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Boudoir Mirrors of Washington

by Nelle Margaret Scanlan

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Although Boudoir Mirrors of Washington was initially published anonymously, the author’s identity was revealed to be Ellen Margaret Scanlan. Better known as Nelle, Scanlan was a New Zealand novelist and journalist. She became a staff writer for newspaper, the Manawatū Daily Times, and then spent time in Washington DC during 1921 at the Arms Limitation Conference, which became the source of information for this book. Afterwards, from 1923-48 Scanlan resided in England, and continued to write fiction and news stories. Her most popular books were Pencarrow (1932), followed by Tides of Youth (1933), Winds of Heaven (1934) and Kelly Pencarrow (1939). After World War II broke out, Scanlan was unable to travel, and become a popular radio personality in New Zealand, with over 200 broadcasts of her series ‘Shoes and ships and sealing-wax’.

Boudoir Mirrors of Washington was sourced from 1921-22 which Scanlan was living in Washington DC. In addition to conference reporting, she also gave talks and wrote books on the numerous politically associated figures she met in the area. She was a popular figure among women’s social clubs, and was likened to an ambassador of New Zealand. Many of these writings were collected and included in Boudoir Mirrors.

This new edition is dedicated to Larissa Watkins, very remarkable bibliographer, unfailing friend to authors, extraordinarily talented researcher, and truly a valued Washingtonian.

The Limits of Moderation: Jimmy Carter and the Ironies of American Liberalism features a photo of author Leo P. Ribuffo shaking hands with President Jimmy Carter in a polaroid photo frame held up against wood paneling background with masking tape.
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The Limits of Moderation: Jimmy Carter and the Ironies of American Liberalism

by Leo P. Ribuffo

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When the renowned historian Leo P. Ribuffo died in late 2018, many of his friends and students gathered at his home in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Washington, D.C. to tell stories about this beloved man. But we also asked ourselves what to do about the book he had been working on for decades on the presidential administration of Jimmy Carter. We resolved to find a way to publish it. The book you now hold in your hands is the result of our resolve.

The Limits of Moderation: Jimmy Carter and the Ironies of American Liberalism is not a finished product. Consider this book a primary source, an unfinished manuscript of the type historians might encounter while digging into the papers of an intellectual figure in an archive. Which means there are gaps, ellipses, missing sources, potentially incorrect figures, items in need of correction. And yet, even in this unfinished stage, this book is a close and careful history of a short yet transformative period in American political history, when big changes were afoot. These transformations, which Ribuffo wrote about with empirical and analytical richness, continue to shape our world. Leo P. Ribuffo has much still to teach us.

Born in Patterson, New Jersey as the son of a school custodian and a homemaker, Leo P. Ribuffo earned his Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale before taking a job in the History Department at the George Washington University in 1973. Ribuffo taught at GWU until his death, along the way becoming the Society of the Cincinnati George Washington Distinguished Professor of History. He was the author of The Old Christian Right: The Protestant Far Right from the Great Depression to the Cold War, which in 1985 won the Merle Curti Prize, awarded by the Organization of American Historians to the best book in intellectual history. Ribuffo was also the author of Right Center Left: Essays in American History, and countless memorable articles that appeared in all the major history journals. He taught a record number of doctoral students, many of whom have gone on to successful careers as historians themselves.

This is a book cover with a black background. The title is in yellow, orange and red text to reflect the flames on the bottom half of the cover
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Dante Redux: Trump’s Towering Inferno

by Wayne Lavender, Illustrations by Don Landgren

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“Some books educate, others illuminate, and still, others bring forth waves of emotion. Here, Wayne Lavender checks all these boxes and so much more. Using Dante Alighieri’s 700-year-old map as a rough guide, this treatise reveals in painful yet humorous detail the state of the world’s greatest experiment in democratic governance and the tragic end of the American Century. Calling this a ‘must read’ would be an understatement.”
— Jonathan Pelto, (He/Him/His)
State Legislator and politician now college professor
Department of Philosophy and Political Science, Quinnipiac University

“Wayne’s work brilliantly summarizes the anger many Americans experienced during the Trump years while acting as a retelling of the administration’s heinous politics, policies, and corruption. The book cements the Trump’s administration and enablers as a clear and present danger to democracy in the United States. This is all done while utilizing an ingenious method of storytelling by overlaying those aforementioned tales of the Trump era over Dante’s famous work. This is a GREAT read!”
— Paul Cappuzzo (He/Him/His)
Political Science Major & Economics Major History Minor
Quinnipiac Democrats President Quinnipiac University 2023

Most of us have always assumed that Donald Trump and his cronies are going to Hell. But to which corners, and what torments? 700 years after Dante published his epic poem Inferno, Wayne Lavender has resurrected this storyline and placed Donald Trump and his enablers in their own Hell. The book describes the evil, lying, racist and traitorous words and actions of Donald Trump during his four-year reign of error and terror. A work of fiction, this book uses real quotes, facts, and dark humor to make the case that the Traitor-in-Chief was unfaithful to the US Constitution and the American people. It lies at the nexus of political science and theology and is an important contribution for anyone interested in truth, justice, and democracy in the United States.

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Unforeseen Tendencies of Democracy

by Edwin Godkin

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In this work, initially released in 1898, author Edwin Godkin offers a volume of essays on American political institutions, sometimes contrasting them with those found across Europe. In one essay, Godkin examines the concept of equality, in another he discusses the issues with the nomination process for candidates. He offers insight on some issues still plaguing American politics, as well as offering interesting historical insights on past institutional solutions, such as the League of Nations.

Edward Lawrence Godkin was born in 1831 in Ireland, studied law in Belfast and London, and then became a Crimean War correspondent. He emigrated to the United States in 1856, studied law again, but then traveled to Europe for health reasons. In 1865, he returned to start publishing The Nation. Godkin’s politics included being firm in support of free trade, of a limited government, the gold standard, as well as outspokenly anti-imperialistic. He wavered on his thoughts on Irish nationalism, first opposing, but later supporting it.

This edition is dedicated to Professor Larry Diamond, outstanding proponent of democracy and inspiring teacher.

This cover image has a tan and red bar across the top and bottom, and then in the center is a semi-transparent image of Donald Trump with a globe behind him. The title and editor information is along the top and bottom.
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Donald J. Trump, The 45th U.S. Presidency and Beyond: International Perspectives

Editors: John Dixon and Max J. Skidmore

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Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the U.S., will be remembered because of his observed flawed personality and limited cognitive processes. His arrogance, unpredictability, overhastiness, and changeableness told America’s allies and rivals alike that they had to accommodate a non-traditional U.S. president, one who does not abide by—even rejects—the traditional principles of diplomacy. His primary foreign policy focuses were American isolationism and economic nationalism. While he never bothered to delve too deeply into substantial issues of international politics, he did intervene, without much success, in some of the prevailing conflicts and issues in the Middle East and North Africa (Israel-Palestine (peace deal), Iran (nuclear weapons), Saudi Arabia-Yemen (civil war), Syria-Daesh (terrorism), Egypt-Sudan (water), and Libya (civil war); in Europe (EU (unification), NATO (cost sharing), and East Central Europe (trade and security); in East Asia (China and Japan (unfair trade) and North Korea (ballistic missile threats); and in North America (Canada and Mexico (multilateral trade deal)). The reality is that throughout Trump’s presidency, there was a clearly perceptible decline of his—and America’s—global standing, which accelerated  as an upshot of his mishandling of both the Corvid-19 pandemic and his 2020 presidential election loss.

Companion volume: John Dixon, Fathoming Donald J. Trump; “It’s all about my Mind, not my Politics” (Westphalia Press, Washington, DC, 2022).

John Dixon is Emeritus Professor of Public Management and Policy at the University of Plymouth, UK. Until his retirement he was a fellow of the British Academy of the Social Sciences (2004-2017), and is an honorary life member of the American Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars (since 2006).

Max J. Skidmore is University of Missouri’s Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Thomas Jefferson Fellow at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He has been Distinguished Fulbright Lecturer to India, and Senior Fulbright Scholar at the University of Hong Kong.

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Donald J. Trump’s Presidency: International Perspectives

Editors: John Dixon and Max J. Skidmore

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President Donald J. Trump’s foreign policy rhetoric and actions become more understandable by reference to his personality traits, his worldview, and his view of the world. His campaign rhetoric catered to Americans comfortable with isolationism and certainly with no appetite for foreign military engagements. So, his foreign policy emphasis was on American isolationism and economic nationalism. He is not really interested in delving too deeply into some of the substantive issues of international politics, particularly the prevailing quandaries in the East Asia, Middle East and North Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe. Why bother when simple solutions will suffice, for his purposes. He has placed America’s global superpower status at risk. The gradual decline of its global influence seems inevitable.

Companion volume: John Dixon, Donald J. Trump as U.S. President: “It’s all about me!” (Westphalia Press, Washington, DC, 2018).

John Dixon is Professor of Public Administration at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. He is a fellow of the British Academy of the Social Sciences in 2004, and has been an honorary life member of the American Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars since 2006.

Max J. Skidmore is University of Missouri’s Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Thomas Jefferson Fellow at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He has been Distinguished Fulbright Lecturer to India, and Senior Fulbright Scholar at the University of Hong Kong.

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Unworkable Conservatism: Small Government, Freemarkets, and Impracticality

by Max J. Skidmore

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Unworkable Conservatism looks at what passes these days for “conservative” principles—small government, low taxes, minimal regulation—and demonstrates that they are not feasible under modern conditions. First, for many reasons, they are difficult, at best, to implement. Second, if they are put into place, they please no one, not even those who advocated them in the first place.

Most people now are too young to remember the presidency of Mr. Conservatism, himself, Ronald Reagan. If they are old enough, they generally have forgotten how dissatisfied those on the right were with the Reagan administration. Frustrated at not being able to bring themselves to criticize the Republican Party’s idol directly, they had to be content to screech at Reagan’s aides: “let Reagan be Reagan!”

Along with direct analysis and criticism, this book takes an innovative approach, and incorporates some of the author’s review essays. Using other important works as an intellectual launching pad, it adds to them and reveals numerous overlooked yet vital facts that should have been obvious even to casual observers. It makes clear that things in America have gone very wrong, how and why this has happened, and what might be done about it.

Max J. Skidmore is University of Missouri Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Thomas Jefferson Fellow at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He has been Distinguished Fulbright Lecturer to India, where he directed the American Studies Research Centre, and Senior Fulbright Scholar at the University of Hong Kong, where he headed the American Studies Programme. Among his numerous books are several dealing with the American presidency, with Social Security and Medicare, with American political thought, and with other topics, including American highway travel in the early 20th century. He is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance. His Ph.D. is from the University of Minnesota.

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Oration on the Unveiling of the Statue of Samuel Francis DuPont: Rear Admiral, U.S.N., at Washington, DC on December 20, 1884

by Hon. Thomas F. Bayard

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Rear Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont (1803-1865) served in the United States Navy, specifically during the Mexican- American War and the Civil War. His uncle, Eleuthere Irenee du Pont, was the founder of what is commonly known as the DuPont chemical concern, but is officially E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. Du Pont’s family was unable to financially support his education, so Samuel enlisted in the Navy. His family’s connections allowed him to receive appointment to midshipman by President James Madison. He had an illustrious until questions about his judgment in an attempt to capture Charleston during the Civil War became an issue when the blockade failed. Du Pont was so anguished by this that he relieved himself of command on July 5, 1863. Later events proved that he was not at fault, and nearly two decades after his death in 1865, a bronze sculpture of Du Pont was dedicated on December 20, 1884. It was replaced in 1921 by a memorial fountain that still stands today, one that was sculpted by Daniel Chester French and designed by Henry Bacon.

The statue was moved by the Du Pont family in 1920 to Wilmington, Delaware. Dupont Circle is a popular attraction for locals and tourists alike in DC. The location has slowly changed its name from Du Pont to Dupont, so this work illustrating the deeds for which the area received its namesake is especially important.

This edition is dedicated to Patricia Fitzgerald, the amiable mainstay of the Women’s National Democratic Club, longtime Dupont Circle anchor.

 

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A Century of Unitarianism in the National Capital, 1821-1921: The Shadow of Slavery

by Jennie W. Scudder

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Jennie Scudder’s work traces the sometimes controversial history of Unitarianism in the District of Columbia, centering on All Souls Unitarian Church. Scudder publshed the volume initially in 1909, but it wasn’t copyrighted until 1921, when the Church celebrated its hundredth birthday. The account includes the development of liberal religion not only in the District but in surrounding towns in northern Virginia centuryand Southern Maryland. There is a great amount of detail on the striking building on 16th Street in Washington, which echoes St. Martins in the Fields in London, the involvement of President Taft and other Washington Unitarians responsible in so small a way for the present look of the city, including luminaries such as Benjamin French and Ulysses Pierce, along with other important capital figures. Its use of original sources makes this a handy volume for anyone looking for more information on Unitarianism or the development of the East Coast.

This new edition is dedicated to Mark Ryan and Ginger Clarkson, good Unitarians, good friends.

 

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Collecting American Presidential Autographs

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Paul C. Richards, Edited and Introduced by Paul Rich

The collecting of autographs of American presidents is done with a passion that is not found about similar figures in other countries.  Canadian prime ministers or Finnish presidents are not the focus of hobbyists. The enthusiasm of getting a set of presidential signatures is something of a comment on the energetic American historical emphasis on the country’s chief executives. Even in George Washington’s time there were forgers who allegedly would produce a Washington letter for a drink at a tavern, so the authenticity of Presidents is a subject marked by intrigue and misadventure. Paul C. Richards’ scarce volume is a useful guide to a subject marked by increasingly high prices in the auction rooms. He was a great benefactor of Boston University, where his Robert Frost and Theodore Roosevelt collections are a permanent testimony to his relentless searching of attics and garrets and shrewd purchases.

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The Man Who Killed President Garfield: George H. Herbert’s Guiteau the Assassin

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The assassination of President James Garfield has been variously blamed for the decline of the Utopian Oneida community where the murderer once lived, the reform of the American civil service by shocked legislators who noted that the motive seemed to be a legitimate denial of political patronage, and the movement for sterile operating conditions in light of the damage done by surgeons probing with dirty hands for the fatal bullet.  The fascination continues in a killing that is a classic case of stalking and paranoia.

The original printed copy of Guiteau the Assassin included a supplementary insert titled The Expiation, containing two chapters describing the events after the trial, including a detailed account of Guiteau’s execution. As the insert was oddly paginated (137-152; 17-18) it could not be included in this new edition, but it can be viewed in its entirety following the link: The Expiation