The Oxford Handbook of American Political History

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Paula Baker, Donald T. Critchlow
Oxford University Press, 2020 M03 6 - 536 pages
American political and policy history has revived since the turn of the twenty-first century. After social and cultural history emerged as dominant forces to reveal the importance of class, race, and gender within the United States, the application of this line of work to American politics and policy followed. In addition, social movements, particularly the civil rights and feminism, helped rekindle political and policy history. As a result, a new generation of historians turned their attention to American politics. Their new approach still covers traditional subjects, but more often it combines an interest in the state, politics, and policy with other specialties (urban, labor, social, and race, among others) within the history and social science disciplines. The Oxford Handbook of American Political History incorporates and reflects this renaissance of American political history. It not only provides a chronological framework but also illustrates fundamental political themes and debates about public policy, including party systems, women in politics, political advertising, religion, and more. Chapters on economy, defense, agriculture, immigration, transportation, communication, environment, social welfare, health care, drugs and alcohol, education, and civil rights trace the development and shifts in American policy history. This collection of essays by 29 distinguished scholars offers a comprehensive overview of American politics and policy.
 

Contents

Introduction
1
Colonial Politics
11
The Politics of the Constitution
27
The Early Republic 17891815
45
Democrats and Whigs The Second American Party System
62
The Politics of Slavery and the Coming Civil War
79
Politics of the Civil War and Reconstruction
96
Politics in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era
115
Ethnic Politics in American History
295
Tax and Fiscal Regimes in the United States The Long Swings
312
Defense and Foreign Policy
339
Gender and Political Citizenship
354
Immigration Policy Restrictive and Expansive Traditions
371
The Three Regimes of American Transportation Policy
391
Communications and Technology Policy
408
Environmental and Energy Policy
426

The Politics of Depression and War
135
Party Politics and National Policy PostWorld War II
151
The Rules of the Game
178
Voting Rights
195
Third Parties
219
The Role of Money in Politics
246
Political Advertising and the Media
265
Religion and American Politics
278
Social Welfare Policy
445
Health Policy
464
The Long Shadow of Prohibition US Drug and Alcohol Policy in the Twentieth Century
481
Federal Education Policy
503
Civil Rights Policy
517
Index
535
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About the author (2020)

Paula Baker is Associate Professor of History at The Ohio State University. Her most recent book is Curbing Campaign Cash: Henry Ford, Truman Newberry, and the Politics of Progressive Reform. Donald Critchlow is Katzin Family Professor of History at Arizona State University. He is the author of twenty-three books, including Republican Character: From Nixon to Reagan and Future Right: The Forging of a New Republican Majority.

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