History Professor's Book on Modern Conservatism Published

Dr. Michael Bowen, Westminster College visiting assistant professor of history, is the author of The Roots of Modern Conservatism: Dewey, Taft, and the Battle for the Soul of the Republican Party published by the University of North Carolina Press and set for release Sept. 26.

Between 1944 and 1953, a power struggle emerged between New York Gov. Thomas Dewey and Ohio U.S. Sen. Robert Taft that threatened to split the Republican Party.  Bowen reveals how this two-man battle for control of the GOP-and the Republican presidential nomination-escalated into a divide of ideology that ultimately determined the party's political identity.

In the book, Bowen reveals how this decade-long battle led to an outpouring of conservative sentiment that had been building since World War II, setting the stage for the ascendancy of Barry Goldwater and the modern conservative movement in the 1960s.

Bowen, who joined the Westminster faculty in August, earned undergraduate and master's degrees from East Tennessee State University and Ph.D. from the University of Florida.

Contact Bowen at (724) 946-7152 or email for additional information.

Dr. Michael Bowen

"A federal takeover of education"

The Roots of Modern Conservatism: Dewey, Taft, and the Battle for the Soul of the Republican Party was mentioned in George Will's syndicated column.