Spiro Agnew and the Rise of the Republican Right

by Justin P. Coffey

Overview

The narrative of Spiro Agnew's rise and fall has never been fully told. This compelling book tells the story of one of the most controversial, high-level politicians of recent American history and explains the importance of Agnew's life and career.

Too often overlooked by students of modern conservatism, Spiro T. Agnew's political career mirrored the transformation of the Republicans from a "big tent" party to a narrower, more conservative, and ideologically purer one in the 1960s and 1970s. Spiro Agnew and the Rise of the Republican Right traces Agnew's life and career and shows how Agnew was a key figure in American politics—and documents how a powerful politician who looked to be headed to the presidency ended up having to resign from the office of the vice president in shame and fade into the shadows of political history.

This political biography examines how Spiro Agnew's ideological transformation from a moderate liberal to a conservative spearheaded the rise of the Republican Right. Author Justin P. Coffey, PhD, explores the political, social, and racial aspects of Agnew's career and how he both influenced and was himself shaped by each of these parameters. This book offers an unprecedented study of Agnew's legacy in the present-day context, providing information suited for any reader interested in history or politics and filling a void in the scholarship of the rise of the conservative movement.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798216147985
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	10/26/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	7 - 17 Years

About the Author

Justin P. Coffey, PhD, is associate professor of history at Quincy University, Quincy, IL.
Justin P. Coffey, PhD, is associate professor of history at Quincy University, Quincy, IL.

What People are Saying About This

John Robert Greene

"It’s about time. Coffey has penned the first scholarly biography of Spiro Agnew, and has done so with flair, wit, and—most important for his subject—balance. A judicious use of Agnew’s papers, and an enviable command of the secondary literature has produced not only a thoughtful view of Richard Nixon’s first vice president, but also a worthy view of the rise of the modern Republican Party. In all ways, Coffey’s Agnew is a triumph."

Gregory L. Schneider

"Justin Coffey’s Spiro Agnew is the first scholarly and comprehensive biography of the much maligned vice-president to appear in print. Coffey provides a well-researched examination of the controversial vice-president and the gloves are off in this candid assessment of the career of Agnew, from his Rockefeller Republican beginnings, to his corrupt governorship, to his status as a popular figure on the Right during his vice-presidency. The book will enlighten political scholars and will add to the literature on the development of conservatism in America. Coffey shows how Agnew’s career is an instructive example of a political figure whose light shone brightly only to be snuffed out by his own mideeds."

Dean J. Kotlowski

"Justin Coffey has written a fine book about a flawed man. The author expertly traces Spiro Agnew's political transformation from moderate Republican to conservative icon to disgraced vice president. Readable, engaging, and insightful, Spiro T. Agnew and the Rise of the Republican Right is now the standard biography of Agnew and a noteworthy contribution to the history of the G.O.P."

Editorial Reviews

An engrossing and scholarly effort, nicely researched and sensitively written. Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.” —Choice

From the Publisher