Conservative Thought and American Constitutionalism since the New Deal

by Johnathan O'Neill

Overview

An intellectual history of American conservativism since the New Deal.

The New Deal fundamentally changed the institutions of American constitutional government and, in turn, the relationship of Americans to their government. Johnathan O'Neill's Conservative Thought and American Constitutionalism since the New Deal examines how various types of conservative thinkers responded to this significant turning point in the second half of the twentieth century.

O'Neill identifies four fundamental transformations engendered by the New Deal: the rise of the administrative state, the erosion of federalism, the ascendance of the modern presidency, and the development of modern judicial review. He then considers how various schools of conservative thought (traditionalists, neoconservatives, libertarians, Straussians) responded to these major changes in American politics and culture. Conservatives frequently argued among themselves, and their responses to the New Deal ranged from adaptation to condemnation to political mobilization.

Ultimately, the New Deal pulled American governance and society permanently leftward. Although some of the New Deal's liberal gains have been eroded, a true conservative counterrevolution was never, O'Neill argues, a realistic possibility. He concludes with a plea for conservative thinkers to seriously reconsider the role of Congress—a body that is relatively ignored by conservative intellectuals in favor of the courts and the presidency—in America's constitutional order. Conservative Thought and American Constitutionalism since the New Deal explores the scope and significance of conservative constitutional analysis amid the broader field of American political thought.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421444628
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	11/29/2022
Pages:	398
Sales rank:	538,515
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.28(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Johnathan O'Neill (STATESBORO, GA) is a professor of history at Georgia Southern University. He is the author of Originalism in American Law and Politics: A Constitutional History.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Varieties of American Conservatism after the New Deal
Part I. The Administrative State: An Overview
Chapter 1. Traditionalists, Neoconservatives, Libertarians, and the Administrative State
Chapter 2. Straussians, the Administrative State, and the Rise of the Unitary Executive, Part 1
Part II. The Erosion of Federalism: An Overview
Chapter 3. Traditionalists, Neoconservatives, and the Erosion of Federalism
Chapter 4. Libertarians and the Erosion of Federalism
Chapter 5. Straussians and the Erosion of Federalism
Part III. The Modern Presidency: An Overview
Chapter 6. Traditionalists, the Modern Presidency, and the Rise of the Unitary Executive, Part 2
Chapter 7. Straussians, Neoconservatives, Libertarians, and the Modern Presidency
Part IV. Modern Judicial Review: An Overview
Chapter 8. Traditionalists, Neoconservatives, and Modern Judicial Review
Chapter 9. Straussians and Modern Judicial Review
Chapter 10. Libertarians and Modern Judicial Review: Toward the Imperative of Litigation
Conclusion: Conservatives, Congress, and the Future of American Constitutionalism
Notes
Index

What People are Saying About This

Vincent Phillip Muñoz

Johnathan O'Neill offers an impressive and comprehensive intellectual map of constitutional conservatives' responses to the New Deal. An essential history for those who seek to understand twentieth- and twenty-first-century conservative constitutional and political thought.

From the Publisher

Johnathan O'Neill has written an important book, one we have needed for a long time: a carefully focused examination of how conservative thinkers have responded to the four principal challenges of the post-New Deal political and constitutional environment. Essential reading for scholars of all political and constitutional persuasions.
—Wilfred McClay, Hillsdale College

The Constitution is too important to be left to the lawyers, or even the political theorists. In this exemplary work of careful, balanced scholarship, Johnathan O'Neill shows why a fuller understanding of constitutionalism requires historians, and especially historians who take ideas seriously. This is essential reading for every serious student of American conservatism and American constitutionalism.
—Yuval Levin, American Enterprise Institute

Johnathan O'Neill offers an impressive and comprehensive intellectual map of constitutional conservatives' responses to the New Deal. An essential history for those who seek to understand twentieth- and twenty-first-century conservative constitutional and political thought.
—Vincent Phillip Muñoz, Director, Center for Citizenship & Constitutional Government, University of Notre Dame

Conservative Thought and American Constitutionalism since the New Deal is a first-rate book that reflects a careful reading of conservative intellectual debates. Although there has been growing attention to modern conservative thought within constitutionalism, the book breaks new ground while highlighting and clarifying fissures within conservative constitutional thought.
—Keith E. Whittington, author of Repugnant Laws: Judicial Review of Acts of Congress from the Founding to the Present

Wilfred McClay

Johnathan O'Neill has written an important book, one we have needed for a long time: a carefully focused examination of how conservative thinkers have responded to the four principal challenges of the post-New Deal political and constitutional environment. Essential reading for scholars of all political and constitutional persuasions.

Keith E. Whittington

Conservative Thought and American Constitutionalism since the New Deal is a first-rate book that reflects a careful reading of conservative intellectual debates. Although there has been growing attention to modern conservative thought within constitutionalism, the book breaks new ground while highlighting and clarifying fissures within conservative constitutional thought.

Yuval Levin

The Constitution is too important to be left to the lawyers, or even the political theorists. In this exemplary work of careful, balanced scholarship, Johnathan O'Neill shows why a fuller understanding of constitutionalism requires historians, and especially historians who take ideas seriously. This is essential reading for every serious student of American conservatism and American constitutionalism.

Editorial Reviews

An edifying tour of American constitutional thought.
—Law & Liberty

Johnathan O'Neill's Conservative Thought and American Constitutionalism since the New Deal is an important and much-needed addition to the burgeoning literature on conservatism in America.
—The Review of Politics

excellent
—Claremont Review of Books

From the Publisher