Reconsidering American Political Thought : A New Identity

Filling in the missing spaces left by traditional textbooks on American political thought, __Reconsidering American Political Thought__ uses race, gender, and ethnicity as a lens through which to engage ongoing debates on American values and intellectual traditions. Weaving document-based texts analysis with short excerpts from classics in American literature, this book presents a re-examination of the political and intellectual debates of consequence throughout American history. Purposely beginning the story in 1619, Saladin Ambar reassesses the religious, political, and social histories of the colonial period in American history. Thereafter, Ambar moves through the story of America, with each chapter focusing on a different era in American history up to the present day. Ambar threads together analysis of periods including Thomas Jefferson’s aspiration to create an "Empire of Liberty," the ethnic, racial, and gender-based discourse instrumental in creating a "Yankee" industrial state between 1877 and 1932, and the intellectual, cultural, and social forces that led to the political rise of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama in recent decades. In closing, Ambar assesses the prospects for a new, more invigorated political thought and discourse to reshape and redirect national energies and identity in the Trump presidency. __Reconsidering American Political Thought__ presents a broad and subjective view about critical arguments in American political thought, giving future generations of students and lecturers alike an inclusive understanding of how to teach, research, study, and think about American political thought. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Introduction Reconsidering American Political Thought Notes Chapter One. Colonial Legacies: 1619–1763 Introduction Indigenous History and the Myth of a New Eden The Seeds of Colonial Thought The African Presence in the English Colonies American Political Thought to the French and Indian War Conclusion Notes References Chapter Two. Revolution and Order: 1763–1800 Introduction Riding to Philadelphia Articles of Confederation The Political Thought of the American Constitution Washington, Adams, and the Forging of National Identity Thomas Jefferson as President Conclusion Notes References Chapter Three. Jefferson’s “Empire of Liberty”: 1800–1850 Introduction Revolution Betrayed? The Election of 1800 and Beyond Black Rebellion and Nation-Keeping Suffrage and Citizenship Settlement Nation Conclusion Notes References Chapter Four. Fracture and Reunion: 1850–1877 Introduction Compromise, Sovereignty, and the Politics of Race Violence and the Limits of Liberal Politics: John Brown to the Wilderness “From the Earth,” and “All Nations”: Lincoln as Mystic Conclusion: Reconstruction and the Capitulation of Compromise Notes References Chapter Five. Political Thought and the New American State: 1877–1932 Introduction Reconstruction’s End and the Lessons of Plessy Immigration and the American State Late State Development and Women’s Rights Empire and Democracy: 1850–1920 The Progressive State Arrives Conclusion Notes References Chapter Six. Redefining Rights: 1932–1980 Introduction Race, Gender, and the Clash of Values Truman, Eisenhower, and the New Resistance American Conservative Thought at Mid-Century Black Political Thought and the Stakes of Political Change Racial Fear, Reaction, and the New Federalism Conclusion Notes References Chapter Seven. Neoconservatism and Superpower: 1980–2018 Introduction Superpower and “The End of History?” Barack Obama, Progressivism, and the Symbolism of a New Age Barack Obama’s Presidency: Neoconservative and Neoliberal Pathways White Nationalism, Populism, and the Rise of Trumpism in American Politics Conclusion: Surf against the Sides, Boats against the Current Notes References Index "Filling in the missing spaces left by traditional textbooks on American Political Thought, Reconsidering American Political Thought uses race, gender and ethnicity as a lens through which to engage on-going debates on American values and intellectual traditions. Weaving document-based texts analysis with short excerpts from classics in American literature, this book presents a re-examination of the political and intellectual debates of consequence throughout American history. Purposely beginning the story in 1619, Saladin Ambar reassesses the religious, political, and social histories of the colonial period in American history. Hereafter Ambar moves through the story of America, with each chapter focusing on a different era in American history up to the present day. Ambar threads together analysis of periods including Thomas Jefferson's aspiration to create an "Empire of Liberty", the ethnic, racial and gender-based discourse instrumental in creating a "Yankee" industrial state between 1877-1932, and the intellectual, cultural, and social forces that led to the political rise of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama in recent decades. In closing, Ambar assesses the prospects for a new, more invigorated political thought and discourse to reshape and redirect national energies and identity in the Trump presidency. Reconsidering American Political Thought presents a broad and subjective view about critical arguments in American political thought, giving future generations of students and lecturers alike an inclusive understanding of how to teach, research, study, and think about American Political Thought"-- Provided by publisher Filling in the missing spaces left by traditional textbooks on American Political Thought, Saladin Ambar uses race, gender and ethnicity as a lens through which to engage on-going debates on American values and intellectual traditions.