The American Political Tradition: And the Men Who Made It

by Richard Hofstadter

Book Overview

The American Political Tradition is one of the most influential and widely read historical volumes of our time. First published in 1948, its elegance, passion, and iconoclastic erudition laid the groundwork for a totally new understanding of the American past. By writing a kind of intellectual history of the assumptions behind American politics, Richard Hofstadter changed the way Americans understand the relationship between power and ideas...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679723153
• ISBN13: 9780679723158
• Release Date: April 1989
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 560 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

A delightful romp, wonderfully illustrated in full color.

Award-winning children's author Geraldine McCaughrean presents Blue Moon Mountain, a fantastic children's picturebook about a special young girl who discovers the hidden land where mythological creatures dwell. The Wyvern, the Sphinx, the Roc, the Giant from Jack and the Beanstalk, and many more were unfairly depicted as villains in the fairy tales about them; they needed a place to live, and that place was the magical land of Blue Moon Mountain. For only once in years does a white moon path open and show the way to the mysterious land; young Joy, born during a blue moon, has the opportunity to travel there herself and meet the all the fabulous creatures, including the legendary unicorn, who misses his chance to return to Blue Moon Mountain and lives in a stable near Joy while waiting for the next blue moon. A delightful romp, wonderfully illustrated in full color.

Quite possibly the best children's book in the world.

I have owned this book since, it would seem, forever (I'm 14 years old now), and I am still not tired of it. I have slept facing the window and listened for the owl's roar ever since I read it for the first time. The index of mythical creatures in the back got me interested in mythology, which remains a fascination. I highly reccomend it to anyone, especially to oddling quiet children and to people who can read out loud with a wondrous voice.

A Political Milestone

"American Political Tradition" became an immediate milestone in the field of American political study, propelling author Richard Hofstadter to the frontal ranks of historians at the age of 32 upon its publication in 1948. The history professor at Columbia University would ultimately win 2 Pulitzer Prizes before dying at the age of 54 in 1970.The point Hofstadter consistently made is how important pragmatic considerations were in the evolution of the great political shakers and movers of American political annals. He rejects the view of historian Charles Beard and others about the impact of economic determinism in the foundation and shaping of early America. Hofstadter does not discount its impact, but cites the pragmatic necessity of studious compromise involving the interests of important American sociological groups which were often disparate, such as the manufacturing interests of the north and the rural farming interests of the south, as well as slavery and anti-slavery interests. The need for compromise influenced Thomas Jefferson in constructing a U.S. Constitution, which relied on the separation powers doctrine of English philosopher John Locke and that of separation of powers advanced by French social scientist Montesquieu.The chapter on Franklin Delano Roosevelt is fascinating as a study in political pragmatism. Roosevelt ran on a Democratic Party platform for 1932 which rivals one of the most conservative doctrines ever put on paper by an American political party. He initially criticized incumbent President Herbert Hoover for spending too much money in dealing with the Depression and its related effects. Once in office he changed his mind and forged a government activist agenda embraced by progressive reformers.Abraham Lincoln is studied in detail as well within the framework of a very astute political figure with his eye squarely on success in that arena from the beginning, where the "railsplitter" image played well with voters. He purposely straddled the fence on the slavery issue since there was much controversy surrounding the issue even within the fledgling Republican Party which he joined after the Whig Party folded, despite its reputation for being an essentially anti-slavery party.Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson are evaluated as two important political figures who perpetually juggled conservative basic instincts against the need they believed existed for certain progressive systemic reforms. For Roosevelt this meant anti-trust legislation and conservation, while Wilson, whose traditional Virginia conservative roots left him unwilling to budge in the field of race relations, nonetheless undertook mighty electoral reforms embraced by William Jennings Bryan and the populist movement. Bryan is another figure covered in the book. The chapter of Herbert Hoover is also fascinating. Hofstadter envisioned him as the last of the laissez-faire American presidents. In the wake of the great upheavals occurring in America,

Social history at it's best

This wonderful book fills a hole in American history that's been open too long. Instead of treating great figures as saints or unapproachable geniuses Hofstadter gives a realistic picture of what they believed and what they stood for. More than that he points to the philosophic and cultural continuity that these figures embodied, struggled with, and sometimes redefined. It's as much about how the greater American view on work and indivdualism evolved from the founding as about the men who made it. Also, kind of inadvertantly, the author weaves in a history of the American liberal idea and how Jeffersonian liberalism stressing free markets, small business, and individualism, was transformed into New Deal liberalism. He argues that the transformation wasn't a betrayal but was instead a development based on necessary responses to an economically and socially changing world. Enjoy!

An interesting & in depth view of America's Past

I am a high school US History AP student and for me this book has become an integral part of my study. It eloquently sets forth a variation of America's history that makes it ideal for filling in the gaps that our text leaves. This is an excellent book and a necessity for every US History Student.