This work traces the historical processes in thought by which American political leaders slowly edged away from their complete philosophical rejection of a party and hesitantly began to embrace a party system. In the author's words, "The emergence of legitimate party opposition and of a theory of politics that accepted it was something new in the history of the world; it required a bold new act of understanding on the part of its contemporaries and it still requires study on our part." Professor Hofstadter's analysis of the idea of party and the development of legitimate opposition offers fresh insights into the political crisis of 1797-1801, on the thought of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Martin Van Buren, and other leading figures, and on the beginnings of modern democratic politics.

Preface

Party and Opposition in the Eighteenth Century
A Constitution Against Parties
The Jeffersonians in Opposition
The Transit of Power
The Quest for Unanimity
Toward a Party System

Index

The late Richard Hofstadter was DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University. He was the author of many books and articles on American History and twice received the Pulitzer Prize: in History in 1956, and in general nonfiction in 1964.

"Every element of this study is to be commended: the design of the argument, the evidence to support it, the lucidity of the writing, and the tone of impersonal historical investigation. It is what books are for. It provides instruction and entertainment of the best order."—The New York Times