Description
Book SynopsisThe statesman and political philosopher Edmund Burke (17291797) is a touchstone for modern conservatism in the United States, and his name and his writings have been invoked by figures ranging from the arch Federalist George Cabot to the twentieth-century political philosopher Leo Strauss. But Burke's legacy has neither been consistently associated with conservative thought nor has the richness and subtlety of his political vision been fully appreciated by either his American admirers or detractors. In Edmund Burke in America, Drew Maciag traces Burke's reception and reputation in the United States, from the contest of ideas between Burke and Thomas Paine in the Revolutionary period, to the Progressive Era (when Republicans and Democrats alike invoked Burke's wisdom), to his apotheosis within the modern conservative movement.
Throughout, Maciag is sensitive to the relationship between American opinions about Burke and the changing circumstances of American life. The dyn
Trade Review
American conservatives celebrate Edmund Burke, but according to historian Drew Maciag, the British philosopher-politician might be uncomfortable with the company he's posthumously been keeping.... Maciag finds Burke far more advanced in his thinking than previously credited.
-- David Luhrssen * Shepherd Express *
In his engaging if somewhat ironic book, Maciag surveys the fall and rise of Burke's influence in America, beginning with the post-Revolutionary era.... The point is less to provide an exhaustive monograph tracing and assessing the ways in which Americans engaged with Burke than to illustrate how different evocations of his writings reflect major aspects of American culture.
-- Jack Rakove * New England Quarterly *
Maciag highlights persuasively three post-Second World War intellectual currents which brought Edmund Burke's political thought to the fore of conservatism.... In summary, Maciag identifies seven elements in Burke's thought that made him attractive to American conservatives.
* Canadian Journal of Political Science *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: In Search of Icons1. Burke in Brief: A "Philosophical" PrimerPart I: Early America2. Old Seeds, New Soil: The Land of Paine3. Federalist Persuasions: John and J. Q. Adams4. Democratic America: The Ethos of Liberalism5. American Whigs: A Conservative ResponsePart II: Transition to Modern America6. The Gilded Age: Eclectic Interpretations7. Theodore Roosevelt: Blazing Forward, Looking Backward8. Woodrow Wilson: Confronting American MaturityPart III: Postwar America9. Modern Times: Conjunctions and Consensus10. Natural Law: A Neo-traditionalist Revival11. The Cold War: Existential Threat Redux12. Contemporary Conservatives: Victories and IllusionsConclusion: A World without FathersNotes
Index
