The politicians & the egalitarians : the hidden history of American politics

The Resource The politicians & the egalitarians : the hidden history of American politics
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The politicians & the egalitarians : the hidden history of American politics
Title remainder
the hidden history of American politics
Statement of responsibility
Sean Wilentz
Title variation
Politicians and the egalitarians
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Author
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
'There are two keys to unlocking the secrets of American politics and American political history.' So begins The Politicians & the Egalitarians, by Princeton historian Sean Wilentz. First, America is built on an egalitarian tradition. At the nation's founding, Americans believed that extremes of wealth and want would destroy their revolutionary experiment in republican government. Ever since, that idea has shaped national political conflict and scored major egalitarian victories -- from the Civil War and Progressive eras to the New Deal and the Great Society -- along the way. Second, partisanship is a permanent fixture in America, and America is the better for it. Every major egalitarian victory in United States history has resulted neither from abandonment of partisan politics nor from social movement protests, but from a convergence of protest and politics, and then sharp struggles led by principled and effective party politicians. There is little to be gained from the dream of a post-partisan world. With these two arguments, Sean Wilentz offers a portrait of American history told through politicians and egalitarians including Thomas Paine, Abraham Lincoln, and W.E.B. Du Bois -- a portrait that runs counter to current political and historical thinking
Biography type
contains biographical information
Cataloging source
DLC
Index
index present
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography

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Context of The politicians & the egalitarians : the hidden history of American politics

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