The Politics of Equality [Hardcover]

Timothy N. Thurber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 1999 | Series: Columbia Studies in Contemporary American History

Timothy N. Thurber explores the links between Senator Hubert Humphrey's policies on racial justice and economic reform. Thurber investigates Humphrey's legislative agenda in the context of the tensions between the class-based politics of the New Deal to which Humphrey wished the party to return and the rights-based politics that eventually came to dominate the Democratic platform. Although Humphrey is often associated with the civil rights movement, Thurber shows that he stood out in his commitment to achieving racial equality through means of economic reform, an approach that was not readily embraced by the Democratic Party.Thurber begins by tracing Humphrey's early life, and goes on to detail the rise of his political career, his lifelong commitment to the New Deal goal of economic equality, and his legislative agenda as a senator. From the Fair Employment Practices law, to the triumphant passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, to more radical recommendations--such as a Domestic Marshall Plan--Humphrey became concerned with how structural changes in the economy effected African Americans.Thurber uses Humphrey's career not only to explore the intersection of race, class, and politics in the second half of this century but also to reveal the trajectory of Democratic politics in the postwar era as the party faced the increasingly difficult task of maintaining the New Deal coalition. Hubert Humphrey's agenda of racial justice through economic reform-its triumphs and its failures-represents for Thurber the precarious position of liberalism and a road still not taken.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Timothy N. Thurber's book is a fine contribution to the growing body of scholarship reevaluating, yet again, the history of American liberalism...Thurber is unusually good at showing how politics and government actually work.

(Leo P. Ribuffo American Historical Review )

Review

A wonderful book about a fascinating figure. This gracefully written narrative not only adds new dimension to our understanding of Hubert Humphrey, it tells a much larger story of the travail of postwar liberalism: its noble ambitions, its contradictions, and its ultimate surrender to conservatism. The Politics of Equality represents political biography at its very best.

(Steve Gillon, University of Oklahoma )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (January 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231110464
• ISBN-13: 978-0231110464
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,962,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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