Conservatism in America since 1930: A Reader [Paperback]

Gregory Schneider (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0814797997 | ISBN-13: 978-0814797990 | Publication Date: June 1, 2003

While there have long been libertarians, agrarians, individualists, collectivists, nationalists, and others who fit the contemporary label of “conservative,” no cohesive conservative movement existed prior to World War II. How, then, did conservatism develop into such a powerful American political force?

Tracing the history of conservatism from the concerns and ideas of the Old Right, through the Cold War, the “Gingrich revolution,” and into the present, Conservatism in America Since 1930 gathers a wide range of conservative writings and documents showcasing the development and protean character of the modern conservative intellectual and political movement.

The book includes essays from Russell Kirk, Milton Friedman, F.A. Hayek, William F. Buckley, Jr., Ronald Reagan, and Pat Buchanan, among others, and highlights key debates between the movement’s factions. Along with essays by these canonical conservative figures, the volume also contains excerpts from sources less frequently cited, such as the Twelve Southerners and Seward Collins, as well as documents from conservative organizations and journals. The primary documents are supplemented by introductions which set the historical context and offer illuminating commentary on how conservatism shifted identity over the course of modern American history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Gregory Schneider’s Conservatism in American since 1930 is the best collection of conservative writings available today. Including every major conservative statement worth reading, this is a book that will be read and reread.”
-Donald T. Critchlow,Saint Louis University

“All the greats—Buckley, Hayek, Kirk, Friedman, Reagan—are represented in the fine anthology edited by Gregory L. Schneider, and the gloves occasionally come off”
-National Review

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“An ambitious book, chock-full of the learned and provocative writing that characterized the opposition party all throughout the strife-torn 20th century. It is brutally honest about the movement's current predicament.”
-The American Conservative

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“Liberals and conservatives alike should have no trouble endorsing this anthology from 70 years of the conservative movement in the United States.”
-Library Journal

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“In recent years, historians have discovered just how important an influence conservatism has been in the shaping of modern American culture and politics. Greg Schneider has been in the forefront of that effort, and he now provides us with a fascinating collection of readings that trace the evolution of conservative thought. His thoughtful selection of materials and his instructive commentary bring alive the history of a significant intellectual and political tradition. A first-rate achievement.”
-Robert M. Collins,University of Missouri, Columbia

About the Author

Gregory L. Schneider is Assistant Professor of History at Emporia State University and author of Cadres for Conservatism: Young Americans for Freedom and the Rise of the Contemporary Right from NYU Press.

Product Details

• Paperback: 424 pages
• Publisher: NYU Press (June 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814797997
• ISBN-13: 978-0814797990
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #293,588 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "big tent" in the best and most positive of ways, December 17, 2003

By 

Andrew S. Rogers (Stamford, Connecticut) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Conservatism in America since 1930: A Reader (Paperback)

This is a book that, in my humble opinion, probably should be on the desk of every self-described "conservative" leader and activist across America. It's that useful.

I say "self-described," because one of the key recurring features in American conservative history has been the drive by one brand of "conservatives" to purge another brand from movement or party for not meeting the first brand's standards of "real" conservatism. Not surprisingly, therefore, some folks of one or another stripe might argue with the inclusion of the Buchananites, or the Rothbardians, or the Southern Agrarians, or the neo-cons in a book about "conservatives."

As much as it is a documentary history of modern conservatism, though, this book is a useful reminder of how much the various shoots and branches of conservatism still have in common today. Anyone who has read, for example, Dinesh D'Souza's denunciation of libertarians in "Letters to a Young Conservative" would do well to read Rothbard's pre-emptive (1980) refutation of D'Souza's arguments in "What is Libertarianism?" (pp. 262-273). Similarly, the frequent willingness of some to credit William F. Buckley with "inventing" conservatism in the 1950s should note editor Schneider's deliberate dating of the contents of this volume back to 1930. While the vital contributions of Buckley and the Sharon Conference are not slighted, the roots of modern conservatism in the pre-war Old Right are here given the credit they deserve.

There are many other important contributions here that deserve to be read and understood by conscientious conservatives. F.A. Hayek's 1959 work "Why I am not a Conservative" (pp. 180-194), as one example, is perhaps better known by its title than by the contents of Hayek's actual argument. For while he shows that he is not, in fact, *a* "conservative," he also reveals his devotion to ideals very much in line with tradition and a conservative approach to philosophy and life.

Through it all, insightful essays and introductions by Schneider himself tie the individual readings together thematically, and also present the various themes and movements within the larger context of the history of American conservatism.

On the whole, this volume probably won't resolve the principled differences between, say, Bill Kristol and Sam Francis. But it will help reveal how both men's philosophical stands arise from the same general pool of conservative history. It may not, and perhaps should not, reverse the "conservative crack-up" that has developed in the last years and decades and restore a unified "conservative movement." But it may at least provide a much-needed philosophical and historical context for anyone who uses that much-abused label to describe themselves. And given how few modern conservatives seem to know -- or care -- about their own history, that can only be a good thing.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent collection of the movement's heavy hitters., November 9, 2005

By 

grapabo (Missouri) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conservatism in America since 1930: A Reader (Hardcover)

It may come as a surprise to some critics - at least to those who reduce conservatism to either a form of corporatism or Christian theocracy - that the conservative movement has deep and diverse roots. This book collects some of the writings of the primary movers and discusses the similarities and differences between the ideas of each individual and movement.

This is a collection of political theory, not a history of the politics over this period. However, that doesn't mean the discussion isn't dry or boring. Moreover, this makes it a book that will be useful as a reference guide for longer than most other political books put out for the lay reader.