Commentary

Two Great Americanists

Excerpt: Diamond first caught the eye of the profession in an article he published in the American Political Science Review in 1959, in which he delivered a harsh blow against the first two pillars of the progressives’ temple of… More

In Memoriam: Martin Diamond and Herbert Storing

– "In Memoriam: Martin Diamond and Herbert Storing," James Madison Program, Princeton University, Fall 2017.
Program notes from a conference on Martin Diamond and Herbert Storing held at Princeton University in the Fall of 2017.

The Public Interest at 50

– Adam Keiper, National Affairs, Fall 2015.
Excerpt: The most timeless essay in the first issue of The Public Interest was penned by Martin Diamond, a professor of political philosophy, an explicator of and reviver of interest in the Federalist Papers, and a student of Leo Strauss who, Irving Kristol… More

Martin Diamond: Finding the Founding

– In Catherine and Michael Zuckert, The Truth About Leo Strauss (The University of Chicago Press, 2006).
Selection from “The Emergence of the Straussian Study of America,” Chapter Six in The Truth About Leo Strauss (The University of Chicago Press, 2006).

America’s Better Self: Martin Diamond, James Madison, and the Foundations of the American Regime

– Alan Gibson. "America's Better Self: Martin Diamond, James Madison, and the Foundations of the American Regime." The Political Science Reviewer 28.1 (Fall 1999): 102-20.
Excerpt: Martin Diamond made inestimable contributions to the study of the American Founding. During the 1960s and 1970s, he set forth a series of subtle interpretations that either remain in place today or have set the terms upon which much recent… More

Response to Morton J. Frisch and to Martin Diamond

– John C. Koritansky. "Response to Morton J. Frisch and to Martin Diamond." The Political Science Reviewer 28.1 (Fall 1999): 98-101.
Excerpt: The broad purpose of Professor Frisch’s paper is to explain, as being cogent, Martin Diamond’s understanding of The Federalist Papers as at least the closest approximation to genuine political philosophy that exists within the broader… More

Conservatives, Liberals, and the Constitution: Martin Diamond’s Political Science

– David Nichols. "Conservatives, Liberals, and the Constitution: Martin Diamond's Political Science." The Political Science Reviewer 28.1 (Fall 1999): 75-97.
Excerpt: Martin Diamond once said that what drives most Americans is not ideology but the spirit expressed in a country and western song by Tom T. Hall titled “Faster Horses, Older Whiskey, Younger Women, and More Money.” The reference to race… More

Democracy, Acquisitiveness, and the Private Realm: Martin Diamond on the Reasonable Optimism of the Founding

– Thomas K. Lindsay. "Democracy, Acquisitiveness, and the Private Realm: Martin Diamond on the Reasonable Optimism of the Founding." The Political Science Reviewer 28.1 (Fall 1999): 48-74.
Excerpt: Martin Diamond’s analysis and defense of the philosophic and moral foundations of the American Constitution took the form of a multi-front war. To his left was arrayed more than a half-century’s work of various historians and political… More

Martin Diamond and Douglass Adair on “The Federalist”

– Morton J. Frisch. "Martin Diamond and Douglass Adair on The Federalist." The Political Science Reviewer 28.1 (Fall 1999): 27-47.
Excerpt: Martin Diamond and Douglass Adair differ in their interpretations of American political thought. This difference is shown in the irrespective analyses of The Federalist. According to Adair, there is a fundamental ambivalence in American political… More

Martin Diamond as a Classroom Teacher by Edmund Carlson

– Edmund D. Carlson. "Martin Diamond as a Classroom Teacher: A Personal Reminiscence." The Political Science Reviewer 28.1 (Fall 1999): 21-26.
Excerpt: Some thirty years ago I first entered a classroom animated and taught by Martin Diamond. With possibly one exception, he remains in my estimation the most effective classroom teacher I have ever observed in more than 38 years as a student myself and,… More

Diamond’s Contribution to American Political Thought: Symposium

– Walter Berns. "Martin Diamond's Contribution to American Political Thought: Symposium." The Political Science Reviewer 28.1 (Fall 1999): 18-20.
Excerpt: Forgotten or neglected by politicians, the Constitution and its Framers did not fare much better in the academic world that Martin Diamond entered in the early 1950s. Political science departments offered courses in constitutional law, but, at that… More

Martin Diamond’s Interpretation of Federalist 10: A Response to Alan Gibson

– Jeffrey Leigh Sedgwick. "Martin Diamond's Interpretation of Federalist 10: A Response to Alan Gibson." Polity 25.4 (Summer 1993): 529-36.
Excerpt: In this provocative and insightful essay, Alan Gibson attacks Martin Diamond’s “commercial republic” interpretation of Federalist 10. The significance of his project is revealed in Charles Kesler’s comment, quoted by Gibson,… More

The Commercial Republic & the Pluralist Critique of Marxism: An Analysis of Martin Diamond’s Interpretation of Federalist 10

– Alan Gibson. "The Commercial Republic & the Pluralist Critique of Marxism: An Analysis of Martin Diamond's Interpretation of Federalist 10." Polity 25.4 (Summer 1993): 497-528.
Introduction: Martin Diamond’s “commercial republic” interpretation of Federalist 10 is widely embraced by political scientists, especially Straussians, but this article challenges it. It argues that Madison was not a “commercial… More

Martin Diamond on “Lincoln’s Greatness”

– "Martin Diamond on "Lincoln's Greatness"" Interpretation 8.2, 3 (May 1980): 26-28.
In the bleakest days of Nixon-Kissinger foreign policy—when it appeared that democracy, having been rendered unmanly by petty bourgeois concerns at home, would be swallowed up by totalitarian forces abroad—it was not uncommon for graduate students to… More

Comment: The Politics of Martin Diamond’s Science

– "Comment: The Politics of Martin Diamond's Science." Interpretation 8.2, 3 (May 1980): 16-21.
Excerpt: One day several years ago, about a year after I received my Ph.D., Mr. Diamond finally persuaded me to refer to and address him as “Martin.” He had suggested several times previously, without success, that while “Mr. Diamond”… More

The Least Imperfect Government: On Martin Diamond’s “Ethics and Politics”

– "The Least Imperfect Government: On Martin Diamond's 'Ethics and Politics'" Interpretation 8.2, 3 (May 1980): 5-15.
Excerpt: In memory of Martin Diamond—my least imperfect friend through some forty years and always a model of luminous intelligence and saving human grace—I can only try to do two modest things: to grasp a little more securely what he taught all of us… More

Teacher-Scholar of the Democratic Republic by Herbert Garfinkel

– Herbert Garfinkel. "Martin Diamond: Teacher-Scholar of the Democratic Republic." Publius 8.3 (Summer 1978): 123-27.
Excerpt: A textbook may not seem a noteworthy part of one’s legacy, but Martin Diamond’s extraordinary impact as a teacher shines through even so prosaic a tool. Moreover, the substance of Diamond’s teaching, no less than its zestful… More

Diamond’s Doctrine of the American Regime by Bill Schambra

– William A. Schambra. "Martin Diamond's Doctrine of the American Regime." Publius 8.3 (Summer 1978): 213-18.
Excerpt: Several months ago, Alexander Solzhenitsyn ushered the graduating class of Harvard University into an ominous world: the world of frantic, debasing, self-interested Western materialism. In the scramble for self-aggrandizement, according to… More

Martin Diamond’s Legacy

– Daniel J. Elazar. "Martin Diamond's Legacy." Publius 8.3 (Summer 1978): 1-5.
Excerpt: Martin Diamond’s principle legacy to all Americans and to all people everywhere is his revival of serious consideration of the political philosophy of the American founding fathers. While historians and others had never really forsaken the… More

Reflections on Martin Diamond’s “Ethics and Politics: The American Way”

– Robert A. Licht. "Reflections on Martin Diamond's "Ethics and Politics: The American Way"" Publius 8.3 (Summer 1978): 183-211.
Excerpt: There can be no question but that the theme which is addressed by Martin Diamond in his article, “Ethics and Politics: The American Way” is an area of considerable intellectual confusion. Politics, it is generally believed, should of… More

Martin Diamond and the American Idea of Democracy

– Jeane J. Kirkpatrick. "Martin Diamond and the American Idea of Democracy." Publius 8.3 (Summer 1978): 7-31.
Excerpt: This is an essay on the political writings of Martin Diamond, a friend and colleague cherished as much for his seriousness and intellect as for his warmth and wit. It is inspired by the belief that Diamond’s understanding of the American… More

Martin Diamond’s View of The Federalist

– Patrick Riley. "Martin Diamond's View of The Federalist." Publius 8.3 (Summer 1978): 71-101.
Author’s Introduction: The only consolation for the early loss of Martin Diamond is the memory of his brilliant teaching and the permanent value of his published writings. One of the finest of these writings, “The Federalist‘s View of… More

In Memory of Martin Diamond

– Irving Kristol, "In Memory of Martin Diamond," The Alternative, October, 1977.
Irving Kristol remembers Martin Diamond, in this 1977 obituary.