REPUBLICANISM REAPPRAISED

by Roland L. Stromberg ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 6, 1952

An incisive, hard-hitting diagnosis of the Grand Old Party written by a party sympathizer with a view to making the Republicans face facts and come alive before it's too late. The author, an assistant professor of history at the University of Maryland, deals briefly with the historical high and low points of party decision. Fathered by Lincoln, (who merged Jeffersonian and Hamiltonian ideals), by Sumner and Sewall, the party has since fallen prey, with the exception of Theodore Roosevelt's term, to its desire for unity at any cost and its role as the watchdog of free enterprise. The Republicans must face the fact that there is no ""normal trend"" that will bring them back to power; they must also face the fact that the day of is over and that they themselves would not, could not, retreat to the concept that the business of the government is to do nothing as symbolized by Hoover. The author emphasizes that a party without principles cannot long exist. Despite the election of a popular military hero in 1848, the Whigs died four years later. Nor can it serve in making a healthy truly-two-party democracy. The current confusion must give way to an acceptance of the progressive elements in government today and an incorporation of these elements with other new forward-looking ideas. This is the road to survival, success, and most important, to service. Fine reading for the general voter as well as the professionally involved politician, though doubtless a strong family lecture for old guard members of the party to take.

Pub Date: July 6, 1952

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Public Affairs Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1952

Categories: NONFICTION