BookFilter: History of the GOP and Dems

January 17, 2016 10:34 AM

Seeking: a relatively unbiased book (or two, or three) on the history of the Republican and Democratic parties.

This book will hopefully go back to the very roots and so include a discussion of the Whigs, Federalists, etc. But books that only cover a few decades are OK. Academic books are OK. I would prefer a more recent book. The most important part of this request is "relatively unbiased".

Thanks in advance.

posted by rebooter to Law & Government (9 answers total)

Are you OK with books that cover the parties separately, or do you want one that deals with both?
posted by the agents of KAOS at 11:42 AM on January 17, 2016

Response by poster: Either is fine.
posted by rebooter at 12:09 PM on January 17, 2016

Best answer: It's extremely biased, and limited in scope, but I think "It's My Party Too" by Chridtine Todd Whitman is useful to get some perspective on today's party system. Obviously incomplete though.

I vaguely remember a book about the Republican Party a few years ago, I think by Geoffrey Kabaservice, that hot good reviews, but I don't have firsthand experience.
posted by kevinbelt at 12:59 PM on January 17, 2016

Best answer: It seems I pretty much recommend this book for every American history question, mostly because it's probably the greatest American history book I've ever read, but What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848, by Daniel Walker Howe would fit the bill nicely. Granted, it's really big and expansive, and limited in scope of time, but a major theme throughout it is the dissolution of the Federalist Party during the Era of Good Feelings, followed by Jackson's imperial presidency and the ascension of the Whigs in response. Gives you a really good feel for the formation of the major parties in a historical context, and an appreciation for how the very same fights the parties fight now were fought then.

Honestly, everybody should do themselves a favor and read it.
posted by General Malaise at 1:00 PM on January 17, 2016 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Aldrich's _Why Parties_ has a lot of history of parties, but focused on his ideas of parties as tools created by politicians to solve specific problems.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:28 PM on January 17, 2016

Best answer: It spans a short period of time, but if you want a thorough and insightful look at the formation of the Republican Party and the ideology that drove it, can't do better than Eric Foner's Free Labor, Free Soil, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party Before the Civil War .
posted by HonoriaGlossop at 2:51 PM on January 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

I should note that the Foner is not recent, though the recent edition does have an updated introductory essay. The scholarship very much holds up.
posted by HonoriaGlossop at 2:53 PM on January 17, 2016

Best answer: Ron Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton has a good discussion of how the first US factions formed and how they turned into political parties, including some of the underhanded tactics they had to flame each other.
posted by matildaben at 5:37 PM on January 17, 2016

Best answer: Big ups to both Howe and Foner! Each are classics. I'd add a few more which more or less fit the bill. William Nisbit Chambers short "Political Parties in a New Nation" is a nice brief on the early period of American history. Arthur Schlesinger's "The Age of Jackson" is an older and more broad look at the Jacksonian period, covering some similar ground as Howe's book. Edward Pessen's "Jacksonian America: Society, Personality and Politics" also covers this ground but is a nice counterpart to Schlesinger. As General Malaise said, the Era of Good Feelings/Jacksonian period is the crucible from which much of our party politics is distilled. Lastly, I'd like to add a book which I thought was very helpful about one important aspect of party composition. It's Nancy J. Weiss' "Farewell to the Party of Lincoln: Black Politics in the Age of F.D.R."

Have fun!
posted by CincyBlues at 4:21 PM on January 18, 2016