I just recently mentioned Ben Tillman in a tweet and I think its a good time to recommend two books on him. I could do an extremely long thread on him, but to be brief, Tillman is easily one of the most important American political figures ever. Most of what we think of as

conservative or rightist populism in the American tradition can be traced to alot of his ideas. His strategy for trying to maintain traditional social structures and economic modes of production while also mobilizing new voters and relying on will of white males from different

socioeconomic backgrounds is classic right populism. The Simkins book was his first professional bio and is a traditional look at his life and career. The Kantrowitz book contains alot of lefty social history gobbledygook, however, I find it makes make some pretty profound points

and captures alot of the dynamism of Tillman's ideas better than Simkins work. Both are great though. In short, we should study Tillman, his career, and his ideas, they still have alot of relevance to our situation.