“Masterfully draws on diverse literatures in political theory, political history, social history, and gender history to offer fresh interpretations of American populist movements from the Revolution to the 1850s. . . . Should become required reading for American historians and political scientists.” — Journal of American History
“An utterly compelling and convincing book that will soon take its rightful place as one of the seminal political histories of nineteenth-century America.” — Journal of Southern History
“Draw[s] on extensive research and a thorough examination of modern scholarship. . . . Essential reading for students of early American politics. . . . Greatly expands our understanding of and appreciation of the complex and paradoxical nature of American populist movements. . . . Will have important implications for current scholarly debates about the meaning and legacy of popular sovereignty in the decades after the Revolution.” — Common-Place
“Formisano’s theme is crucial in American history.” — Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
“Provide[s] significant new material and insights. . . . Helps to clarify and contextualize the heritage of populism, leading to a better understanding of why its political legacy is indeed mixed.” — Journal of Interdisciplinary History
“Studies populist movements by taking a road less traveled. . . . Focuses on the people who made up the bulk of these movements, the rank and file, and he studies the separate activities as a collection of movements over a longer period.” — Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
“[An] extremely interesting and thorough account of the history of populism in the United States. . . . [Formisano’s] historical knowledge is prodigious and his account of the dynamics of populism in the country’s early decades is obviously definitive. . . . A helpful resource for anyone researching the role of populism in the evolution of American social welfare policy.” — Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare
“[Formisano’s] linkage of seemingly disparate movements should provoke new questions . . . . An important contribution to the history of populist movements and United States political history in general.” — Maryland Historical Magazine
“[A] sweeping survey.” — American Historical Review
“Provide[s] a detailed exploration of disparate movements that are often given short shrift by historians . . . makes a convincing case.” — North Carolina Historical Review
