Nicholas Buccola - Böcker

From the acclaimed author of The Fire Is upon Us, the dramatic untold story of Barry Goldwater and Martin Luther King Jr.’s decade-long clash over the meaning of freedom—and how their conflicting visions still divide American politicsIn the mid-1950s, Barry Goldwater and Martin Luther King Jr. emerged as the leaders of two diametrically opposed freedom movements that changed the course of American history—and still divide American politics. King mobilized civil rights activists under the banner of “freedom now,” insisting that true freedom would not be realized until all people—regardless of race—were empowered politically, economically, and socially. Goldwater rallied conservatives to the cause of “extremism in defense of liberty,” advocating radical individualism. In One Man’s Freedom, Nicholas Buccola tells the compelling story of Goldwater and King’s dramatic decade-long debate over the meaning of an all-important American ideal.Part dual biography, part history, One Man’s Freedom traces the actions and words of Goldwater and King over a crucial and eventful decade, from their dizzying rise through 1964, which ended with Goldwater’s landslide defeat in the presidential election and King’s Nobel Peace Prize. The book chronicles why Goldwater and King, who never met in person, came to view each other as perhaps the greatest threat to freedom in America. It explains how their ideas of freedom could be so vastly different, yet both so deeply rooted in American history and their times. And it shows how their disagreement continues to shape and explain politics today, when the bitter divisions between Republicans and Democrats often come down to the question of what kind of freedom Americans want—the one defined by Goldwater or by King?

"A great read."—Whoopi Goldberg, The ViewHow the clash between the civil rights firebrand and the father of modern conservatism continues to illuminate America's racial divideOn February 18, 1965, an overflowing crowd packed the Cambridge Union in Cambridge, England, to witness a historic televised debate between James Baldwin, the leading literary voice of the civil rights movement, and William F. Buckley Jr., a fierce critic of the movement and America's most influential conservative intellectual. The topic was "the American dream is at the expense of the American Negro," and no one who has seen the debate can soon forget it. Nicholas Buccola's The Fire Is upon Us is the first book to tell the full story of the event, the radically different paths that led Baldwin and Buckley to it, the controversies that followed, and how the debate and the decades-long clash between the men continues to illuminate America's racial divide today.Born in New York City only fifteen months apart, the Harlem-raised Baldwin and the privileged Buckley could not have been more different, but they both rose to the height of American intellectual life during the civil rights movement. By the time they met in Cambridge, Buckley was determined to sound the alarm about a man he considered an "eloquent menace." For his part, Baldwin viewed Buckley as a deluded reactionary whose popularity revealed the sickness of the American soul. The stage was set for an epic confrontation that pitted Baldwin's call for a moral revolution in race relations against Buckley's unabashed elitism and implicit commitment to white supremacy.A remarkable story of race and the American dream, The Fire Is upon Us reveals the deep roots and lasting legacy of a conflict that continues to haunt our politics.

How the legendary debate between a civil rights firebrand and the father of modern conservatism illuminates America's racial divideOn February 18, 1965, an overflowing crowd packed the Cambridge Union in Cambridge, England, to witness a historic televised debate between James Baldwin, the leading literary voice of the civil rights movement, and William F. Buckley Jr., a fierce critic of the movement and America's most influential conservative intellectual. The topic was "the American dream is at the expense of the American Negro," and no one who has seen the debate can soon forget it. Nicholas Buccola's The Fire Is upon Us is the first book to tell the full story of the event, the radically different paths that led Baldwin and Buckley to it, and how the debate and the decades-long clash between the men illuminates the racial divide that continues to haunt America today.

The ultimate guide to the thinkers and ideas that have shaped the United States, featuring essential primary sources introduced by leading scholarsThe Princeton History of American Political Thought showcases the defining voices and debates in U.S. political history, spanning from the 1600s to the present. Each set of primary sources is accompanied by a short, accessible essay by a leading scholar, situating the writings in a broader American conversation about what the nation is, has been, and could be. Without shying away from the disagreements that have shaped the nation, the book shows how these controversies have played out within a broadly consistent set of questions, commitments, and concerns. The result captures the diversity, depth, and power of the American political tradition.An essential reference, The Princeton History of American Political Thought is not just for scholars and students but for anyone who seeks to understand the United States: its past, its present, and its future possibilities.Features short primary sources that range from the 1600s to the presentIncludes accessible introductions and essays about each set of sources, written by leading expertsShowcases the wide variety of perspectives that characterize the American political tradition

Though Abraham Lincoln was not a political philosopher per se, in word and in deed he did grapple with many of the most pressing and timeless questions in politics. What is the moral basis ofpopular sovereignty? What are the proper limits on the will of the majority? When and why should we revere the law? What are we to do when the letter of the law is at odds with what we believe justice requires? How is our devotion to a particular nation related to our commitment to universal ideals? What is the best way to protect theright to liberty for all people? The contributors to this volume, a methodologically and ideologically diverse group of scholars,examine Lincoln’s responses to these and other ultimate questions in politics. The result is a fascinating portrait of not only Abraham Lincoln but also the promises and paradoxes of liberal democracy.The basic liberal democratic idea is that individual liberty is best secured by a democratic political order that treats all citizens as equals before the law and is governed by the law, with its limits on how the state may treat its citizens and on how citizens may treat one another. Though wonderfully coherent in theory, these ideasprove problematic in real-world politics. The authors of this volume approach Lincoln as the embodiment of this paradox—”naturally antislavery” yet unflinchingly committed to defending proslavery laws; defender of the common man but troubled by the excesses of democracy; devoted to the idea of equal natural rights yet unable to imagine a harmonious, interracial democracy. Considering Lincoln as he attempted to work out the meaning and coherence of the liberal democratic project in practice, these authors craft a profile of the 16th president’s political thought from a variety of perspectives and through multiple lenses. Together their essays create the first fully-dimensional portrait of Abraham Lincoln as a political actor, expressing, addressing, and reframing the perennial questions of liberal democracy for his time and our own.

2013 Finalist, 26th Annual Oregon Best Book Award Normal0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }/* Style Definitions */table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";}Frederick Douglass, one of the most prominent figures inAfrican-American and United Stateshistory, was born a slave, but escaped to the North and became a well-knownanti-slavery activist, orator, and author. In The Political Thought ofFrederick Douglass, Nicholas Buccola provides an important and originalargument about the ideas that animated this reformer-statesman. Beyond his roleas an abolitionist, Buccola argues for the importance of understanding Douglassas a political thinker who provides deep insights into the immense challenge ofachieving and maintaining the liberal promise of freedom. Douglass, Buccolacontends, shows us that the language of rights must be coupled with a robustunderstanding of social responsibility in order for liberal ideals to berealized. Truly an original American thinker, this book highlights Douglass'srightful place among the great thinkers in the American liberal tradition. Podcast — Nicholas Buccola on Frederick Douglass and Liberty.

2013 Finalist, 26th Annual Oregon Best Book Award Normal0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }/* Style Definitions */table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";}Frederick Douglass, one of the most prominent figures inAfrican-American and United Stateshistory, was born a slave, but escaped to the North and became a well-knownanti-slavery activist, orator, and author. In The Political Thought ofFrederick Douglass, Nicholas Buccola provides an important and originalargument about the ideas that animated this reformer-statesman. Beyond his roleas an abolitionist, Buccola argues for the importance of understanding Douglassas a political thinker who provides deep insights into the immense challenge ofachieving and maintaining the liberal promise of freedom. Douglass, Buccolacontends, shows us that the language of rights must be coupled with a robustunderstanding of social responsibility in order for liberal ideals to berealized. Truly an original American thinker, this book highlights Douglass'srightful place among the great thinkers in the American liberal tradition. Podcast — Nicholas Buccola on Frederick Douglass and Liberty.

In addition to a thoughtful selection of the essays, speeches, and autobiographical writings of Frederick Douglass, this anthology provides an illuminating Introduction; a timeline of Douglass' life; footnotes that introduce individuals, quotations, and events; and a selected bibliography.