The Democratic Party of the United States is the oldest political organization in the world. In Party of the People, veteran political chronicler Jules Witcover traces the Democratic Party’s evolution, from its roots in the agrarian, individualistic concepts of Thomas Jefferson to its emergence as today’s progressive party of social change and economic justice. Witcover describes the Democrats' dramatic struggle to define themselves and recounts half a century of personal observation of the party through its most turbulent times.

First called, oddly enough, the Republican Party but later known as the Democratic-Republican Party and eventually the Democratic Party, this creature of Jefferson and James Madison evolved from an early ideological and personal struggle with the commerce-minded Alexander Hamilton. Seasoned by the populism of Andrew Jackson, the party was nearly undone by the “peculiar institution” of slavery in the South, which led to the birth of the rival Republican Party and to the Civil War. Half a century later, America emerged from World War I under Democrat Woodrow Wilson as a reluctant international player, and from World War II under Franklin Roosevelt as a liberal bastion and global superpower.

In the civil rights revolution, the party shed much of its racist past, but subsequent white middle-class resentments and the divisive Vietnam War opened the door to a rival conservatism that effectively demon-ized Democratic liberalism. Defensively, the party under Bill Clinton sought safer centrist ground and seemed on the brink of establishing a “third way," until the 2000 electoral college defeat of Al Gore left the Democrats shaken and splintered. As the new century emerges, Democrats are debating whether to return to their liberal roots, setting themselves clearly apart from the Republicans, or press on with the centrist pursuit of a broader, less liberal constituency.

In Party of the People (a perfect companion to Grand Old Party by Lewis L. Gould, a history of the Republicans published simultaneously by Random House), Jules Witcover offers a critically-lauded, rich, and comprehensive popular history of the ideas, struggles, and key figures that have defined the Democratic Party over the past two hundred years and also presents a clear and nuanced portrait of where the party is today, and just what it might be tomorrow.


Praise for Party of the People...

“Party of the People is a fine popular history of the world’s oldest political party written by an astute veteran observer of American politics.” —Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

“Lively and well-written, Party of the People delves into the lives of the great leaders who framed the Democratic Party's ideals and provides cogent insight into the state of the Party today. Told with a veteran journalist's talent for pace and detail, Party of the People is an engrossing, dynamic account that should be required reading for anyone interested in American politics.” —Congressman Richard A. Gephardt, Former House Democratic Leader

"The story of the Democratic Party is the story of America's willingness to work together toward a better future for all. In Party of the People, Jules Witcover tells this tale with clarity, insight, and elegance. His luminous and unblinking history captures the moments when the party's vision have pushed our country forward as well as those times when the Democrats fell short of their own ideals. Most impressively, Witcover has captured the essence of American politics and its unique amalgam of altruism and pragmatism. This is an invaluable work of political history." —Senator Thomas Daschle

“They call journalism the first draft of history. What do you call history written by a journalist? In this case, you call it splendid! This book has all the virtues of a solid history book and the pleasures of journalism. It's readable and reliable and as exciting as the campaigns it covers." —Rick Shenkman, editor of the History News Network, George Mason University

"As a Washington reporter...for some 50 years, Witcover has witnessed nearly a quarter of the Democratic Party's history....Witcover's survey draws on the analyses and debates of distinguished historians; for the period since 1950, he adds his own observations—and those of other journalists—to the insightful contributions of contemporary historians." —Booklist (American Library Association)

"Witcover's thick history devotes significant space to the party's perpetual struggle to define itself, with detailed accounts of intraparty rivalries and cinvention intrigues....Although Witcover has a half-century's journalistic experience, much of it on the Democratic campaign trail, he rarely (and subtly) interjects personal observations, nimbly handling an unavoidable discussion of his own part in getting Thomas Eagleton off the 1972 ticket." —Publishers Weekly

 
Jules Witcover has covered American politics, and the Democratic Party, for more than half a century as a reporter, syndicated columnist, and author. He has written ten books on politics and history, including a novel, and is coauthor of Þve other political books. Witcover has also attended every Democratic National Convention since 1964, when the party nominated Lyndon B. Johnson in Atlantic City. After writing 85 Days, the deÞnitive account of the last campaign of Robert Kennedy in 1968, he chronicled every presidential campaign from 1976 to 1992 and then offered a seething critique of the process in 1999 in No Way to Pick a President. A recipient of the Sigma Delta Chi Award for Washington correspondents, Witcover has written on national politics for the Newhouse Newspapers, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and The Washington Star, and since 1981 he has been a political columnist for the Baltimore Sun. He lives with his wife, Marion Elizabeth Rodgers, in Washington.