52 Quotes by Michael Beschloss

As parties began to develop around the turn of the 19th century, you had party nominees for President nominated in caucuses made up of party members in Congress.

You have had presidential candidates over the last 30 years who would have had a very hard time getting nominated under the old system. One example is John Kennedy.

Legacy is what a president does that affects later generations.

So if 1960 had occurred under the old convention system, Kennedy would have had a very hard time getting the Democratic nomination because he would have been rejected by all those people who had worked with him in Washington.

First of all, there's no mention of political parties in the Constitution, so you begin American history with not only no political conventions but also no parties.

To people who remember JFK's assassination, JFK Jr. will probably always be that boy saluting his father's coffin.

First of all, there’s no mention of political parties in the Constitution, so you begin American history with not only no political conventions but also no parties.

To people who remember JFK’s assassination, JFK Jr. will probably always be that boy saluting his father’s coffin.

The founders were very worried that if parties developed in America, you might have something like the modern Italian system, where you have 20 different parties that divide Congress and the country and can’t govern.