Governing America: The Revival of Political History [NOOK Book]

Overview

In recent years, the study of American political history has experienced a remarkable renaissance. After decades during which the subject fell out of fashion and disappeared from public view, it has returned to prominence as the study of American history has shifted its focus back to politics broadly defined. In this book, one of the leaders of the resurgence in American political history, Julian Zelizer, assesses its revival and demonstrates how this work not only illuminates ...

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Governing America: The Revival of Political History

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Overview

In recent years, the study of American political history has experienced a remarkable renaissance. After decades during which the subject fell out of fashion and disappeared from public view, it has returned to prominence as the study of American history has shifted its focus back to politics broadly defined. In this book, one of the leaders of the resurgence in American political history, Julian Zelizer, assesses its revival and demonstrates how this work not only illuminates the past but also helps us better understand American politics today.

Governing America addresses issues of wide interest, including the rise of the welfare state, the development of modern conservatism, the history of Congress, the struggle over campaign finance, changing views about presidential power, and national security. Throughout, it addresses four big questions: How have interpretations of American political history changed over time? How have taxes and budgets constrained policymakers? How have changes in the political process defined historical eras? And how have policy and politics interacted on decisions like going to war?

Zelizer's answers to these questions are fresh and often surprising, providing compelling new perspectives on modern American politics.

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Editorial Reviews

LSE Politics and Policy blog
This exhilarating volume deserves a broad readership. It is first and foremost invaluable to graduate students and historians exploring new approaches to American political history. Secondly, it reveals to political scientists the worth of political history, beyond furnishing the raw data for political analysis. Thirdly, it suggests ways in which public historians and policymakers might collaborate in policymaking. Finally, the essays are accessible enough to appeal to the general reader interested in the historical development of modern American politics. Above all, Zelizer's work exemplifies and validates historians' rediscovery of the importance of American politics, albeit more broadly defined than before, as well as vindicates political scientists' recent and continued interest in American history.
— Eleanor Thompson
LSE Politics and Policy blog - Eleanor Thompson
This exhilarating volume deserves a broad readership. It is first and foremost invaluable to graduate students and historians exploring new approaches to American political history. Secondly, it reveals to political scientists the worth of political history, beyond furnishing the raw data for political analysis. Thirdly, it suggests ways in which public historians and policymakers might collaborate in policymaking. Finally, the essays are accessible enough to appeal to the general reader interested in the historical development of modern American politics. Above all, Zelizer's work exemplifies and validates historians' rediscovery of the importance of American politics, albeit more broadly defined than before, as well as vindicates political scientists' recent and continued interest in American history.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781400841899
  • Publisher: Princeton University Press
  • Publication date: 3/4/2012
  • Sold by: Barnes & Noble
  • Format: eBook
  • Pages: 416
  • Sales rank: 1,226,402
  • File size: 2 MB

Meet the Author

Julian E. Zelizer is professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. His most recent books include "Jimmy Carter, Arsenal of Democracy," and "The Presidency of George W. Bush" (Princeton). He is a regular contributor to CNN.com and Politico and has written for the "New York Times," the "Washington Post," and many other publications.
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix
Governing America: An Introduction 1

Part I: Thinking about the Field 9
One: Beyond the Presidential Synthesis: Reordering Political Time 11
Two: Clio's Lost Tribe: Public Policy History Since 1978 41
Three: History and Political Science: Together Again? 60
Four: Rethinking the History of American Conservatism 68
Five: What Political Science Can Learn from the New Political History 90

Part II: Paying for Government: Taxes, Money, and Fiscal Restraint 105
Six: The Uneasy Relationship: Democracy, Taxation, and State-Building Since the New Deal 107
Seven: The Forgotten Legacy of the New Deal: Fiscal Conservatism and the Roosevelt Administration, 1933-1938 124
Eight: "Where Is the Money Coming From?" The Reconstruction of Social Security Finance 153
Nine: Paying for Medicare: Benefits, Budgets, and Wilbur Mills's Policy Legacy 168

Part III: The Rules of the Game: The Politics of Process 193
Ten: Seeds of Cynicism: The Struggle Over Campaign Finance, 1956-1974 195
Eleven: Bridging State and Society: The Origins of 1970s Congressional Reform 221
Twelve: Without Restraint: Scandal and Politics in America 232
Thirteen: Seizing Power: Conservatives and Congress Since the 1970s 259
Fourteen: How Conservatives Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Presidential Power 290

Part IV: Politics and Policy: The Case of National Security 307
Fifteen: Congress and the Politics of Troop Withdrawal, 1966-1973 309
Sixteen: Detente and Domestic Politics 321
Seventeen: Conservatives, Carter, and the Politics of National Security 335

Notes 351
Index 399

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