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Ruling America
A History of Wealth and Power in a Democracy
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Edited by:
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2005
About this book
This book offers a panoramic history of our country’s ruling elites from the time of the American Revolution to the present. At its heart is the greatest of American paradoxes: How have tiny minorities of the rich and privileged consistently exercised so much power in a nation built on the notion of rule by the people?
Reviews
Undoubtedly, Ruling America provides valuable insight into historical periods that trace the growing power of an elite ruling class, but perhaps its true value lies in the questions the narrative prompts about the balance of power in the world’s most powerful nation… A pertinent reference for scholars in the fields of business, economic and political history. For business historians in particular, this book provides a solid foundation to explore the machinations of big business and government inside America’s ruling class in the context of a triumphant agenda.
-- Shakila Yacob Business History
-- Shakila Yacob Business History
One of the enduring mysteries of American politics, from the days of the Constitutional convention to the Bush administration, has been how, in a democracy, wealthy elites have managed to exert a powerful influence on public life. In this book, some of our finest historians address this question and in so doing offer a host of new insights into our national past and present. Class is the feature of American life that dares not speak its name, but these essays go a long way toward explaining how it operates in American politics.
-- Eric Foner, DeWitt Clinton Professor of History, Columbia University
-- Eric Foner, DeWitt Clinton Professor of History, Columbia University
This is a powerful set of essays on a sorely neglected subject: the history of the American elite in a world it has come to dominate. U.S. society has become less egalitarian in recent years, and Fraser and Gerstle’s polished and provocative anthology helps explain how it got that way.
-- Michael Kazin, author of The Populist Persuasion: An American History
-- Michael Kazin, author of The Populist Persuasion: An American History
Ruling America is a splendid collection of superbly written essays that probe the nature and importance of inequality in income and power over a 250-year period of American history. It succeeds in reintroducing concepts like ‘ruling class,’ ‘elite,’ and ‘establishment’ into our political and historical vocabulary. It is an impressive accomplishment.
-- Nelson Lichtenstein, University of California, Santa Barbara
-- Nelson Lichtenstein, University of California, Santa Barbara
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Frontmatter
i -
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Contents
vii -
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Introduction
1 -
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1. The Dilemmas of Ruling Elites in Revolutionary America
27 -
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2. The “Slave Power” in the United States, 1783–1865
64 -
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3. Merchants and Manufacturers in the Antebellum North
92 -
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4. Gilded Age Gospels
123 -
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5. The Abortive Rule of Big Money
149 -
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6. The Managerial Revitalization of the Rich
181 -
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7. The Foreign Policy Establishment
215 -
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8. Conservative Elites and the Counterrevolution against the New Deal
250 -
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Coda: Democracy in America
286 -
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Notes
295 -
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Acknowledgments
349 -
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Contributors
351 -
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Index
355
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
June 16, 2015
eBook ISBN:
9780674037199
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Main content:
384
eBook ISBN:
9780674037199
Audience(s) for this book
General/trade;
