The Basic Symbols of the American Political Tradition [Paperback]

Willmoore Kendall (Author), George Wescott Carey (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

The authors' style is compelling, their analysis relentless, the issues paramount and the need great. Every day's newspaper brings more than reason enough to make young and old do some hard and deep thinking about the kind of issues this book raises so provocatively and well. -- The Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

This reprinted classic on political theory challenges core tenets of our political views derived from the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Catholic Univ of Amer Pr; Reprint edition (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813208262
• ISBN-13: 978-0813208268
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,090,911 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Letter from Independence Mall, Phil., PA May 15, 2000

By Paul M. Torres

Format:Paperback

"It's probably the best thing George Carey ever worked on." "It's one of the most important books I ever read." "It changed the way I think about America."

Willmoore Kendall's classic work, The Basic Symbols of the American Political Tradition, provides an understanding which can only be described as refreshing of the political and cultural tradition out of which the Philadelphia Constitution was forged, and The United States of America was founded. Basic Symbols seeks to determine what propositions and ideals America was founded upon, and is thus committed to, and whether these are the ideals currently accepted as true, and often presented as neatly summed up in the Bill of Rights and in that well worn understanding of that passage of the Declaration of Independence: "...all men are created equal... ." Basic Symbols warns that the true tradition may seem anathema to some modern historians and Americans alike who wished it weren't so, but Basic Symbols sets out to present the truth anyway.

This single volume of political science and historical inquiry handily challenges the traditional orthodoxy, or the ignorance, that surrounds the founding in a novel manner: by a close inspection of the facts, and more importantly, the application of the analytical method-the hermeneutic-of Erik Voegelin, to the facts. Kendall's book is almost worth the read just to see the theories and teachings of Erik Voegelin briefly explicated and then put into fruitful action, and if nothing else, Basic Symbols can serve as a spring board for further study not into debates about America's founding, but into the works of this important yet often overlooked historian.

Kendall starts with the Mayflower Compact of (1620), and then examines the General Orders of Connecticut(1638), the Body of Liberties of Massachusetts Bay(1641), the Virginia Declaration of Rights(1776), our own Declaration of Independence(1776), the Constitution(1787-1789) and finally the Bill of Rights(1789). Kendall slowly teases out a common thread--our tradition--that runs its course, unfolds, and develops over this stretch of time and through these early experiences and experiments in self-government on this side of the Atlantic. Basic Symbols also tackles in this time span, and in the history of America since, a problem common to all political traditions: derailment.

Basic Symbols identifies the Gettysburg address as a watershed in the political tradition of America, made possible by a partial derailment in the years preceding the Civil War. Today, the two incompatible traditions are still with us and their friction is at the root of much of our present day political discord; so much so that to ask and seek the answer to the question, "What is the tradition amongst us?" is the very reason why Basic Symbols was written.

Rather than the rights-speak and emphasis upon rights that has grown out of the elevation of the Bill of Rights, and the tortured understanding of 'equality' that has sprung from the Declaration, Basic Symbols instead proffers a formidable, and well supported, alternative; the true tradition amongst us holds (or held) the supremacy of the general political will of the community; the legislature through which this is expressed in a very slow, careful, and deliberative fashion; a virtuous people from which these governing bodies are elected, and the concomitant conviction of a virtuous people in a higher law than that of any secular government.

Basic Symbols notes that any mention of rights, any ethos of equality, etc., are nowhere to be found in our tradition as founding symbols; they were understood as only the possible concerns for the deliberations of a political community after the establishment of its aims and purposes. Thus, they are not the starting points from which the uniquely American order and tradition is defined. This explains why all forms of variants on "the common good," "better ordering...and preservation," were the starting points for, and of paramount importance to, the drafters of everything from the Mayflower Compact to our own Constitution. Kendall does well to further point out why the Bill of Rights was opposed to a man by the framers of the Constitution, lending only more support to his thesis. His analysis of the Declaration and the true meaning of "...all men are created equal..." places the Declaration and the Founding in a whole new light: the light of the American political tradition he identifies which provides a better explication and understanding of these documents, much like a better fitting solution to a puzzle. And this is just to name a few of the most important points. Kendall does well to document and explain the meaning, significance, and importance of all the symbols he identifies as having a place in the American political tradition.

The loss of many of the qualities the framers and the Federalist Papers thought necessary for the preservation of the republic and our liberty can leave some readers of Basic Symbols feeling as though the framers were not as wise as they are often made out to be; perhaps their underlying premises were wrong or have since been perverted, and the American experiment has proven to be a failure.

Maybe you'll disagree with the tradition Kendall portrays, or deem it no longer relevant, but if you do read it, one thing is certain; you will come away from this book as Gary Wills describes how the crowd walked off from the Gettysburg Address: "...under a changed sky, into a different America."

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Profound review of principles that define America June 1, 2011

By Mark E. Baxter VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

First of all, I am not at all fond of the title of this book written in 1970 and reprinted several times since. The title makes you think the book is about flags, eagles, and Uncle Sam pictures (unless you are already grounded in other political science works and vocabulary). Rather the book is about the foundational beliefs of America and the definition of "symbol" is a representation or embodiment. So think of the title as "Foundations of American Political Tradition".

Four chapters of this book are edited political science lectures of Professor Willmoore Kendall and the last four chapters are from the editor, his colleague George Carey, a friend and collaborator.

The thesis of the book is based on the work of Professor Eric Voegelin who wrote a series of texts in the 1950's trying to document and correct the founding American myths or symbols. The thesis, defined, summarized, and explicated by Geroge Carey, is that the original foundations of American Political theory had not only been lost, but had been purposely twisted to justify political beliefs of new generations of intellectuals and politicians.

Voegelin's works, this book and other works by writers along a similar vein like Lutz, Wood, Hyneman, et cetera(not et al), all returned the study of America's political history back to the original documents which in many instances had been long forgotten.

The authors point out that many current political scientists were exactly wrong when they claimed that, for example, loyalty oaths were un-american (they were exceedingly common and written right in the Declaration and Constitution), or that freedom of the press was absolute (common law included many restrictions for nuisance, slander and immoral content). Knowing that these were historically inaccurate positions, the authors resort to original documents and research. One of their stated reasons for the importance of this is that if a people don't have a common set of founding beliefs and purposes, then they will never have a cohesive government. (And who can argue given our current political polarization?)

They choose four documents as the key founding symbols or myths: 1)Declaration of Independence, 2) Constitution, 3) Federalist Papers and 4)The Bill of Rights. The authors point out that modern political thinkers emphasize only a few points like equality (though other than the Declaration, it is in none of the founding documents), and individual rights yet miss completely the common threads running from our government symbols from 1607 on. (I'll list the author's symbols later.)

I found the first chapter excessively vague and was only able to see what the authors were getting at after reading the last summary chapter. Then we get to review documents like the Mayflower Compact, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, and the Massachusetts Body of Liberties(1641). For those unfamiliar with these early American documents, they are the first truly written Constitutions and lists of rights written decades before European philosophers like Locke. These are the sources of American Political Theory and these chapters are fantastic in their originality and scope.

The authors note that religiosity is a major source of American political thought and they show the difference in emphasis on rights today versus 200 year ago when the Constitution authors unanimously voted to NOT have a Bill of Rights. The founders would turn over in their graves to see the courts support pornography and abortion. Virtue was a necessity in a government that became more secular with time since the morals necessary for a free people had to come from other institutions like the church, education, and the press. Loss of morals from these cultural institutions has meant that half of the two main foundational beliefs have been removed from public discourse.

The chapters on the Declaration and Bill of Rights allow the authors to note the equality idea referred to living under a free government but not equality of outcome or even that oft-abused phrase "equality of opportunity". They list several "derailing" ideas including the abuse of the term "equality", starting with Abraham Lincoln in his Gettsyberg Address where he stated (wrongly according to authors) that our nation was "dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal".

I found the last two chapters to be the best and most clearly written. Carey writes a quick summary of our foundational symbols. As Carey notes, "our supreme commitment and symbol has been self-government by a virtuous people." He then summarizes US political history as proposed by Voegelin and the authors in a few pages that I highly recommend starting on page 150.

Briefly, the American people lived originally in that wicked and dark and oppressive place Europe(Egypt in the parallel Mosaic story.) There they suffered tyranny and oppression and above all "were not permitted to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences". Eventually they came to the US and began a covenant government. They discovered that they were free to worship God as they pleased and that they could govern themselves. They made a government that would be decent and orderly and left the rest of the world alone although they considered themselves a light on a hill or and example. They eventually made a government with the following rules: "Thou shalt govern thyselves under God, through the deliberate sense of the community, of the generality of men amongst thee; ... thou shalt try, above all, to be a virtuous people..."

This is a really thought-provoking book though somewhat vague and obscure in parts. Overall, 4 stars.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Letter from Independence Mall, Phil. PA May 8, 2000

By Paul M. Torres

Format:Paperback

"It's probably the best thing George Carey ever worked on." "It's one of the most important books I ever read." "It changed the way I think about America." Willmoore Kendall's classic work, The Basic Symbols of the American Political Tradition, provides an understanding which can only be described as refreshing of the political and cultural tradition out of which the Philadelphia Constitution was forged, and The United States of America was founded. Basic Symbols seeks to determine what propositions and ideals America was founded upon, and is thus committed to, and whether these are the ideals currently accepted as true, and often presented as neatly summed up in the Bill of Rights and in that well worn understanding of that passage of the Declaration of Independence: "all men are created equal... ." Basic Symbols warns that the true tradition may seem anathema to some modern historians and Americans alike who wished it weren't so, but Basic Symbols sets out to present the truth anyway. This single volume of political science and historical inquiry handily challenges the traditional orthodoxy, or the ignorance, that surrounds the founding in a novel manner: by a close inspection of the facts, and more importantly, the application of the analytical method-the hermeneutic-of Erik Voegelin, to the facts. Kendall's book is almost worth the read just to see the theories and teachings of Erik Voegelin briefly explicated and then put into fruitful action, and if nothing else, Basic Symbols can serve as a spring board for further study not into debates about America's founding, but into the works of this important yet often overlooked historian. Kendall starts with the Mayflower Compact of (1620), and then examines the General Orders of Connecticut(1638), the Body of Liberties of Massachusetts Bay(1641), the Virginia Declaration of Rights(1776), our own Declaration of Independence(1776), the Constitution(1787-1789) and finally the Bill of Rights(1789). Kendall slowly teases out a common thread that runs its course, unfolds, and develops over this stretch of time and through these early experiences and experiments in self-government on this side of the Atlantic. Basic Symbols also tackles in this time span, and in the history of America since, a problem common to all political traditions: derailment. Basic Symbols identifies the Gettysburg address as a watershed in the political tradition of America, made possible by a partial derailment in the years preceding the Civil War. Today, the two incompatible traditions are still with us and their friction is at the root of much of our present day political discord; so much so that to ask and seek the answer to the question, "What is the tradition amongst us?" is the very reason why Basic Symbols was written. Rather than the rights-speak and emphasis upon rights that has grown out of the elevation of the Bill of Rights, and the tortured understanding of 'equality' that has sprung from the Declaration, Basic Symbols instead proffers a formidable, and well supported, alternative; the true tradition amongst us holds (or held) the supremacy of the general political will of the community; the legislature through which this is expressed in a very slow, careful, and deliberative fashion; a virtuous people from which these governing bodies are elected, and the concomitant conviction of a virtuous people in a higher law than that of any secular government. Basic Symbols notes that any mention of rights, any ethos of equality, etc., are nowhere to be found in our tradition as founding symbols; they were understood as only the possible concerns for the deliberations of a political community after the establishment of its aims and purposes. Thus, they are not the starting points from which the uniquely American order and tradition is defined. This explains why all forms of variants on "the common good," "better ordering and preservation," were the starting points for, and of paramount importance to, the drafters of everything from the Mayflower Compact to our own Constitution. And this is just to name a few of the most important points. Kendall does well to document and explain the meaning, significance, and importance of all the symbols he identifies as having a place in the American political tradition. The loss of many of the qualities the framers and the Federalist Papers thought necessary for the preservation of the republic and our liberty can leave some readers of Basic Symbols feeling as though the framers were not as wise as they are often made out to be; perhaps their underlying premises were wrong or have since been perverted, and the American experiment has proven to be a failure. Maybe you'll disagree with the tradition Kendall portrays, or deem it no longer relevant, but if you do read it, one thing is certain; you will come away from this book as Gary Wills describes how the crowd walked off from the Gettysburg Address: "...under a changed sky, into a different America."