Conservatism in America, as one early-twentieth-century politician said, is “as old as the Republic itself.” But what are its foundational principles, and how did they form the modern conservative movement? Author Garland S. Tucker III tells the story in this lively look at fourteen champions of conservative thought—some well known, others hardly remembered at all. Taking readers on an exciting tour from the American Founding to the modern era, Tucker traces the development of conservatism’s basic tenets and shows how leaders put principle into action (some more successfully than others).Conservative Heroes offers brief but penetrating profiles of:The Founders who agreed on the two primary purposes of government—but differed on how best to achieve the balance between themThe pair of nineteenth-century congressional leaders who fought to preserve the founding vision of a limited national governmentThe towering statesman whose defense of slavery has obscured his considerable contributions to American constitutional historyThe last Democratic president to advance conservative principlesThe president and treasury secretary who together reduced taxes and the size of the federal government—and sparked an economic boomThe forgotten leaders, both Democrats, who spearheaded the conservative challenge to FDR’s New DealThe man who revived the GOP as the conservative partyThe three driving forces behind the ascent of modern conservatismHere is the story of American conservatism in fourteen lives—a story we need to understand to tackle the challenges we face today.
