When it was first published twenty-five years ago, this classic work of political theory gained notoriety because neither its approach nor its interpretations readily fit into any of the major schools of thought dealing with the American political tradition. More significantly, its arguments challenged core tenets of what had become received wisdom concerning the roots of our political beliefs and institutions. Willmoore Kendall and George W. Carey argue that a new, largely contrived political tradition has gained currency in many legal, academic, and political circles. This new tradition, set forth by Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address, holds that our fundamental political ideas are derived from the Bill of Rights and the "all men are created equal" clause of the Declaration of Independence. Proponents of this view not only champion individual rights but also believe that the achievement of a broadly defined equality represents a binding but as yet unfulfilled promise made by the American people in the Declaration.In the present work, Kendall and Carey instead maintain that one must look to the founding era and its key documents in order to understand our indigenous political tradition. In so doing, one sees that the right of the people to govern themselves, rather than the concept of individual rights, is at the heart of the American political tradition.Using the analytical approach developed by Eric Voegelin, the authors examine the documents that are vital to an understanding of our political origins: the Mayflower Compact, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, the Massachusetts Body of Liberties, the Virginia Bill of Rights, the Constitution itself, and the Federalist Papers. At the same time, they consider questions highly relevant to the subsequent course of American political development. This thought-provoking book contributes important arguments to the fundamental debate over the place of equality in our political self-understanding. It will continue to be of immense interest to all serious students of American political thought. ABOUT THE AUTHORS:At the time of his death Willmoore Kendall was chairman of the department of economics and politics at the University of Dallas. His major writings include John Locke and the Doctrine of Majority Rule and The Conservative Affirmation. George W. Carey is professor of government at Georgetown University and editor of The Political Science Reviewer. He is the author of numerous works in the field of American political theory, including In Defense of the Constitution and The Federalist: Design for a Constitutional Republic.

The Basic Symbols of the American Political Tradition,

Politics & Social Sciences

Kendall, Willmoore

Politics & Government

Louisiana State Univ Pr

When it was first published twenty-five years ago, this classic work of political theory gained notoriety because neither its approach nor its interpretations readily fit into any of the major schools of thought dealing with the American political tradition. More significantly, its arguments challenged core tenets of what had become received wisdom concerning the roots of our political beliefs and institutions. Willmoore Kendall and George W. Carey argue that a new, largely contrived political tradition has gained currency in many legal, academic, and political circles. This new tradition, set forth by Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address, holds that our fundamental political ideas are derived from the Bill of Rights and the "all men are created equal" clause of the Declaration of Independence. Proponents of this view not only champion individual rights but also believe that the achievement of a broadly defined equality represents a binding but as yet unfulfilled promise made by the American people in the Declaration.
In the present work, Kendall and Carey instead maintain that one must look to the founding era and its key documents in order to understand our indigenous political tradition. In so doing, one sees that the right of the people to govern themselves, rather than the concept of individual rights, is at the heart of the American political tradition.
 Using the analytical approach developed by Eric Voegelin, the authors examine the documents that are vital to an understanding of our political origins: the Mayflower Compact, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, the Massachusetts Body of Liberties, the Virginia Bill of Rights, the Constitution itself, and the Federalist Papers. At the same time, they consider questions highly relevant to the subsequent course of American political development. 
This thought-provoking book contributes important arguments to the fundamental debate over the place of equality in our political self-understanding. It will continue to be of immense interest to all serious students of American political thought. 
 ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
 At the time of his death Willmoore Kendall was chairman of the department of economics and politics at the University of Dallas. His major writings include John Locke and the Doctrine of Majority Rule and The Conservative Affirmation. George W. Carey is professor of government at Georgetown University and editor of The Political Science Reviewer. He is the author of numerous works in the field of American political theory, including In Defense of the Constitution and The Federalist: Design for a Constitutional Republic.

The Basic Symbols of the American Political Tradition

Carey, George W.

The Catholic University of America Press

A posthumous collection originally published by 1971 by Arlington House, this reprinted edition includes for the first time Kendall's provocative essay, "The 'Open Society' and its Fallacies"-as relevant today as when it was first written. The essays, speeches, and part of a projected book included in this work direct the reader's attention to subjects that reflect the general theme running through all of Kendall's political thought-the ways that majority rule can bring about government that is sound and just.

Willmoore Kendall Contra Mundum

University Press of America

In this work, the author invites the reader to travel along with him as he investigates many of the political questions that have long confronted our society: Congress vs. the President, is it deadlock, gridlock or two majorities? The American community, is it pluralism or orthodoxy? What do Americans mean by "All men are created equal"? Who should control our public schools? Is the genius of the American people for self-government failing?A posthumous collection  originally published by 1971 by Arlington House, this reprinted edition includes for the first time Kendall's provocative essay, "The 'Open Society' and its Fallacies"--as relevant today as when it was first written. The essays, speeches, and part of a projected book included in this work direct the reader's attention to subjects that reflect the general theme running through all of Kendall's political thought--the ways that majority rule can bring about government that is sound and just.

Arlington House

More than twenty years ago a maverick political scientist named Willmoore Kendall predicted the triumph of conservatism. Upon the 1963 publication of Kendall's The Conservative Affirmation, his former Yale student William F. Buckley, Jr. called him "one of the most superb and original political analysts of the 20th century," but even Buckley shook his head at what appeared to be Kendall's "baffling optimism." During the 60's, Kendall stood apart from the mainstream conservative movement which he accused of being anti-populist and of "storming American public opinion from without" by wrongly assuming that the American people were essentially corrupt and "always ready to sell thier votes to the highest bidder." Kendall believed that Americans would come to actively realize the conservatism which they had always actually lived. Seventeen years after his death in 1967, Kendall's predictions come to fruition.

The Conservative Affirmation in America

History

Americas

Intercollegiate Studies Institute

The Conservative Affirmation

Literature & Fiction

Literary

Literary Licensing, LLC

Maverick political scientist Willmoore Kendall predicted the triumph of conservatism. Upon the 1963 publication of Kendall's The Conservative Affirmation, his former Yale student William F. Buckley, Jr. called him "one of the most superb and original political analysts of the 20th century," but even Buckley shook his head at what appeared to be Kendall's "baffling optimism."\nDuring the 60's, Kendall stood apart from the mainstream conservative movement which he accused of being anti-populist and of "storming American public opinion from without" by wrongly assuming that the American people were essentially corrupt and "always ready to sell their votes to the highest bidder." Kendall believed that Americans would come to actively realize the conservatism which they had always actually lived.

Business & Money

Economics

Gateway Editions

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