Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A Mississippi State faculty member's new history of a resurging 19th century British political party could serve as a primer for the American Democratic Party.
That's a recent Wall Street Journal book reviewer's opinion of "The Whig Revival: 1808-1830" by university assistant history professor William A. Hay. "At the very least," wrote Darrin M. McMahon, Hay's work "might make the Democrats feel better."
Within its 256 pages, "Whig Revival" (Palgrave-Macmillan, Britain) describes how the political organization that preceded the later Liberal Party formed a coalition with provincial interest groups to defeat the Tories--ancestors of the Conservative Party--and regain power.
First in power continually from early- to mid-18th century, the Whigs advocated British industrial and commercial development, a vigorous foreign policy and religious toleration. Citing Hay's research, McMahon--a Florida State University history professor--describes the party in decline as being, among other things, "repeatedly bested at the polls, out of touch with popular opinion and accused of catering to the views of metropolitan cities." Sound familiar?
Unlike earlier Whig histories, Hay's book examines how the party's years in the electoral wilderness and its struggle to lead the country once again also resulted in an expansion of the island nation's political process beyond the once-dominant metropolitan enclaves.
Hay, who joined the MSU faculty in 2003, is a specialist in modern Britain and international relations. He completed a bachelor's degree at the University of the South and master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Virginia. He also is a senior fellow with the Philadelphia, Pa.-based Foreign Policy Research Institute.
In May, he was among 50 specialists selected to participate in the American Swiss Foundation's Young Leaders Conference in Switzerland. Chosen on the basis of their personal achievements, the eclectic group was equally divided between U.S. and Swiss citizens.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For additional information, contact Dr. Hay at (662) 325-3604 or wah47@msstate.edu.