (65) he says, reading the quote. They ask Taylor to take them back to the hotel. Before they leave, Philip says it’s impossible to feel patriotic at that moment, even in those surroundings. When they get back to the hotel, their suitcases are in the lobby. The manager tells them there has been a mistake and returns their deposit. Their vacancy is gone and they cannot stay there. He says he will have to call the police if they resist. Taylor hurries outside with their bags while the manager makes the phone call. Taylor comes back and tells Philip that he has phoned for another hotel and that they need to leave quickly. The policeman is unsympathetic when he arrives. He tells Herman that “not all reservations are created equal” (70). Outside, Taylor tells him that the hotel is under new management and takes them to another hotel called the Evergreen. 

In the morning, Taylor continues their tour and takes them to Mount Vernon. Before they leave, a small plane crosses the sky and people cheer. It is Lindbergh. The Mount Vernon tour is the most enjoyable part of the trip, and Taylor is a wealth of knowledge. When they return, they see the plane again, but this time someone shouts that it is not Lindbergh flying it, but his wife. The people cheer again. Philip says the outing was then ruined because of “what the stunt, as my father called it, inspired in everyone but us” (76). Later, after getting home, he will tell others that “[t]hey live in a dream, and we live in a nightmare” (76). 

That evening, Herman convinces Taylor to eat with them in a restaurant. He tries to explain his feelings towards Lindbergh, and tells Taylor that they are Jews. He is explaining an argument of Winchell’s when a man approaches and says that “Winchell is a Jew in the pay of the British government” (77). He refers to Winchell as a “loudmouth Jew” (78)—the second time they have heard the insult in two days. Taylor jumps to his feet and tells the man that enough is enough. Two men behind the counter take the man and pull him back to his own table. The owner tells the Roths that they can have all the dessert and coffee they want for free. As their dinner ends, they overhear the man saying that “[t]he Jews will find out soon enough” (79). To Philip, it feels like everyone in the restaurant turns to look at them.