The Basic Symbols of the American Political Tradition

by Willmoore Kendall, George W. Carey

When it was first published twenty-five years ago, this classic work of political theory gained notoriety because neither its approach nor its interpretations readily fit into any of the major schools of thought dealing with the American political tradition. More significantly, its arguments challenged core tenets of what had become received wisdom concerning the roots of our political beliefs and institutions. Willmoore Kendall and George W. Carey argue that a new, largely contrived political tradition has gained currency in many legal, academic, and political circles. This new tradition, set forth by Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address, holds that our fundamental political ideas are derived from the Bill of Rights and the "all men are created equal" clause of the Declaration of Independence. Proponents of this view not only champion individual rights but also believe that the achievement of a broadly defined equality represents a binding but as yet unfulfilled promise made by the American people in the Declaration.

In the present work, Kendall and Carey instead maintain that one must look to the founding era and its key documents in order to understand our indigenous political tradition. In so doing, one sees that the right of the people to govern themselves, rather than the concept of individual rights, is at the heart of the American political tradition.

Using the analytical approach developed by Eric Voegelin, the authors examine the documents that are vital to an understanding of our political the Mayflower Compact , the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut , the Massachusetts Body of Liberties, the Virginia Bill of Rights, the Constitution itself, and the Federalist Papers . At the same time, they consider questions highly relevant to the subsequent course of American political development.

This thought-provoking book contributes important arguments to the fundamental debate over the place of equality in our political self-understanding. It will continue to be of immense interest to all serious students of American political thought.

Genres: Politics, Philosophy

168 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1970

Reviews

[Mike Horne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using Voeglin's analysis of symbols or myths that identify us as a regime, Kendall (and Carey) reread our "scriptures" in very different way from most 20th Century theorists. They argue that Lincoln has derailed the American tradtion by placing the Declaration (and a minor part of that--"All men are created equal") at the center. I don't know if I buy their story (they seem to read John Locke out of the Declaration--see pp 63-65 , but it is well written. See Harry V. Jaffa's response to them--
http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cgi/vie...

Here is the heart of the matter.

"Our Constitution, consistent with the basic symbols, is clearly nomocratic in character, largely concerned, that is, with providing rules and limits for the government through which the people express their will. Since the derailment, however, the Constitution is increasingly viewed from a teleocratic perspective, as an instrument designed to fulfill the ends, commitments, or promise of the Declaration. (xxii)

I think you have to read this book if you are interested in American political theory.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reasoning that one can't understand a society without first comprehending how it understands itself, Kendall aims to identify, using the framework developed by Eric Voegelin, what key myths inform American self-perception:

"All societies think of themselves, once they begin to think of themselves at all, as representing a truth, a meaning, about the nature and destiny of man, and thus about that which, in the constitution of being, is above and beyond man."

The trick, he writes, is deciding where to begin. Start too early (with the Magna Carta, say), and you dilute what makes the American political tradition distinctly American. Start too late (with, say, The Gettysburg Address), and you miss underlying beliefs that will tell you how to understand subsequent developments and the meanings of political symbols.

Kendall believes the best place to start is with early compacts and charters used by colonists in organizing themselves. What he sharply rejects--and this sets him apart from the majority who think about the American founding today--is the notion that our founding myth is captured by The Declaration of Independence. The DoI is, he argues, a divorce letter, not an articulation of the principles that will undergird the new government.

The reason he dwells on this is because he contends the DoI language about equality and inalienable rights has been contorted to justify massive government intervention in the lives of citizens, and the trampling of local self-determination. I suspect the reason he received such a harsh response from scholars like Harry Jaffa is because the DoI's language was made to serve an incredibly valuable end--emancipation of slaves and subsequent efforts to repair some of the damage wrought by that evil institution.

The strategic and rhetorical use of the DoI's language, however, doesn't negate Kendall's contention, which is that if we want to properly understand the intent of the American founders where it comes to state powers, what the Bill of Rights means, and limits on federal action, we'd best look to those early compacts, to state constitutions, and to the words of the Federalists, as well as existing state laws. All these mitigate against what he considered the latent destructive quality of the Lincolnian mindset, in which America is subjected to:

"... an endless series of Abraham Lincolns, each persuaded that he is superior in wisdom and virtue to the Fathers, each prepared to insist that those who oppose this or that new application of the equality standard are denying the possibility of self-government, each ultimately willing to plunge America into Civil War rather than concede his point..."

What I appreciate about Kendall is that he was willing to pursue a philosophical thread all the way to the end, without pausing to ask whether he likes the destination. That made him, in my view, intellectually far more honest than a Jaffa, who too often in his essays resorts to lawyerly rhetoric rather than philosophical reasoning. If only Kendall has lived longer, the two of them might have had any number of rollicking debates. Alas.

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most Americans are not very familiar with the basic documents that have formed our political tradition. This book supplies a serious need by studying those documents and showing their importance. If American are not to be politically manipulated, they should be familiar with the ideas with which this book deals based on our formative political documents.

[Desire · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy ready. Read this book for my masters degree. It had come in handy in a number of papers. I have it in hard copy as well. I think I will let this book as I transition into the field of government.

[Bauer Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

"When it was first published twenty-five years ago, this classic work of political theory gained notoriety because neither its approach nor its interpretations readily fit into any of the major schools of thought dealing with the American political tradition. More significantly, its arguments challenged core tenets of what had become received wisdom concerning the roots of our political beliefs and institutions. Wilmoore Kendall and George W. Carey argue that a new, largely contrived political tradition has gained currency in many legal, academic, and political circles. This new tradition, set forth by Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address, holds that our fundamental political ideas are derived from the Bill of Rights and the "all men are created equal" clause of the Declaration of Independence. Proponents of this view not only champion individual rights but also believe that the achievement of a broadly defined equality represents a binding but as yet unfulfilled promise made by the American people in the Declaration.In the present work, Kendall and Carey instead maintain that one must look to the founding era and its key documents in order to understand our indigenous political tradition. In so doing, one sees that the right of the people to govern themselves, rather than the concept of individual rights, is at the heart of the American political tradition." - Amazon Reviews

[Du · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intelligent and thoughtful review of the consistency in political thought between our founding documents. There is no getting around that this book is academic. That said, it should be, it's basically a text book. All in all, it is a sophisticated, well written, conservative, but not far right (really wasn't in vogue in 1990], and well worth it.