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The High Tide of American Conservatism: Davis, Coolidge, and the 1924 Election Hardcover – Illustrated, September 1, 2010
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The High Tide of American Conservatism casts new light on both the election and the two candidates, John W. Davis and Calvin Coolidge. Both nominees articulately expounded a similar philosophy of limited government and maximum individual freedom; and both men were exemplary public servants. The enduring consequence of this election was the philosophical divergence of the two parties--Democrats leftward and Republicans rightward. As the proper role of government in a free society continues to be a topic of heated, partisan debate, every American--conservative or liberal--will benefit from an understanding of the 1924 election. Conservatives will recognize the link between Coolidge and Reagan and the modern Republican Party, and they will rejoice to discover a new conservative titan, John W. Davis.
- Print length336 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherEmerald Book Company
- Publication dateSeptember 1, 2010
- Dimensions6.25 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
- ISBN-101934572500
- ISBN-13978-1934572504
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Editorial Reviews
Review
--Fred Barnes, Executive Editor of The Weekly Standard and political contributor for FOX News Channel
''...As Garland S. Tucker III makes clear in this fascinating study...[this] election was the last time the presidential nominees of the two parties could both be described as conservatives...but since the Democratic party after 1924 was unreservedly the part of the left in the United States, this election may fairly be described, as Mr. Tucker does, as the 'high tide of American conservatism.'''
--Philip Terzian, The Weekly Standard
''As a pollster, who has for many years studied the shifting tides in political thought in the nation, I found Garland Tucker's book to be enormously helpful in shedding new light on the 1924 Davis/Coolidge presidential race and to its underlying meaning and significance.''
--George Gallup, historian and author
''Well-told tale of one of the most extraordinary and long forgotten Presidential elections in American history. The major party nominees in the 1924 contest were both genuine conservatives. Their conservatism was not skin-deep but rather well thought out and articulated with compelling eloquence. But after 1924 the Democrats irrevocably became the party of the Left while Republicans eventually became the party of conservatism. Those dismayed by American politics today will find solace and perhaps inspiration in reading of this election. Author Tucker has written a fascinating account of a contest we won't likely see replicated again.''
--Steve Forbes, Chairman & CEO of Forbes Media
''With The High Tide of American Conservatism, Garland Tucker has made a splendid contribution to this recovery work. Here is a well-researched, well-structured narrative of classic conservative principles in action at the highest levels of politics. Along the way we get thoughtful pen-portraits of two great American gentlemen, men of the highest honor and integrity, both of whom believed, in the words of Coolidge, that 'unless there abides in [the people] the spirit of industry and thrift, of sacrifice and self-denial, of courage and enterprise, and a belief in the reality of truth and justice, all the efforts of the Government will be in vain.''' --
John Derbyshire, National Review
''Many conservatives believe the summit of their beliefs began and ended with the sainted Reagan. Not true. As Garland S. Tucker III shows in The High Tide of American Conservatism,' in 1924 both presidential candidates, Calvin Coolidge and John Davis, campaigned for limited government, reduced taxes and low tariffs. The Republican Coolidge won in a landslide, in part because the Democrats were in the process of disowning a relatively conservative tradition dating back 40 years in favor of the new progressive politics of Franklin Roosevelt. Coolidge, arguably our least-known good president, served two terms that coincided with strong economic growth enabled in part by steep, across-the-board tax cuts. In the decades that followed, liberal historians tried, with success, to discredit and bury the economic conservatism of the 1920s. The concerns of this important period largely disappeared from the political conversation. But now they're back, thanks to the tea-party movement. Anyone seeking clarity about what's at stake in the run-up to 2012 needs to know what happened to our politics in 1924. It wasn't complicated, it was very exciting and it worked. And Garland S. Tucker III's book is a perfect guide.'' --
Daniel Henninger, Wall Street Journal
Well-told tale of one of the most extraordinary and long forgotten Presidential elections in American history. The major party nominees in the 1924 contest were both genuine conservatives. Their conservatism was not skin-deep but rather well thought out and articulated with compelling eloquence. But after 1924 the Democrats irrevocably became the party of the Left while Republicans eventually became the party of conservatism. Those dismayed by American politics today will find solace and perhaps inspiration in reading of this election. Author Tucker has written a fascinating account of a contest we won t likely see replicated again. --Steve Forbes, Chairman & CEO of Forbes Media
From the Back Cover
The High Tide of American Conservatism casts new light on both the election and the two candidates, John W. Davis and Calvin Coolidge. Both nominees articulately expounded a similar philosophy of limited government and maximum individual freedom; and both men were exemplary public servants. The enduring consequence of this election was the philosophical divergence of the two parties--Democrats leftward and Republicans rightward. As the proper role of government in a free society continues to be a topic of heated, partisan debate, every American--conservative or liberal--will benefit from an understanding of the 1924 election. Conservatives will recognize the link between Coolidge and Reagan and the modern Republican Party, and they will rejoice to discover a new conservative titan, John W. Davis.
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Product details
- Publisher : Emerald Book Company; Illustrated edition (September 1, 2010)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 336 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1934572500
- ISBN-13 : 978-1934572504
- Item Weight : 1.45 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,472,218 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,592 in Elections
- #2,843 in Political Conservatism & Liberalism
- #5,823 in History & Theory of Politics
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Dr. Stanley E. Toompas, Optometrist
& Author of, "I'm the One the Other Isn't"
Heaping obscurity upon obscurity, the little remembered Davis suffered his crushing defeat at the hands of one of this country's most enigmatic presidents, Calvin Coolidge. Author Garland S. Tucker III is intrigued with Coolidge, who for many years has been remembered as something of a do-nothing president who indirectly contributed to the Great Depression by his laissez-faire executive style and his famous "the business of America is business" dictum.
Tucker, as his title suggests, identifies the 1924 election as something of a high water mark for Conservatism. It is hard to argue with his contention that this election was the last to pit two men who essentially agreed upon a limited role for the executive branch of government, though Tucker's definition of "conservatism" needs refining. [The 1928 election, by contrast, featured two activist contenders, Al Smith and Herbert Hoover]. Tucker maintains that all presidential elections since 1924 have been essentially contests of the left and the right or at least the center and the center.
Tucker has an eye for a good story, and to his credit he focuses this work on what was indeed the most intriguing part of the election, the nomination process. Coolidge, it must be remembered, was filling out the term of Warren G Harding, who died in 1923. Coolidge's addition to the ticket as vice-presidential candidate in 1920 had been something of a finger in the eyes of party bosses by convention delegates, upset with the backroom dealings that produce Harding's elevation. Coolidge, very much a local Massachusetts creature, was a genuine "accidental president;" while Harding was alive, there had been speculation that Coolidge would be replaced on the ticket in 1924.
Tucker's easy style does not do full justice to how quickly Coolidge consolidated his position in his party within a year and arrived at the 1924 Convention unopposed. A more intensive professional historian would have fleshed this out. But Tucker does offer some analysis: the scandals of Harding's associates appear in retrospect to have been less troubling to the American public than commonly believed; Harding's death was genuinely and nationally grieved and the stolid Coolidge captured the national mood after the passing of the effusive and remarkably effective Harding. The unexpected death of Coolidge's own son in 1924 certainly muted whatever criticisms his colleagues might otherwise have exploited before the party faithful. Tucker also contends that America had been through a great deal in the past decade, coming to grips with war, recession, subsequent economic growth and cultural change. Coolidge's Yankee tradition of simple life and hard work had a certain soothing effect in public life. [200]
By contrast, the Democratic Party Convention finally established its candidate on the 103rd ballot. The party was still identified with World War I and the League of Nations. One of its main contenders for the nomination was William McAdoo, Woodrow Wilson's son-in-law. Davis's nomination may have been the fruit of exhaustion, but there can be little doubt that Coolidge's taciturn and righteous public style called for an opponent as pure as Caesar's wife.
Davis, the Wall Street lawyer, was all of that, widely respected for his competence and probity. Tucker describes him as a "true Jeffersonian Democrat" [102] and finds it remarkable that not only two Conservatives but also two gentlemen would face off in what would be one of the most genteel contests in memory. It is probably fortunate that 1924 enjoyed such luck. For despite the strong economy, the electorate was divided on several key issues, including tariffs, isolationism, prohibition, and the particularly onerous nativism and resurgence of the KKK in the face of the Bolshevik scare and rising immigration.
For Coolidge, presiding over a strong economy, the election was his to lose. His campaign strategy was the quintessential "don't fumble on the goal line." A faux pas from "Silent Cal" was unlikely; he said nothing about his opponent and when pressed, a rare occurrence in a low visibility campaign, spoke only in generalities. He defended Prohibition "because it is the law." Davis, for multiple reasons, was unable to put a dent in the Coolidge enterprise. His gentility rendered him somewhat uninspiring on the stump in terms of drawing blood, he did not have Coolidge's facility with radio, a new election factor, and it was hard for Davis to find his stride in terms of ideological differences, since there were in fact few. Davis was also hamstrung by Democratic defections on the left to third party progressive Robert LaFollette.
Tucker's work suffers from an overdependence upon several major sources, including Paul Johnson's "Modern Times," Robert Sobel's "Coolidge: An American Enigma" and works of Allen Nevins and Henry Steele Commager, among others. In truth, the indebtedness to Johnson in particular is excessive. But the author's dependence upon these sources is selective: Johnson's critical questions about Coolidge and the subsequent Depression are not addressed here; Johnson, in "Modern Times," wondered why Coolidge did not run again in 1928, suggesting that the president began to privately question the soundness of the boom. Nevins is cited by Sokol as representative of a generation of historians who regarded the Coolidge years as a time of inertia between Wilson and FDR.
However, the author's shortcomings are those of inexperience and enthusiasm, not vitriol. While this work does not appear to break new ground, it is an intriguing narrative for a general audience and a worthy read.
On the Republican side was incumbent president Calvin Coolidge who was originally elected vice president 1920 but was thrust into the presidency upon the sudden death of Warren Harding in 1923. Coolidge was a career politician who held numerous political offices in his life starting as a city councilor and ending up as Governor of Massachusetts. He was known for his conservatism and had the reputation of "Silent Cal," a man of few words.
The Democrats had a tough time finding a candidate. During the convention, the Democrats went through 103 ballots before compromising on John W. Davis, a dark horse. Davis was a former Solicitor General and ambassador and had a career as a Wall Street lawyer. Like Coolidge, Davis had a reputation for consistent conservative principles.
Disappointed by the nominees of both major parties, the fiery senator from Wisconsin, Robert La Follette, launched his own bid for presidency under the reconstituted Progressive Party.
In the general campaign, Coolidge did not really have to campaign much. The economy was prosperous and America was at peace. Coolidge was easily elected to a full term in office.
What I liked most about this book was the exploration of the personalities involved. Today, John W. Davis has become a very obscure figure in American history and there was plenty of good information about him in this book.
However, despite ostensibly being about the election itself, the book tended to go into a lot of detail about other subjects. I was disappointed that there were not that many details about the campaign itself. The book could have been better organized so as to avoid repeating the same facts multiple times.
Despite the flaws, there is some interesting information in this book about the 1924 presidential election. I would recommend this to those interested in American history.


