From the Revolutionary War and World Wars I and II to the Great Depression and civil rights battles, this chronicle takes a historical look at how principles such as individual liberty and democratic rule have weathered the last few centuries. The growth of state empowerment and its effect on autonomy and the economy is also discussed.
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About the Author
Arthur A. Ekirch Jr. was a leading scholar of American intellectual history and a professor emeritus of history at the State University of New York–Albany. He is the author of numerous books, including The American Democratic Tradition, The Civilian and the Military, and Man and Nature in America.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Should be Required Reading in American High Schools,
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This review is from: The Decline of American Liberalism (Paperback)
This review is on the 2009 edition, although I did not compare it to the earlier editions of 1955 and 1966. At any rate the ideas are not new, but the events in 2009 where American politicians and the Presidency have taken the United States on a giant leap to the left and collectivism (Socialism, Marxism and big government) have made this book more important than ever.
The gist of the matter is that liberalism as originally defined in the 18th century and earlier meant limited government and a maximum of individual liberty for the population of a country to determine its own and individual way of life. As the author states, the apogee of this movement was reached shortly after the American Revolution and began to decline after the Jefferson Presidency. The publisher of this work, the Independent Institute, has published a number of works from the viewpoint of maximizing individual liberty, most notable Eland's book selecting the best presidents by virtue of their governing least and maximizing individual liberty. In line with this thinking, Presidents like Wilson, Roosevelt and Obama rank among the worst as they increase the size of the Federal Government, reduce individual liberty, and move the country towards collectivism. Today, liberals no longer espouse the liberal philosophy of the 18th century -- libertarians do (as much as possible.) Liberals have sought to maximize social engineering, creating a massive government bureaucracy dedicated to governing the lives of American citizens supposedly for their own good. One of their heroes, Walter Lippmann even adressed the idea that social engineering needed to be extended into procreation in that actions needed to be taken to assure the "best" Americans breed while undesirables do not. Gee, that sounds like Hitler and the SS, but I digress. This is not liberalism -- it is tyranny. Or so the author argues (correctly.) Inherent in this philosophy is the concept that government by definition is the enemy of liberty since to govern means to restrict individual liberty for the collective good -- like requiring all people to drive on the right side of the road. An even better and more contemporary example is political correctness, probably the most heinious and devastating attack on individual liberty in the U.S. since its formation. The author dwells on the curse of slavery and the problem of attempting to build a free society with competing, easily identified, and possibly always antagonistic groups within a country. Ekirch downplays nationalism as a force generally leading to conflict, but within a society, the lack of a single culture, single religion, single language, single race, and single ethnicity also leads to conflicts, sometimes that can be resolved only at great cost. The problem with the concept of liberty, of course, is that a country espousing such a concept is unable to defend itself and its resources against a well-organized tyranny, based on race, religion, national aspirations, or political philosophy. Liberty requires a shield for defense, something that was supplied by a minority of the population in the Revolutionary War and in the War of 1812. I recommend the reader read "The Cousin's Wars" by Kevin Phillips to understand exactly who those defenders were. Unfortunately, that specific ethnic group, the Scotch-Irish, who were the backbone of the Continental Army, have all but disappeared from the U.S. today. Ekirch himself, was not willing to take an active part in World War II, and as history has pointed out, he would not have survived unless there were others who (fortunately for him) were willing to die in his defense. The author takes the Progressives to task for their nationalism and destruction of individual liberty. In this vein he provides some parallelism to Jonah Goldberg's "Liberal Fascism" which makes the case (among others) that liberals are much more dangerous to individual liberty than conservatives. There is also another side point concerning religion where it is doubtful that individuals professing adherence to an authoritative religion with dogma decreed from a supreme authority (such as Roman Catholicism) can ever be a liberal and truly understand freedom. My only criticism is that the author completely misses one of his strongest arguments supporting his thesis with respect to law. The U.S. operates under Common Law -- law based in the people rather than Civil Law emanating from a supreme law-giver, whether King, Pope, Emperor, or other supreme authority. Common Law very actively supports the idea of individual liberty, although it requires a democracy for implementation and administration, but Civil Law is absolutely the antithesis of a legal system under which liberty can flourish. That's why none of the countries of Continental Europe have allowed individual liberty to any degree -- they are all under Civil Law. (Unfortunately our current President is looking to exactly these countries for guidance.) Nor, of course, can we expect Islamic nations to be friendly to liberty. Most disturbing in the U.S. is the fact that a large majority of our lawyers now favor a restructuring of the American legal system from Common Law to Civil Law -- all the better to control the citizenry. Allow me to close this brief review by recommending this book to all readers -- especially those who value individual liberty and freedom. Freedom is under attack as never before from individuals who seek power at the expense of the people, and those losing their liberty need to understand which forces are truly the enemies.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great history of the American ideal,
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This review is from: Decline of American Liberalism (Paperback)
Ekirch tells the history of the liberal ideal in America, from the founding though to the end of the Second World War. Both modern Conservatices and Liberals will find this book fascinating as he traces the ideal of individual liberty, democratic rule and how it has stood up through a revolutionary war, a civil war, two world wars, the depression, and civil rights. The author leaves you holding mixed feelings by the end of the book - you can't help but bemoan the obvious fact that civil liberties have and will probably continue to erode with every new challenge that befalls America, but at the same time the country seems to be blessed with some kind of resiliency that allows itself to weather and at least sustain the endless attack on the individual.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A more insightful retelling of the American historical narrative,
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This review is from: The Decline of American Liberalism (Paperback)
Nobel laureate Gary Becker is known to observe that people have an inherent bias against free markets, because the notion that individuals acting in self-interest often produce better results on behalf of their fellow citizens than public agencies directed by democratically elected officials, however evident, is "just too counter-intuitive." In "The Decline of American Liberalism," Ekirch does for history what Becker and his colleagues have done for economics: provide a robust intellectual defense in favor of liberty.
While this might be considered a fringe interpretation of history, it is by no means hyperbolic, polemic, distorted or reactionary. By all appearances, and judging by the comments of professional historians, it is impeccably researched and largely dispassionate in its portrayal of events and attitudes. It continuously acknowledges the mainstream view, even if only to manifest the naïveté thereof in some cases. In fact, I was tempted to put this book down halfway into it, as it had thus far seemed a rather pedestrian rehash of the usual Jeffersonian vs. Hamiltonian and pro-slavery vs. abolitionist historical narrative that I was taught in school. But that all changes beginning with post Civil War reconstruction. The vast degree to which wealth and privilege then began being permanently transferred from individuals to corporations under the guise of new citizen entitlements (which in many cases merely displaced the jurisdiction of states to administer such entitlements, thereby effectively nullifying the individual's previous right to opt out by relocating) is truly astounding, and almost wholly discounted by mainstream history as I know it. There is still an unacknowledged elephant in the room, however. The role of the 16th amendment (and the questionable circumstances surrounding its ratification) is mostly overlooked, despite the fact that its timing also coincides with the era of most rapid decline. But in all, this is a profound indictment of the current political and socioeconomic situation, of the process through which it came about, and of mainstream histories that unduly defend or excuse both of the former. A conscientious student of American history would do well to give it ample consideration, if only to appreciate the range of valid interpretations.
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