To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party

Written by Heather Cox Richardson

Narrated by Heather Cox Richardson

“The most comprehensive account of the GOP and its competing impulses” (Los Angeles Times), now updated to cover the Trump presidency and its aftermath.

When Abraham Lincoln helped create the Republican Party on the eve of the Civil War, his goal was economic opportunity for all Americans. Yet the party quickly became mired in an identity crisis. Would it be the party of democratic ideals? Or the party of moneyed interests?

In To Make Men Free, acclaimed historian Heather Cox Richardson traces the shifting ideology of the Republican Party from the antebellum era to the Great Recession. While progressive Republicans like Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower revived Lincoln’s vision and expanded the government, their opponents appealed to Americans’ latent racism and xenophobia to regain political power, linking taxation and regulation to redistribution and socialism. In the modern era, the schism within the Republican Party has grown wider, pulling the GOP ever further from its founding principles.

Now with an epilogue that reflects on the Trump era and what is likely to come after it, To Make Men Free is a sweeping history of the party that was once considered America’s greatest political hope, but now lies in disarray.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Nov 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9781713620815

Heather Cox Richardson

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON is professor of history at Boston College and the author of a number of books about American politics, including To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party and most recently How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America. She writes widely for popular publications and is a national commentator on American political history and the Republican Party. Her work has appeared in the Guardian, the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, and Quartz, among other publications, and she is the author of “Letters from an American,” an online chronicle of the U.S. government.

Reviews for To Make Men Free

[Susan Carter · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dr. Richardson’s writing makes history exceptionally interesting. Additionally the book being specifically about the history of the Republican Party made the progression very understandable.

[pbwn8msddx · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book was OK. Unfortunately, like a lot of books, he definitely has an agenda.

[Carl L. Peacock · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Clearly written from the Democrat Party position and approval. Why John R. Lynch was never referred to during reconstruction, and the blatant “whitewashing” of Democrat endorsed actions against negroes and white republicans living in the south is noticeably absent.
Then her final summation ignores sworn affidavits of those that were there, and counter the “mainstream narrative”.
….just let the reader beware…;-)

[GailB · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I learned a lot from this book and was reminded of what I learned in school about important philosophical conflicts in the formation of the US. Very readable (although I listened to it.) We're in big trouble folks!

[David Slaton · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

If you are looking for a Democratic Party hit piece slamming all things Republican and lauding even the dimmest bulbs among the Dems, then you will have found it in Ms. Richardson’s boring tome.

The book is only helpful to a serious person by enlightening us to how such a trivial person as the author can impugn great leaders like Eisenhower, Theodore Roosevelt, etc. merely because those leaders were part of a political party with which she is incapable of honestly crediting the good they have done for our country. Other than that, Ms. Richardson and her editors/publishers have wasted the readers’ time.

[Tim · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent and informative as I expected from any of Richardson's writings. This is a must read for anyone who is engaged. Injustice and truth work, and gives a great history of the Republican party. Thank you for offering this.

[Tony Barrett · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The clear evidence of the Republican Party left its founder’s rationale and was taken over by money interests. The details are plain day. The never Trump Republican should read this book. Perhaps there will be a Republic in the future.

[nmele_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fascinating history of the Republican Party from its founding in the early nineteenth century through the George W.Bush Administration. The author skips a lot of details at times, and is decidedly opinionated but that makes for lively discussion of the book and her thesis.