American politics today is in an uproar: loud, angry, and bitter, bristling with us-versus-them. This is not exactly new. The history of our political life is teeming with nastiness, violence, intolerance, and cheating. Yet we can sense that there is something genuinely different about the current turmoil. Politics has turned tribal in an unprecedented way. What changed? The answer, according to renowned political scientist James Morone, lies in the way political parties have operated throughout American history. From the beginning, parties sowed division and discord, but the deepest, most contentious issues facing our society -- questions about who we are -- didn't split along partisan lines. So for a time, parties actually assuaged these conflicts. One side defended slavery but welcomed immigrants; the other side called for abolition but harbored deep hostility for Irish, German, and Italian newcomers. Then, as the United States underwent a series of profound societal transformations -- from reconstruction, to the explosion of populism, to the Great Migration, to the Civil Rights movement -- the alignment slowly shifted. African Americans switched sides to support the Democrats, the party that had fought tooth and nail against expanding their rights, while the Republicans turned whiter and more nativist. In this sweeping, revelatory work of political history, Morone shows how these changes upended the role of parties, creating a single division that would consume every debate. Rich with absorbing vignettes, Republic of Wrath explains our current state of unrest with bracing clarity -- and tells the story of American politics as we've never heard it before.

Is there an American culture? Certainly, says James Morone. Americans are fighting over it now. They have been fighting over it since the first Puritan stepped ashore. Americans hate government (no national health insurance!) and call for more of it (lock 'em up!). They prize democracy (power to the people) and scramble to restrict it (the electoral college in the 21st century?). They celebrate opportunity-but only for some (don't let those people in!). Americans proclaim liberty then wrestle over which kind-positive (freedom from want) or negative (no new taxes!)? In this volume Morone offers his own answer to the conundrum of American political culture: It is a perpetual work in progress. Immigrants arrive, excluded groups demand power, and each generation injects new ethnicities, races, religions, ideas, foods, entertainments, sins, and body types into the national mix. The challengers-the devils we know-keep inventing new answers to the nation's fundamental question: Who are we? Each essay in The Devils We Know takes up a different aspect of the creative conflicts that shape America. Ranging from Huck Finn to Obamacare, Morone explores the ways in which culture interacts with other forces-most notably the rules and organizations that channel collective choices. The battle to define the nation's political culture spills over into every area of American life, but three are especially important: democracy, economics, and morals - each, in turn, complicated by race, race, race.

In this illuminating examination of the Obama presidency, the contributors describe the policy directions followed, and the administration s level of success in achieving its objectives. Throughout the Obama administration, efforts were intended to alleviate the worst of the economic stress facing the nation, move the president closer to the center of the American political spectrum, and prepare for the upcoming reelection campaign, to be fought primarily on the same issues as the earlier one. The contributors present an analysis of the motivations and political thinking underlying the administration s action along with assessments of the policy consequences of the issue agenda favored and the public s reaction. The Obama Presidency is an in-depth account of one of the most intriguing and important presidencies at a time of economic crisis that goes a long way in explaining the policy decisions made and their political consequences, as well as the choices facing a nation in transition.

Is there an American culture? Certainly, says James Morone. Americans are fighting over it now. They have been fighting over it since the first Puritan stepped ashore. Americans hate government (no national health insurance ) and call for more of it (lock 'em up ). They prize democracy (power to the people) and scramble to restrict it (the electoral college in the 21st century?). They celebrate opportunity--but only for some (don't let "those" people in ). Americans proclaim liberty then wrestle over which kind--positive (freedom from want) or negative (no new taxes )?

In this volume Morone offers his own answer to the conundrum of American political culture: It is a perpetual work in progress. Immigrants arrive, excluded groups demand power, and each generation injects new ethnicities, races, religions, ideas, foods, entertainments, sins, and body types into the national mix. The challengers--the devils we know--keep inventing new answers to the nation's fundamental question: Who are we?

Each essay in "The Devils We Know" takes up a different aspect of the creative conflicts that shape America. Ranging from Huck Finn to Obamacare, Morone explores the ways in which culture interacts with other forces--most notably the rules and organizations that channel collective choices. The battle to define the nation's political culture spills over into every area of American life, but three are especially important: democracy, economics, and morals -- each, in turn, complicated by race, race, race. Written over 25 years, these essays constitute a closely observed and deeply thoughtful vision of what America is--its ideas, images, rules, institutions, and culture clashes. Together, they explain just why America is the way it is. And what it might become.

In this illuminating examination of the Obama presidency, the contributors describe the policy directions followed, and the administration's level of success in achieving its objectives. Throughout the Obama administration, efforts were intended to alleviate the worst of the economic stress facing the nation, move the president closer to the center of the American political spectrum, and prepare for the upcoming reelection campaign, to be fought primarily on the same issues as the earlier one. The contributors present an analysis of the motivations and political thinking underlying the administration's action along with assessments of the policy consequences of the issue agenda favored and the public's reaction. The Obama Presidency is an in-depth account of one of the most intriguing and important presidencies at a time of economic crisis that goes a long way in explaining the policy decisions made and their political consequences, as well as the choices facing a nation in transition.

America may be one of the wealthiest countries in the world, yet its citizens have lower life expectancy, more infant mortalities, and higher adolescent death rates than those in most other advanced industrial nations--and even some developing countries. In Healthy, Wealthy, and Fair a distinguished group of health policy experts pointedly examines this troubling paradox, as they chart the stark disparities in health and wealth in the United States. Rich in insight and extensive in scope, these incisive essays explain how growing income inequality, high poverty rates, and inadequate coverage combine to create the U.S.'s current healthcare difficulties. Ultimately, Healthy, Wealthy, and Fair not only identifies the problems contributing to America's healthcare woes but also outlines concrete policy proposals for reform, issuing a clarion call to end the stalemate over health reform.

America may be one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but its citizens rank near the bottom in health status. Americans have lower life expectancy, more infant mortalities and higher adolescent death rates than most other advanced industrial nations-and even some developing countries. Though Americans are famous for tolerating great inequality in wealth, the gross inequities in the health system are less well recognized. In Healthy, Wealthy and Fair, a distinguished group of health policy experts chart the stark disparities in health and wealth in the United States. The authors explain how the inequities arise, why they persist, and what makes them worse. Growing income inequality, high poverty rates, and inadequate health care coverage: all three trends help account for the U.S.'s health troubles. The corrosive effects of market ideology and government stalemate, the contributors argue, have also proved a powerful obstacle to effective and more egalitarian solutions. A clarion call for a populist uprising to end the stalemate over health reform, Healthy, Wealthy, and Fair outlines concrete policy proposals for reform-tapping bold new ideas as well as incremental changes to existing programs. This important work will be indispensable to all those who care about our people's health, inequality, and American democracy.