Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 416
•
Trim: 6 x 9
978-0-7425-0888-0 • Paperback • August 2000 • $62.00 • (£48.00)
A. James Reichley is senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute at Georgetown University.
Chapter 1: The American Two-Party System
Part 1: From the Founding to the Civil War
Chapter 2: Intention of the Founders: A Polity without Parties
Chapter 3: The First Parties: Federalists and Republicans
Chapter 4: One-Party Hegemony: The Jeffersonians
Chapter 5: Formation of Mass Parties: Democrats and Whigs
Part 2: The Republican Era
Chapter 6: Party Government: The Civil War Republicans
Chapter 7: Machine Politics: The Gilded Age
Chapter 8: Third-Party Challenge: Populist Uprising
Chapter 9: Reaction against Parties: The Progressive Era
Chapter 10: The Progressive Legacy, City Machines, and the Solid South
Chapter 11: The President as Party Leader: Woodrow Wilson
Part 3: The New Deal Era
Chapter 12: A Functioning Majority Party: The New Deal
Chapter 13: Vehicles of Opposition
Chapter 14: Fission of Party Coalitions
Chapter 15: Decline of State and Local Machines
Chapter 16: Movement Politics: The Republican Hard Right
Chapter 17: Reform Politics: Amateur Democrats
Part 4: Contemporary Parties
Chapter 18: The New Giants: National Party Organizations
Chapter 19: State Parties: Seeking New Roles
Chapter 20: Local Parties: Getting Along without Patronage
Chapter 21: Rebuilding the Parties
Good for Jim Reichley, a calm and intelligent voice in our era of political darkness. He gives a delightful short course on where political parties come from and why they are necessary. He does not dodge the difficulties of today's system but, thank God, he is not overwhelmed by despair. This is a book of hope for strong, meaningful politics, the life blood of democracy.
— Hugh Sidey, TIME MAGAZINE
The culmination of a lifetime of reflection on American politics, The Life of the Parties carries authority not least because Reichley himself was a practitioner of the art of government. Combining a truly rare knowledge of political history, a keen eye for telling detail, and a wealth of fresh and original research, he provides us not only with a sober, judiciously argued warning about the health of American politics, but with a positive account intended to set an agenda for feasible reform.
— Richard M. Valelly, Swarthmore College, author of Radicalism in the States: The Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party and the American Political Economy
Reichley's rich history of the party system is especially appropriate for these unhappy times, when so many are questioning the parties' worth. One cannot read Reichley's work without condcluding that the political parties—imperfect instruments though they be—have generally been and still are worthwhile and essential institutions in American life. All readers will find this exceptionally thoughtful and detailed volume as enlightening as it is intriguing.
— Larry J. Sabato, director, University of Virginia Center for Politics and author of The Kenneday Half-Century
Praise for the original edition of The Life of the Parties It is hard to imagine a better time than now for reexamining American political parties. In The Life of the Parties, A. James Reichley shows us how parties have developed and how they have managed 'incompatible ideological traditions.' The forthcoming debates on the future of American political parties will be informed by Reichley's careful and well-written study....
— Charles O. Jones, Hawkins Professor of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Praise for the original edition of The Life of the PartiesIt is hard to imagine a better time than now for reexamining American political parties. In The Life of the Parties, A. James Reichley shows us how parties have developed and how they have managed 'incompatible ideological traditions.' The forthcoming debates on the future of American political parties will be informed by Reichley's careful and well-written study.
— Charles O. Jones, Hawkins Professor of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison