John Randolph of Roanoke [Hardcover]

Russell Kirk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0865971498 | ISBN-13: 978-0865971493 | Edition: Fourth Edition

Modern Political Philosophy

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Russell Kirk (1918-1994) was the author of some thirty books, including "The Conservative Mind", and was one of the seminal political thinkers of the twentieth century.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 594 pages
• Publisher: Liberty Fund; Fourth Edition edition (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865971498
• ISBN-13: 978-0865971493
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,771,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of America's great characters!, July 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: John Randolph of Roanoke (Paperback)

John Randolph of Roanoke, a distant cousin of Thomas Jefferson (whose mother was a Randolph), cut one of the outstanding figures in American politics in the first third of the nineteenth century. Virtually nothing in his life was uninteresting. From leader of the Republican Party in the House in Jefferson's first term as president, Randolph went to leader of a new opposition party after his notorious break with Jefferson. Later, his famous speaking style (the speeches here are worth the volume's price and more!) and acerbic wit made him the terror of administrations of both parties. His duel with Secretary of State Henry Clay is immortal, his imbroglios with the young John C. Calhoun are mesmerizing, and the story of his death fascinates. Not included here is the controversy over his will: in the end, one of Randolph's wills was probated and the other failed, with the result that Randolph freed more than 400 slaves! He also bought them land in "free" Ohio, where the natives ran them off; I don't know what became of the land (or of the Randolph money that had bought it for them). Randolph's long-standing insistence that the Yankees were hypocrites when it came to slavery and emancipation finds some support here, to say the least.

Kirk, unfortunately, has a tendency to make every conservative he admires into a bygone Russell Kirk. Randolph, for one, was not nearly so religious as Kirk would have him, and what Christianity he had was -- as one might expect -- of an eccentric variety. Still, the text here is a nice entre' to Randolph's life, and the speeches and letters are priceless. We don't have politicians of this intellectual level, or with this grasp of the English language, anymore. Nor, alas, do we have any who are so consistently, insistently conservative.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Republican's Republican, January 18, 2009

By 

colinwoodward (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: John Randolph of Roanoke (Paperback)

I hadn't read much about this book before I got it. I thought it was going to be a biography. Instead, it's an analysis of Randolph's political philosophy, including his thoughts on slavery. Roughly 2/3 of the book contains Randolph's letters and speeches. They certainly are worth reading. This book, then, serves as something of a primary source.

Kirk clearly admires his subject, who was a Republican's Republican--a guy who was true to his conservative values, whether or not doing so made him popular. Randolph, for instance, was opposed to the War of 1812 because he was an isolationist. Nor did he like the federal government meddling in the economy, even though he lived in a time when the federal government was relatively small. For Randolph, he was ever fearful of the country slipping into despotism. His was the spirit of the Stamp Act opponents: they thought a small measure by the government might mean impending tyranny.

When it came to slavery, Randolph was in the gradual emancipation school. But unlike Jefferson, he freed his slaves, who then moved (per Virginia law) out of state. His servants migrated to Ohio, where they encountered hostile northerners who did not like free blacks in their neighborhood.

Randolph was an unusual man, who remained politically consistent in a way a man who had little contact with the "common man" only could. He could never have risen much higher than Congressman, because he lacked the compromising spirit that makes for great executives. His persistent defensive stance toward change, however, made him a model for American conservatism. One can see much in Randolph that Pat Buchanan would admire.

Reading this book, I couldn't help but think of Kierkegaard, a contemporary of Randolph's, though on opposite sides of "The Pond," who like Randolph had a misshapen body and a similarly conservative and puritanical view of the world. They were guys who spent too much time in their heads. Indeed, there's something very aristocratic and European about Randolph, who had great admiration for the British system and the writings of Burke, another great conservative. "I love liberty," Randolph once said, but added, "I hate equality." That's more American than it might first sound. Even though Jefferson said all men were created equal, that didn't mean it was best that they all were equal.

Randolph was a man too strange not to have new biographies written about him. That might soon change. In the meantime, enjoy this well written thought piece.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid study of a unique American figure, May 11, 2011

By 

John Grove (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: John Randolph of Roanoke (Paperback)

Randolph is the shining example of a long dead brand of American conservatism. These conservatives refused to build their political theory on the metaphysical rights of man, the driving force of Jefferson and the American Revolution. Instead, their opinions were shaped by the belief that the way of life embodied by the wealthy southern landowner was inherently good and should be protected. Their insistence on a weak national government, their defense of slavery and their advocacy of a limited franchise were all motivated by their belief that this way of live deserved to be preserved. They lost of course, to the benefit of thousands of people, but at the expense of the only thing that ever resembled a noble class in America. Their ideas deserve recognition and Kirk does a fine job relating the core of Randolph's thought. The lengthy and worthwhile appendix of Randolph's speeches and letters is worth even more than Kirk's fine analysis, however.