# Mr. Nathan Gore — Democracy character guide

> Mr. Nathan Gore in Democracy by Henry Adams.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Gore, Gore

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

A celebrated historian and former minister to Madrid, Gore works Washington's drawing rooms for a second diplomatic appointment while hiding a selfish, vain, and thoroughly calculating nature.

## Who they are

Gore's History of Spain in America won him four satisfying years as minister at Madrid, and now, reduced to private life by a change of administration, he is in Washington angling for restoration, backed by the Massachusetts delegation. He is abominably selfish, colossally egoistic, and not a little vain, yet shrewd enough to hold his tongue, flatter dexterously, and eschew satire—except among trusted friends, a confidence Mrs. Lee has not yet earned. His polished self-interest makes him a quiet barometer of how literary reputation and political patronage trade favors in Gilded Age Washington.

## In the story

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/democracy_se/chapters/iv)

Engages in a philosophical debate with Madeleine about democracy, defending it as an inevitable and worthwhile experiment.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/democracy_se/chapters/vi)

Defends Washington's virtue and criticizes Ratcliffe's pragmatic view of politics.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/democracy_se/chapters/vii)

Speaks confidently of having Ratcliffe's support for the Spanish mission.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/democracy_se/chapters/viii)

Bids farewell to Mrs. Lee, disappointed about losing the Spanish mission, criticizes politicians and the President's objections to his overcoat and hair.

### [X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/democracy_se/chapters/x)

Mentioned as having given Madeleine similar advice to leave Washington.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/democracy_se/characters/nathan_gore
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/democracy_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/democracy_se/characters