This is a new edition of the best history of the Republican party in half a century with coverage through the presidential election of 2008. It treats Republican suspicion of Democratic legitimacy as a key element in American political history.
Lewis L. Gould's 2003 history of the Republican Party was a fast- paced account of Republican fortunes. The Republicans won praise for its even-handed, incisive analysis of Republican history, drawing on Gould's deep knowledge of the evolution of national political history and acute feel for the interplay of personalities and ideology. In this revised and updated edition, Gould extends this history, adding a new chapter on the George W. Bush presidency, the election of 2008, and the response of the Grand Old Party to Barack Obama. His narrative covers such contemporary figures as Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, and John McCain, as well as forgotten Republican leaders including James G. Blaine, Mark Hanna, Wendell Willkie, and Robert A. Taft. Contending that the historic Republican skepticism about the legitimacy of the Democratic Party has shaped American politics since the Civil War, Gould argues that the persistent flaw in the relations between the two parties has led the nation to the current crisis of stalemate and partisan bitterness. No other account of Republican history is as up-to-date, crammed with fascinating information, and ready to serve as an informed guide to today's partisan warfare. Lay readers and political junkies alike seeking the best book on Republican history will find what they are looking for in Gould's comprehensive volume.
Gould, an emeritus University of Texas at Austin professor, has researched U.S. political parties throughout his career. He establishes the 1850s context in which the new party arose, examines Lincoln's wartime policies (including an activist federal government) that were pursued by the Republican administrations that dominated the rest of the century, and then analyzes the Progressive-era debate over regulating industrial society in which the GOP shifted to the small-government, low-tax, laissez faire approach it has now championed for nearly a century. Gould's political history blends historical disciplines, exploring, for example, the interaction of demographics and ideology as the party's vision and tactics have changed over the years.
