The Diary of James A. Garfield. Vol. I, 1848-1871; Vol. II, 1872-1874 (review)

DUCIVIL WAR HISTORY that has seen periods of reform alternating with periods of conservative consolidation or reaction. To other historians—Richard Hofstadter in particular—reform has been largely a psychological mechanism to compensate for the declining status of individuals or groups. Either of these two broad approaches (and it should be pointed out that most historians cannot be positioned precisely in either camp) raises difficulties, since individual events and problems cannot always fit within one or the other framework. Consequently, speculation about reform has often remained divorced from empirical studies. In Radicalism ?- Reform, Ross E. Paulson has attempted to grapple with some of these issues by using a somewhat different approach: namely, to take a series of individuals, all of whom were involved in protest movements, and study them in great detail in order to shed light upon the larger problem of the nature of reform. His selection of the Vrooman family is particularly appropriate, because for nearly half a century this remarkable family participated in many of the major political movements of American history, including Socialism, Populism, Progressivism, and the New Deal. The study deals in depth with the career of Hiram Perkins Vrooman as well as those of his five sons. Three sons—Harry, Walter, Hiram—were true radicals who consistently espoused socialism; the other two—Carl and Frank—tended to favor reform of the existing system. All six men shared a commitment to religion, though not in a narrow institutional sense. Though he deals with only six individuals, Professor Paulson always examines their careers in the light of the larger problem of reform. At the outset he introduces a distinction between radicalism and reform that can serve as a useful model for other historians who frequently become bogged down in a morass of fuzzy words and concepts. To the author, a radical is an individual who rejects the basic assumptions of a society or culture. A reformer, on the other hand, accepts these basic assumptions, but couples his acceptance with a critical assessment of the society's failure to live up to the standards implied in these assumptions. For this reason most radicals fail in politics since they are unable to accept a compromise that would inevitably result in the defeat or dilution of their own ideals. Throughout his book Professor Paulson shows the immense difficulties of reconciling broad overarching generalizations with hard empirical data. Many of the familiar generalizations about modern American reform, for example, simply can not be applied to particular situations, a dilemma that poses serious theoretical as well as practical difficulties for American historians. Moreover, the author also wisely points out that the goals and ideals of reformers and radicals tend to change from generation to generation as the society in which they live changes. AU too many historians who have dealt with some of these issues have erred precisely because they have written about reform and radicalism as static rather than dynamic forces. Perhaps to deal with these topics as static phenomena makes the task of the historian easier; that it contributes to historical truth is doubtful. By raising both methodological and historical questions, Professor Paulson has done his craft a useful service. Although not all parts of his book holds up under close scrutiny—especially the attempt to integrate the broader course of reform with the careers of the Vrooman family—it is nevertheless a valuable monograph covering a phase of the history of American social thought from the 1840s to the New Deal. Gerald N. Gbob Clark University The Diary of James A. Garfield. Vol. I, 1848-1871; Vol. II, 1872-1874. Edited by Harry James Brown and Frederick D. Williams. (East Lansing : Michigan State University Press, 1967. Vol. I, Pp. Ixx, 496; Vol. II, Pp. 450. $30 the set.) Civil War scholars and buffs will be disappointed that James A. Garfield made vir- BOOK REVIEWS61 tually no entries in his diaries from December 3, 1860, to July 28, 1866. The editors found only three entries for the war years( June 22, 23, and 24, 1863), which have very little value for students of the war. The editors, in their fine introduction, note that Garfield raised and commanded the 42nd...