Lyman Tower Sargent

Political Thought in the United States: A Documentary History Lyman Tower Sargent

Jacket Description/Back: An innovative departure from traditional approaches to political thought, Lyman Tower Sargent's groundbreaking anthology includes minority ideologies and positions where they occurred historically. By interweaving minority voices with majority documents rather than grouping them separately, Political Thought in the United States presents us with a uniquely organic portrait of American political life. Beginning with the time of the explorers and early settlers, the volume presents the political beliefs and ideologies of religious minorities, women, North American Indians, and African Americans as fundamental components of American thought. Emphasizing that such minority perspectives never melted together into the mainstream, Sargent subscribes to a "tossed salad" approach which emphasizes the distinctness of minority opinions. Sargent's introductory comments, which preface the selections, serve as connecting narratives and help the reader follow ideological disputes as they occurred, revealing a historical continuum and enriching our understanding of contemporary politics. Review Quotes:"Harvard has played a curiously central role in the American cultural imagination, a role that is fraught with ambiguity. In no part of our society is this more the case than in black America. This important book brings together for the first time two hundred years of reflection on the curious relation of black culture to Harvard, and Harvard's complex relation to black people. A fascinating collection, extraordinarily well-researched, an essential text for all who are interested in the history of African-Americans in higher education."-Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Biographical Note: Lyman Tower Sargent, Professor of Political Science at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, is author and editor of numerous books including "Extremism in America" and "Political Thought in the United States "(also available from NYU Press). Publisher Marketing: An innovative departure from traditional approaches to political thought, this groundbreaking anthology includes minority ideologies where they occurred historically. By interweaving minority voices with majority documents rather than grouping them together, Political Thought in the United States presents us with a uniquely organic portrait of American political life. Beginning with the time of the explorers and early settlers, Lyman Tower Sargent presents the political beliefs and ideologies of religious minorities, women, North American Indians, and African Americans as fundamental components of American thought. Political Thought in the United States centers on two themes: the relationship between majority rule and minority rights, and the focus of power in the American system. Together with classic documents long heralded as cornerstones of American democracy, the book features writings of those opposed to the Constitution, slave petitions, Indian treaties, Emerson's Politics, works of conservatives like John Taylor and Herbert Hoover, documents from the feminist movements, labor manifestos, critiques of industrialization, and W. E. B. Du Bois's still-debated The Talented Tenth, and much more.

Contributor Bio:  Sargent, Lyman Tower Lyman Tower Sargent, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, and a visiting fellow at the University of Oxford and New Zealand's Victoria University of Wellington. His extensive academic career also includes fellowships and visiting professorships with some of the world's most prestigious universities, including Princeton, University of Exeter, University of East Anglia, and the London School of Economics and Political Science. Dr. Sargent is a well-known author of many books and articles on political theory. Contributor Bio:  Sargent, Lyman Lyman Tower Sargent, Professor of Political Science at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, is author and editor of numerous books including "Extremism in America" and "Political Thought in the United States "(also available from NYU Press). Contributor Bio:  Sollors, Werner Werner Sollors is Henry B. and Anne M. Cabot Professor of English Literature and Professor of Afro-American Studies and Chair of the History of American Civilization Program at Harvard University. He is the author and editor of numerous books, including "The Multilingual Anthology of American Literature", "Theories of Ethnicity: A Classical Reader", and "Multilingual America: Transnationalism, Ethnicity, and the Languages of American Literature", all available from NYU Press. Contributor Bio:  Titcomb, Caldwell Caldwell Titcomb is Professor Emeritus of Music at Brandeis University and has for many years written widely on aspects of black culture. Thomas Underwood received his Ph. D. in the history of American civilization from Harvard University. Randall Kennedy is Professor at Harvard Law School and the editor of Reconstruction magazine. Contributor Bio:  Underwood, Thomas Thomas Underwood received his Ph. D. in the history of American civilization from Harvard University. Randall Kennedy is Professor at Harvard Law School and the editor of "Reconstruction" magazine. Contributor Bio:  Kennedy, Randall Randall Kennedy is Professor at Harvard Law School and the editor of "Reconstruction" magazine.