Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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47 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Political Milestone, April 18, 2002
"American Political Tradition" became an immediate milestone in the field of American political study, propelling author Richard Hofstadter to the frontal ranks of historians at the age of 32 upon its publication in 1948. The history professor at Columbia University would ultimately win 2 Pulitzer Prizes before dying at the age of 54 in 1970.The point Hofstadter consistently made is how important pragmatic considerations were in the evolution of the great political shakers and movers of American political annals. He rejects the view of historian Charles Beard and others about the impact of economic determinism in the foundation and shaping of early America. Hofstadter does not discount its impact, but cites the pragmatic necessity of studious compromise involving the interests of important American sociological groups which were often disparate, such as the manufacturing interests of the north and the rural farming interests of the south, as well as slavery and anti-slavery interests. The need for compromise influenced Thomas Jefferson in constructing a U.S. Constitution, which relied on the separation powers doctrine of English philosopher John Locke and that of separation of powers advanced by French social scientist Montesquieu. The chapter on Franklin Delano Roosevelt is fascinating as a study in political pragmatism. Roosevelt ran on a Democratic Party platform for 1932 which rivals one of the most conservative doctrines ever put on paper by an American political party. He initially criticized incumbent President Herbert Hoover for spending too much money in dealing with the Depression and its related effects. Once in office he changed his mind and forged a government activist agenda embraced by progressive reformers. Abraham Lincoln is studied in detail as well within the framework of a very astute political figure with his eye squarely on success in that arena from the beginning, where the "railsplitter" image played well with voters. He purposely straddled the fence on the slavery issue since there was much controversy surrounding the issue even within the fledgling Republican Party which he joined after the Whig Party folded, despite its reputation for being an essentially anti-slavery party. Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson are evaluated as two important political figures who perpetually juggled conservative basic instincts against the need they believed existed for certain progressive systemic reforms. For Roosevelt this meant anti-trust legislation and conservation, while Wilson, whose traditional Virginia conservative roots left him unwilling to budge in the field of race relations, nonetheless undertook mighty electoral reforms embraced by William Jennings Bryan and the populist movement. Bryan is another figure covered in the book. The chapter of Herbert Hoover is also fascinating. Hofstadter envisioned him as the last of the laissez-faire American presidents. In the wake of the great upheavals occurring in America, particularly related to the Great Depression, a political pragmatism later advanced by Roosevelt to stem the tide of unrest was eschewed by Hoover.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Masterwork of its Genre, April 14, 2005
The classic story of American History, as told by Richard Hofstadter, has rightly come to be thought of as a masterpiece of American history since its original publication in 1948. This well deserved reputation comes from the rich storytelling, attention to detail, and thoughtful and complete narrative Hofstadter puts forward in this book.
Hofstadter takes as his guide one figure from each generation starting from the beginning of the Republic, and through biographical sketch describes both the historical figure and the time period he is depicting. Beginning with Jefferson and including people such as Jackson, Lincoln, Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, Hofstadter demonstrates how a combination of the great men and the times they lived in shaped what have come down to us as the leading tradition in American politics: the belief in American greatness, individualism, and compassion.
The most significant contribution of this book is to show how these men, who have come down to us as legendary and nearly mythological figures were very much political animals. Just like Bill Clinton and George Bush make decisions today based on political calculation, so to do Lincoln and Jefferson. That these men were not demigods but in fact mere humans makes their achievements that much more incredible.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Social history at it's best, July 27, 2001
This wonderful book fills a hole in American history that's been open too long. Instead of treating great figures as saints or unapproachable geniuses Hofstadter gives a realistic picture of what they believed and what they stood for. More than that he points to the philosophic and cultural continuity that these figures embodied, struggled with, and sometimes redefined. It's as much about how the greater American view on work and indivdualism evolved from the founding as about the men who made it. Also, kind of inadvertantly, the author weaves in a history of the American liberal idea and how Jeffersonian liberalism stressing free markets, small business, and individualism, was transformed into New Deal liberalism. He argues that the transformation wasn't a betrayal but was instead a development based on necessary responses to an economically and socially changing world. Enjoy!
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