Ken Kersch - American Political Thought

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In Memory of

Isaac Kramnick

KEN I. KERSCH

polity

Copyright © Ken Kersch 2021

The right of Ken Kersch to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in 2021 by Polity Press

Polity Press

65 Bridge Street

Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK

Polity Press

101 Station Landing

Suite 300

Medford, MA 02155, USA

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-3035-9

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Kersch, Kenneth Ira, 1964- author.

Title: American political thought : an invitation / Ken I. Kersch.

Description: Cambridge, UK ; Medford, MA : Polity Press, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “The best one-volume introduction to American Political Thought available”-- Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020027944 (print) | LCCN 2020027945 (ebook) | ISBN 9781509530328 (hardback) | ISBN 9781509530335 (paperback) | ISBN 9781509530359 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: United States--Politics and government--Philosophy.

Classification: LCC JK31 .K469 2021 (print) | LCC JK31 (ebook) | DDC 320.0973--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020027944LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020027945

The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for external websites referred to in this book are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the publisher has no responsibility for the websites and can make no guarantee that a site will remain live or that the content is or will remain appropriate.

Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition.

For further information on Polity, visit our website: politybooks.com

In thinking about and writing this book, I am grateful for the assistance of my Boston College students, both the many with whom I have explored this subject in my classes, and the few who provided more extensive critiques, suggestions, and research assistance. Of the latter, I am especially grateful to Steven LeGere, Aaron Pezzullo, and, thankfully, once again, Ryan Towey. Kaylie Ramirez and Caleb Tansey from BC provided more targeted advice, as did Chris Bartlett, Richard Bensel, and Ted Holsten. My conversations with Clem Fatovic on this topic have been so numerous that it is hard for me to know where his understandings of key points and issues end and my own begin.

Anyone who has studied this subject with Isaac Kramnick at Cornell, as Clem and I did together, will know, as casual readers might not, that Isaac’s influence on this book is pervasive. It is also hard for me to imagine having learned whatever I have about this subject without thinking of my initial conversations at Cornell with Ted Lowi, Richard Bensel, Jeremy Rabkin, and Elizabeth Sanders. I have learned an immense amount about this subject since, of course, especially from Keith Whittington, Mark Graber, and Carol Nackenoff, but from many others as well. Boston College provided generous financial assistance.

I am immensely grateful to George Owers at Polity, both for soliciting me to write a book on this topic – which I had long been pondering – and for being such a knowledgeable, engaged, and inspiring editor. The anonymous outside reviewers George assembled first for the book proposal and then for the completed manuscript provided extraordinarily penetrating critiques, sage advice, and essential corrections that significantly improved the book. I also would like to thank Julia Davies at Polity, whose expertise and attentiveness have been indispensable to whatever successes this book may have.