The American Political Tradition : And the Men Who Made It

A revised edition of the clasic study of American politics from the Founding Fathers to FDR. David Greenberg ...[N]ow celebrating its 50th year in pring. . .Like a robust octogenarian, the vigorous old book invites us to inquire of it the secrets of its longevity. . . .the book's continued popularity may be owing as much to its philosophy as to its literary charms or the singular historiographical niche it occupies. -- The Atlantic Monthly The American Political Tradition is one of the most influential and widely read historical volumes of our time. First published in 1948, its elegance, passion, and iconoclastic erudition laid the groundwork for a totally new understanding of the American past. By writing a "kind of intellectual history of the assumptions behind American politics," Richard Hofstadter changed the way Americans understand the relationship between power and ideas in their national experience. Like only a handful of American historians before himFrederick Jackson Turner and Charles A. Beard are examplesHofstadter was able to articulate, in a single work, a historical vision that inspired and shaped an entire generation. Long ago Horace White observed that the Constitution of the United States is based upon the philosophy of Hobbes and the religion of Calvin. A classic study of American politics from the Founding Fathers to FDR