A party form of government: Franklin Roosevelt's failed 1938 purge and its implications for development of a responsible American party system.
Item
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Title
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A party form of government: Franklin Roosevelt's failed 1938 purge and its implications for development of a responsible American party system.
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Identifier
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AAI9720138
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identifier
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9720138
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Creator
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Schurin, Ronald C.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Frances Fox Piven
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Date
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1997
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Political Science, General | History, United States
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Abstract
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The role of the political party in American life has long been the subject of debate. A common view among political scientists is that while a party system is essential to effective democratic government, American parties have been found wanting--undisciplined, programmatically incoherent, and incapable of translating the public will into public policy. The American Political Science Association's 1950 plea for "a more responsible two-party system," building on E. E. Schattschneider's earlier work, offers a clear statement of this perspective.;Yet, I argue, it is important to realize that the structure and history of American politics make establishment of a responsible party system almost impossible. Federalism, separation of powers, the complex historical role of the South, and longstanding traditions of localism all work against disciplined, centrally directed political parties.;That proposition was tested in 1938 when Franklin Roosevelt, frustrated over a series of legislative defeats at the hands of conservative Democrats and seeking to create what he called "a party form of government," tried to take firm control over his party and commit it unequivocally to the New Deal agenda. Roosevelt had long advocated responsible parties, but had subordinated this goal to more immediate programmatic objectives. By 1937-38 he and his advisers concluded that it was time to act. He embarked on a controversial public campaign to "purge" several senators he regarded as insufficiently loyal to himself and his program.;Roosevelt's considerable prestige and patronage resources proved insufficient to the task at hand. In Iowa, Georgia, and Maryland he suffered humiliating defeats as incumbent senators made the President's interference the major issue of the campaign. Only in Kentucky (where he supported an incumbent) and New York (where he defeated a sitting Congressman) did Roosevelt win significant victories.;This dissertation traces the debate over responsible parties and examines the 1938 campaign in detail. In the concluding chapter it reviews analysts' assessments of the campaign's impact on the subsequent course of national politics and argues that the purge campaign's greatest historical importance lies in its role as an illuminating event in explaining the causes for the absence of a responsible party system in the United States.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
