Legacies of Losing in American Politics

This is a study of the losers in three major episodes in American political history and shows how their ideas ended up, at least partially, winning, in the long run. The authors consider the campaign of the anti-Federalists against the adoption of the Constitution; the failed presidency of Andrew Johnson; and the defeat of Barry Goldwater in 1964, as political losses that later heavily influenced American politics later. Sometimes the losers, because they articulate a vision of American government that resonates with some part of America, later contribute to a new political order. This is not an effort to explain winning or losing in American politics. Rather, it is intended to offer a new understanding of American political development as the product of a kind of dialectic between different political visions that have opposing ideas, particularly about the size and role of the federal government and about whether America is exclusively a liberal regime or one in which illiberal ideas on topics such as race, play an important role.

About the author

Jeffrey K. Tulis teaches American politics and political theory at the University of Texas at Austin and is the author of several books, including The Rhetorical Presidency.

Product details

• Authors: Nicole Mellow, Nicole Tulis Mellow, Mellow Nicole, Jeffrey Tulis, Jeffrey K. Tulis, Jeffrey K. Mellow Tulis, Jeffrey K./ Mellow Tulis, Tulis Jeffrey K.
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.12.2017
• EAN: 9780226515328
• ISBN: 978-0-226-51532-8
• No. of pages: 224
• Series: Chicago Studies in American Politics; Chicago Studies in American Po; Chicago Studies in American Politics; Chicago Studies in American Po; Chicago Studies in American Politics (CHUP)
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political theories and the history of ideas; History, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Political Parties, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / History & Theory, HISTORY / United States / General, Political science and theory