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Cargando... Minority Victory: Gilded Age Politics and the Front Porch Campaign of 1888 (American Presidential Elections) (2008)por Charles W. Calhoun
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Inscríbete en LibraryThing para averiguar si este libro te gustará. Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro. Charles Calhoun's book on the 1888 election impressively captures a period of high electorate involvement in politics and dismisses mainstream views of the "Gilded Age" as one of corrupt politics and no issues. He also highlights the great tragedy of the period's politics--not corruption but the systemmatic exclusion of African Americans from the vote. sin reseñas | añadir una reseña
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During the run-up to the 1888 presidential election, Americans flocked to party rallies, marched in endless parades, and otherwise participated zealously in the political process. Although they faced a choice between two uncharismatic candidates--Republican challenger Benjamin Harrison and Democratic incumbent Grover Cleveland--voters took intense interest in the issues they espoused. And though Harrison became one of only four candidates to win the presidency while losing the popular vote, the lasting significance of the election was its foreshadowing of both the modern campaign and the modern presidency. Charles W. Calhoun shows how this presidential contest not only exemplified Gilded Age politics but also marked a major shift from divisive sectional rhetoric to an emphasis on voters' economic concerns. Calhoun first explores Cleveland's rise to the presidency and explains why he turned to economic issues, especially tariff reduction, in framing his bid for reelection. He then provides a detailed analysis of the raucous Republican national convention and describes Harrison's effective front porch campaign, in which he proclaimed his views almost daily to visiting voters and reporters. Calhoun also explores the role of party organizations, business interests, labor, women, African Americans, and third parties in the campaign; discusses alleged fraud in the election; and analyzes the Democrats' suppression of black votes in the South. The 1888 campaign marked an important phase in the evolution of American political culture and augured significant innovations in American politics and governance. The Republicans' performance, in particular, reflected the party's future winning strategies: emphasis on economic development, personal participation by the presidential candidate, a well-financed organization, and coordination with beneficiaries of the party's agenda. Harrison set important precedents for campaigning and then, once in office, fashioned new leadership strategies and governing techniques--emphasizing legislative intervention, extensive travel, and a focus on foreign affairs-that would become the stock-in-trade of later presidents. His Republican successors built upon these transformations, making the GOP the majority party for a generation and putting the presidency at the center of American governance--where it has remained ever since. No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
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Calhoun begins by focusing on the incumbent president, Grover Cleveland. The first Democrat to win election to the White House since James Buchanan, he charted a conservative course involving pursuit a number of traditional Democratic goals, most notably a lower tariff on imported goods. Cleveland's efforts galvanized tariff-supporting Republicans like no other issue could, yet their most prominent prospect, former nominee James G. Blaine, refused to seek the nomination so as to avoid the party schism that contributed to his defeat in 1884. Instead the party nominated former Indiana senator Benjamin Harrison as their standard-bearer. His campaign pioneered a number of new approaches, including greater national financing, party coordination with interest groups, and the involvement of the nominee -- all of which combined to allow Harrison to emerge victorious once the votes were tallied.
Concise yet informative, Calhoun's book is a first-rate work of political history. His analysis shatters many of the misconceptions about the politics of the period, with possibly the most notable being his observation that Harrison's "minority victory" was more a reflection of successful suppression of African-American voters in the South than of any flaws in the electoral college process. Such insights make this book an indispensable read for anyone interested in American politics, the history of American elections, or Gilded Age America. ( )