Author

Richard Hofstadter

1916 – 1970

Richard Hofstadter (1915–1970) was an American historian and public intellectual. He earned his PhD at Columbia University and taught at Columbia, where he became known for analyzing American political culture and intellectual life. He is credible on anti-intellectualism because his scholarship traced how public debates, populism, and political movements treated expertise and “learned” authority. His notable works include The Age of Reform (1955) and The American Political Tradition (1948).