Donald B. Cole (1922–2013)
Teoksen Martin Van Buren and the American Political System tekijä
Tietoja tekijästä
Donald B. Cole is Professor of history emeritus at Phillips Exeter Academy.
Tekijän teokset
Associated Works
Journal of the Early Republic: Summer 1998 Vol.18, No.2 — Avustaja — 1 kappale
Merkitty avainsanalla
Yleistieto
- Syntymäaika
- 1922-03-31
- Kuolinaika
- 2013-10-05
- Sukupuoli
- male
Jäseniä
Kirja-arvosteluja
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Cole's begins his examination with the aftermath of the preceding presidential election in 1824, one of the most bitter and contentious in American history. Much of the controversy over Adams's election reflected the changes the nation was undergoing, as a "rising tide of democracy" was broadening the electorate and challenging the domination of political offices by the elite. Because of this, the quest for the presidency became a contest over who could mobilize this growing population of voters. To that end, both sides worked to create organizations at the national, state, and local level that could advocate their cause and turn out their supporters. Here Jackson's camp had the advantage; though their leading members were people from lower down the social scale than their counterparts, they were hungrier for office and better able to connect with the enlarged electorate. Yet for all of their handicaps Adams's main backers, ably organized by Henry Clay and others, were no less determined to hold onto office, and Cole demonstrates that the election ultimately proved much closer than the tally indicates.
A longtime historian of the antebellum period, Cole has written a perceptive account of presidential politics in the 1820s. While never losing sight of the main protagonists, he demonstrates convincingly the decisive role that organizing at the local level played in determining the outcome. He is careful never to overstate the impact of the election, noting that the formal establishment of the political parties of the period came later, yet he make a strong case for the role of the election in enhancing democracy in the nation through the emergence of organized political camps. This combination of balance and insight make this book an excellent study not just of the presidential election of 1828, but of the emergence of the modern political process, one that can be read profitably by anyone seeking to understand party politics in our nation today.… (lisätietoja)