Description
Book SynopsisAmerican governance is burdened by a paradox. On the one hand, Americans don't want "big government" meddling in their lives; on the other hand, they have repeatedly enlisted governmental help to impose their views regarding marriage, abortion, religion, and schooling on their neighbors. These contradictory stances on the role of public power have
Trade ReviewWinner of the 2016 Ellis W. Hawley Prize, Organization of American Historians "Terrific, engaging and deeply analytical... An ambitious reinterpretation of American political history from the founding to the present."--New York Times Book Review "Liberty and Coercion is a towering achievement, bristling with stimulating arguments and historical erudition."--Desmond King, Financial Times "[A] triumph."--Bookforum "[A]n informative and sophisticated account of the impact and import of this contradiction throughout American history... [A] thoughtful and timely book about the character and constraints of American politics."--Tulsa World "[A] pathbreaking interpretive approach... By no means is this a book for historians only. It should be widely read, its arguments widely considered. And the evidence Gerstle adduces ought to be sobering for everyone."--James Banner, Weekly Standard "A tour de force account of American governance."--Thomas Rodgers, Reviews in History "[A] brilliant work of American political history."--National Book Review "Liberty and Coercion is a pitch-perfect analysis of the contradictions built into America's federalist system. It's serious and disciplined yet piquant, provocative, and highly readable."--Mark Joseph Stern, Slate "Gary Gerstle's complex book shines a light down countless twisted alleyways and switchbacks of America's past... [An] enlightening, alarming analysis."--Elizabeth Cobbs, Times Higher Education "Provocative."--Alan Ehrenhalt, Governing Magazine "[A] clear, wide-ranging work of political history... He develops considerable evidence for improvisational state-building and draws out the problematic implications of relying on strategies that effectively expand federal power without the accompanying constitutional authority."--Choice "This is a powerful and important book that will reshape the way most readers think about United States history and governance. Gary Gerstle ... has drawn on a lifetime of reading and teaching to produce this masterwork... A highly readable, deeply sourced, magisterial narrative."--David C. Unger, Survival "Like Margot Canaday's The Straight State: Sexuality and Citizenship in Twentieth-Century America (2011), Liberty and Coercion has harnessed several historiographic traditions that have much to say to each other yet have failed to engage one another for too long. From the APD side of the table, scholars like Ira Katznelson, Jim Morone, and Rogers Smith have done the same. Gerstle has enriched that conversation and staked out an important place for historians in it."--Brian Balogh, American Historical Review "A masterful overview of the dynamics that have shaped American politics... Anyone who shares Gerstle's conviction that our democracy should be moving toward greater equality and inclusion, and who seeks a clearer understanding of what we are up against as we work toward those ideals, should read Liberty and Coercion."--James Kloppenberg, Commonweal "Immensely illuminating... It is no surprise that Liberty and Coercion is already winning awards."--Sanford Levinson, The Register
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Part I Foundations, 1780s-1860s 1 A Liberal Central State Emerges 17 2 The States and Their Police Power 55 Part II Improvisations, 1860s-1920s 3 Strategies of Liberal Rule 89 4 Lessons of Total War 125 5 Parties, Money, Corruption 149 Part III Compromises, 1920s-1940s 6 Agrarian Protest and the New Liberal State 185 7 Reconfiguring Labor-Capital Relations 217 Part IV American Leviathan, 1940s-2010s 8 An Era of Near-Permanent War 251 9 Breaking the Power of the States 275 10 Conservative Revolt 311 Conclusion 345 Notes 353 Index 437
