In the aftermath of 9/11, Dolbeare and Cummings challenge students to examine their own political identities. They are asked to take their newfound concern about Islamic fundamentalism and focus it toward the issue of American fundamentalism, or the foundations of American political thought. Students are invited to examine such basic ideals as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as well as private and free enterprise, the rule of law, institutional checks and balances, and the people’s right to revolt against oppression.

From European and Iroquois precursors, the American colonists’ revolutionary experience, and two centuries of robust development sprang a body of political thought and practice that has both inspired and repulsed the rest of the world. The editors outline three organizing themes to help readers understand and analyze seminal and revisionist readings:

• the social and historical foundations of American political thought,


• the key transformations in American political thought and practice, and


• the individual and collective political identity of Americans.

By stressing the value of examining and understanding their own political beliefs in historical context, students can decide what beliefs are most appropriate for them as Americans in facing the unique challenges of the 21st century.

The book’s organization remains the same, except the post-World War II period has been split into two separate periods: 1945-1990 and 1990-2004. The entirely new Part VI taps the richly provocative diversity of American political thought since 1990, exploring a wide range of thinkers from liberal President Bill Clinton and conservative President George W. Bush to new political voices inspired by concerns of populism, nationalism, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, social class, and the well-being of the earth itself.

In addition to the new, modern readings, the fifth edition also adds a few key contributions from earlier times. Federalist Paper #54 shows just how conflicted the Founders were over slavery. A piece by Mark Twain reflects the novelist’s signature political themes, including the abolition of slavery and opposition to imperialism. A selection of entries from Civil War soldier and postwar columnist Ambrose Bierce’s Devil’s Dictionary comprises a cohesive philosophy of political cynicism that rings all too true today, while the sad lament of Lakota holy man Black Elk offers both an indictment of the American past and an invitation to a profoundly different and better future.

Introduction: American Political Thought
Foundations, Transformations, and Identity
Key Concepts in American Political Thought

Part I. A Revolutionary Experiment: 1620-1800
Colonization and Commonwealth
From the Restoration to the Great Awakening
The Pre-Revolutionary Period
Revolution to Constitution

1. John Winthrop
The Little Speech (1639)

2. John Wise
“Democracy Is Founded in Scripture” (1717)

3. Benjamin Franklin
Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, the People of Countries, etc. (1751)
Excerpts from the Great Law of Peace of the Iroquois Nations
Short Hints towards a Scheme for Uniting the Northern Colonies (1754)
The Albany Plan of Union (1754)

4. Samuel Adams
“The Rights of the Colonists” (1772)

5. Thomas Paine
Common Sense (1776)
The American Crisis I (1777)
Rights of Man—Part One (1791)

6. The Declaration of Independence
The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America (1776)

7. The Articles of Confederation
Articles of Confederation (agreed by Congress, 15 November 1777; ratified and in force 1 March 1781)

8. John Adams
“Thoughts on Government” (1776)
“A Defense of the Constitutions of the United States” (1787)
Correspondence with Abigail Adams (1776)

9. The Constitution
The Constitution of the United States of America (1787)

10. In Favor of Adoption of the Constitution
James Madison’s Federalist Essays (1787-88)
Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist Essays (1787-88)

11. Against Adoption of the Constitution
Dissent of the Pennsylvania Minority (1787)
Letter from Samuel Adams to Richard Henry Lee (1787)
Richard Henry Lee, Letters from a Federal Farmer (1787-88)

12. Alexander Hamilton’s Program
Report on Credit (1790)
Opinion on the Constitutionality of the Bank (1791)
Report on Manufacturers (1791)

13. Thomas Jefferson: Principles and Program
“Madison’s Report to the Virginia General Assembly” (1800)
Notes on Virginia (1785)
First Inaugural Address (1801)
Selected Letters (1787-1823)

Part II. Development and Democracy: 1800-1865
Hamiltonian Development under Jeffersonian Government
Democratization within the Liberal Framework
Development and Democratization: Reactions and Extensions
Proslavery and Conservative Reaction

14. Chief Justice John Marshall
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

15. Henry David Thoreau
“Civil Disobedience” (1848)

16. Orestes Brownson
“The Laboring Classes” (1840)

17. Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions (1848)
Address to the New York State Legislature (1860)

18. Frederick Douglass
Speech at the Anti-Slavery Association (1848)
“The Various Phases of Anti-Slavery” (1855)

19. John C. Calhoun
A Disquisition on Government (1848)

20. George Fitzhugh
Cannibals All! (1857)

21. Abraham Lincoln
Speech on the Dred Scott Decision (1857)
Letter to Boston Republicans (1859)
Cooper Union Address (1860)
First Inaugural Address (1861)
Second Annual Message to Congress (1862)
The Gettysburg Address (1863)
Second Inaugural Address (1865)

Part III. Reconstruction and Industrialization: 1865-1900
Reconstruction
1877
Social Darwinism
Alternatives
The Greenback and Populist (People’s) Parties
The Labor Movement
Other Reform Movements
Socialism
The Climax: 1894-96
Summary

22. The Civil War Constitutional Amendments and the Failure of the “Sixteenth” Amendment
The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments (1865- 70)
Excerpts from The Revolution (1869)
Debates at Meetings of the Equal Rights Association (1869)
Susan B. Anthony’s Statement at the Close of Her Trial (1873)
Susan B. Anthony’s Petition to Congress for Remission of Her Fine (1874)

23. William Graham Sumner
What Social Classes Owe to Each Other (1884)
“The Conquest of the United States by Spain”

24. NEW! Mark Twain
The War Prayer (1923 [1904-05])

25. Edward Bellamy
Looking Backward (1889)

26. Populism
The Ocala Demands (December 1890)
The Populist Party Platform (4 July 1892)

27. NEW! Ambrose Bierce
The Devil’s Dictionary (1911) (Selections)

28. NEW! Black Elk/John G. Neihardt
Black Elk Speaks

Part IV. The Rise of the Positive State: 1900-1945
Sources of Opposition and Reform
From Laissez-faire to Interventionism and the Positive State
The Roles of Science, Technology, Organization, and Bureaucracy—and the Problem of Democracy

29. Emma Goldman
“Anarchism: What It Really Stands For” (1907)
“The Tragedy of Woman’s Emancipation” (1910)

30. W.E.B. Du Bois
The Souls of Black Folk (1903)

31. Eugene V. Debs
“Revolutionary Unionism” (1905)
Speech to the Jury (1918)

32. Herbert Croly
The Promise of American Life (1909)

33. Progressivism
The Progressive Party Platform (5 August 1912)
The Progressive Era Constitutional Amendments Sixteen through Twenty-One (1913-33)
Article V of the Colorado State Constitution as Amended 8 November 1910

34. Frederick W. Taylor
The Nature of Scientific Management (1912)

35. Woodrow Wilson
“The Meaning of Democracy” (1912)

36. John Dewey
The Public and Its Problems (1927)

37. Franklin D. Roosevelt
The Commonwealth Club Address (1932)
Campaign Address (1936)
An Economic Bill of Rights (11 January 1944)

Part V. Liberalism, The New Left, and The New Right, 1945-1990
American Political Thought to the Mid-Twentieth Century: A Summary
Post World War II Liberal Dominance
The Sources and Components of the New Left
Origins of the New Right

38. NEW! John F. Kennedy
Inaugural Speech (1961)

39. Martin Luther King Jr.
Letter from the Birmingham City Jail (1963)

40. Students for a Democratic Society
The Port Huron Statement (1962)

41. Betty Friedan
Our Revolution Is Unique (1968)

42. NEW! Aldo Leopold
A Sand County Almanac (1968)

43. Ronald Reagan
First Inaugural Speech (1981)
State of the Union Address (1984)

44. NEW! Christopher Lasch
The Culture of Narcissism (1979)
Women and the Common Life

45. Glenn C. Loury
Achieving the “Dream:” A Challenge to Liberals and Conservatives in the Spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. (1990)

46. National Conference of Catholic Bishops
Economic Justice for All: Pastoral Letter on Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy (1986)

47. Summary of an Era
Articles of Amendment Ratified
Articles of Amendment Not Ratified
California Proposition 209 (1989)

NEW! Part VI. Democracy and Diversity, 1990-2003
An Overview of U.S. Politics in the 1990s
The Decline of the Liberal-Conservative Debate
New Voices of Disadvantage
Continuing Voices of Conservation and Change
Identity, Diversity, and Democracy
Conclusion: The Personal and the Political

48. NEW! William J. Clinton
Second Inaugural Address (1997)

49. NEW! Cathleen and Colleen McGuire
“Ecofeminist Visions” (1991)

50. NEW! June Jordan
Affirmative Acts: “On the Politics of Change” (1998)

51. NEW! Patrick Buchanan
The Great Betrayal (1998)

52. NEW! Craig Kielburger
Free the Children (1998)

53. NEW! Winona LaDuke
All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life (1999)

54. NEW! Green Party
Green Party Platform (2000)

55. NEW! The George W. Bush Administration The National Security Strategy of the United States of America (2002)

56. NEW! Ken Gordon
“Wealth, Democracy, and Campaign Finance in the United States” (2003)

57. NEW! Michael S. Cummings
“Children’s Right to Vote” (2003)

58. NEW! Kenneth M. Dolbeare
“Restoring Popular Sovereignty: Toward a Politics of Issues” (2003)

59. NEW! Karla Haas Moskowitz
“Identity, Diversity, and Education for Democracy” (2003)

"Dolbeare and Cummings present the best sampling of the main and diverse strains of American political thought. I have used Dolbeare’s American Political Thought for almost 20 years, because I have never found any other anthology that provides the breadth of thinkers and depth in selections that it provides. Unlike many texts, its coverage is balanced over the history of American thought, and includes authors who, though perhaps not profound or systematic thinkers, tap into significant elements of the American political drama."

- Joseph F. Kobylka, Southern Methodist University

"Dolbeare and Cummings provide an excellent anthology for use in survey courses on American political thought and U.S. politics. They skillfully edit each piece in a way that renders the essential argument, while inviting students to learn more by turning to the original, full texts. Their selections include classic texts but also convey the diversity of ideas expressed by those who have challenged the prevailing views of their age. Many of the readings encourage students to consider how race, gender, and class have shaped the American experience and our understanding of it."

- Patricia Sykes, American University

"American Political Thought by Dolbeare and Cummings challenges graduate students while providing clarity to advanced undergrads. It is balanced, fair, and thorough, and written in clear and concise English that is fully understandable by my students."

- James B. Whisker, West Virginia University

"Since its inception more than twenty years ago, Dolbeare’s American Political Thought has been the standard anthology in the field for its quality and versatility. It contains ample selections for all periods in the development of American political thought. The selections on the American Founding, the Civil War era, and the progressive period are particularly good. The analyses of contemporary American political thought are remarkably up-to-date, underscoring the changes in the liberal-conservative debate that were ushered in by the end of the Cold War. The introductions to the various sections make the book usable as a self-contained text as well as a sourcebook that can be integrated with a variety of secondary works in this burgeoning field of study."

- Gerald DeMaio, CUNY-Baruch College

Kenneth M. Dolbeare is a retired professor of political science who has taught at the Universities of Wisconsin, Washington, Massachusetts, and Colorado-Denver. He also taught for fifteen years at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. In addition to his Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University, he received his LLB from Brooklyn Law School and is a member of the New York Bar. He is the author of several research monographs and other books, the most recent of which is USA 2012: After the Middle Class Revolution (1996).

Michael S. Cummings is professor of political science and President’s Teaching Scholar at the University of Colorado at Denver. A graduate of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton, he received his Ph.D. in political science from Stanford. He has published many articles and two co-edited books on communal and utopian studies, as well as a 1999 co-edited book, The Transformation of U.S. Unions: Voices, Visions, and Strategies from the Grassroots. His 2001 book, Beyond Political Correctness: Social Transformation in the United States, was named the “Outstanding Book in Transformational and Ecological Politics” by the American Political Science Association’s organized section in Ecological and Transformational Politics. In the 1980s and 1990s, he became a public advocate for children’s empowerment.