He reviled the rich for their cupidity and they found his rhetoric repulsive. Plebians believed him their champion and patricians knew he was their bete noire, remarks Halford Ryan in his eloquent foreword to this definitive survey of Clarence Darrow's development as orator and unique American myth. As a writer, lecturer, debater, and trial lawyer Darrow spoke for the have-nots and cultivated an image of mythic proportions as the underdog's advocate. Many of the more than 2,000 trials in which he was active reflected the major social and philosophical issues of the last quarter of the...

Richard Jensen offers a new interpretation of the last 180 years of American political history--one seen from the grass roots perspective. He is concerned with the individual voter's relationship to the party, the issues, and the campaigns. He explores the evolution of American political parties in terms of their appeal to individual voters, of the issues selected, and campaign strategies. He examines different voter coalitions that formed and dissolved during the past 175 years and explains the dynamics of group affiliation with one or the other party. He demonstrates how the electorate...