The Liberal Republican Conception of Party, 1848–1872
The Liberal Republican Conception of Party, 1848–1872
This chapter discusses the liberal republicans' view of political parties as “engine[s] to accomplish objects of public good” and as reform coalitions that become corrupt and need constant renewal. Strongly committed to principle, liberal republicans would not follow party discipline during the Civil War, and some criticized their party for corruption and use of the spoils system. During the war, they challenged the political system by developing an independent press, something unknown at a time when most newspapers were operated by political parties. While some historians have seen the liberal republican approach to political parties as a cynical way of rationalizing their movement, their concept of party was the culmination of words and deeds over the course of two decades. In articulating their vision of political parties, the liberal republicans were drawing on their experiences since the 1848 founding of the Free Soil Party.
Keywords: political parties, corruption, public good, reform, independent press
Fordham Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
