In this issue…

Tammany Hall’s indecorous reputation as a corrupt graft machine is (seemingly) written in stone. But should it be? A closer look at what really happened in the notorious halls of Tammany reveals a deeper, more complicated, and more inspiring story than the one we’ve been told which touches on one of the most hot-button issues of our time—immigration.

Neither a “build the wall” dogmatist nor an “open borders” zealot, Martin Van Buren viewed immigration as one battle in a struggle between the common man and the rent-seeking financial elite. New immigrants, Van Buren believed, must be transformed into patriots, effective political activists, and classical liberals, as explained in this issue’s cover article “Old Kinderhook and Civic Integration in America,” by Garion Frankel.

The issue also features articles on how the government uses inflation to expand its power, the 1906 Meat Inspection Acts, sweatshop wages, the politics of today’s philosophy departments, 18 book reviews, and more! If you read just one academic journal this summer, this is the one to read.

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