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Will Lawther, active in the Durham Miners' Association (DMA) since 1907, was a leading and gaoled member of Red Chopwell's Council of Action during the General Strike. Within the DMA in the 1920s, he was associated with the Left; appropriately and controversially the Chopwell Lodge banner was decorated with images of Keir Hardie, Karl Marx, and Nikolai Lenin. As a Left activist, Lawther had political ambitions, and in 1929 he was elected Labour Member for Barnard Castle. Two years later, he addressed a May Day rally in the Durham coalfield. Oswald Mosley's New Party was two months old; the collapse of the second Labour Government was less than four months away. Lawther's speech remembered the 1926 stoppage selectively and developed a contrast that would become central to the Labour Party's political identity.

Drawing upon interviews with current and former members of Congress and congressional staff, plus existing research on political ambition, this chapter offers some tentative answers to the question of why certain lawmakers decide to be candidates for a party leadership post. Following the lead of political scientist Jennifer Lawless, it frames the discussion in terms of two kinds of ambition: nascent ambition, or the general “interest in seeking elective office,” and expressive ambition, “the act of entering a specific race at a particular time”. It shows that these two kinds of ambition ultimately determine who among all of its members leads the House, as well as the degree of stability and conflict that exists within both political parties.

This chapter introduces the purpose of the book in discussing individuals with great political ambition, particularly its good version. It looks at the lives and examples of a number of politicians and leaders and their efforts at defending, reforming, and founding a free country. Of these examples are Nelson Mandela and Winston Churchill, who for many of their free contemporaries appear larger and better than life. The chapter looks at the big divide between the acknowledgement and appreciation of greatness that arises among thoughtful citizens and appreciative historians, and the doubting cynicism of many contemporaries who generalize about human affairs. It looks at the example of ambition, wherein understanding the underlying motives of the ambitious candidate proves difficult to distinguish. What separates the ambitious candidate from the careerist or moneymaker, for example? This is the question that this chapter and this book addresses.

This chapter examines Xenophon's Education of Cyrus, particularly the character of Cyrus the Great, who founded the Persian empire in the middle of sixth century bc. Xenophon's account of Cyrus, however, is more mode-based than history-based, treating Cyrus's achievements as politically paradigmatic. Xenophon doubted the ability of one superior man to enduringly rule over many people, cities, and nations. It's not clear from Xenophon's beginning, however, whether this greatness and this art is good, either for the community or for the individual. The chapter thus aims to argue that Education of Cyrus is not a history, but rather an investigation of great political ambition at its most rational. The chapter then attempts to clarify Cyrus's genuine superiority of soul and the deterioration of some of his best qualities due to his overarching ambition.

Chapter four looks at the career paths of legislators under term limits and where term limited legislators go. Many run for higher office, but an increasing number of members are going back home to run for local office. A large contingent of legislators are not completing their full eight-year tenure but instead vacate their seats early to run for other elective opportunities. They continue to influence and populate elective positions at all levels of government, and do not return to their “citizen” lives. Further, term limits do not draw pure citizen legislators to office. Politicians elected under term limits are shown to have significant elective experience coming into the Legislature and exhibit political ambition as they continue to vie for elected positions when they exit the Legislature.

In light of the importance of women’s presence in politics, it is critical to understand why so few women hold public office in the United States. This chapter argues that the fundamental reason for women’s underrepresentation is that they do not run for office. There is a substantial gender gap in political ambition, and it is persistent and unchanging. This conclusion is made by analyzing data the authors collected in 2001 and 2011 from thousands of male and female “potential candidates”—lawyers, business leaders, educators, and political activists, all of whom are well-situated to pursue a political candidacy. In addition to highlighting the persistent gender gap in political ambition, three central factors are identified that continue to hinder women’s full entrance into electoral politics. In the end, the chapter documents how far from gender parity we remain and the barriers and obstacles we must still overcome to achieve it.

This chapter examines the role of John Toland in the print and scribal communities. Toland did more than simply read and write books: he was a key agent in disseminating ideas around the elite salons of early eighteenth-century Europe. His skill at manipulating both print and scribal works laid the foundation for his political ambitions: his literary transactions produced both cultural and political effects. The chapter describes how Toland manipulated and constructed diverse audiences for similar works, and discusses his attempts to communicate his ideas to powerful and politically effective communities.

Recognizing in his sons his own fascination with risk, Clay sought to channel their gambling spirit into acceptable outlets. With the aid of strong daughters-in-law he involved his sons in “meaningful” work through a family conglomerate called here the Clay Corporation. It proved to be a local American System, a “multi-faceted” economic system based largely in agriculture and the southern market. Partnering in a complex web of ownership, the Clays contributed greatly to the thoroughbred horse industry, but also produced mules, purebred cattle, and hemp, and invested in manufacturing, banking, and transportation. The financial success allowed Henry Clay to encourage the political ambitions of son Henry Jr. and secure for son James a diplomatic post, thus assuring a second generation of service.

The opportunities for women’s local political participation outnumber any other level of government, and the traditional barriers that often deter a woman’s decision to run for office are often perceived as less significant at the local level. Many local races are nonpartisan, the media may be less invasive, campaigns can be less expensive, the job is often part-time, and local elected officials do not have to relocate their families. However, even at the local level, women remain vastly underrepresented and also less likely than men to pursue higher office. Using survey data on women in local elective office, the analysis of the influence of gender on political ambition and leadership style presented in this chapter highlights more similarities than differences between women in serving in all types of local offices compared with women at higher levels of government.

This chapter considers the relationship between performance as a U.S. Attorney (USA) and subsequent career prospects. Results indicate that adherence to presumed partisan preferences relates to the likelihood of both promotion within the executive branch and nomination to the federal bench. USA performance is less likely to matter for positions such as entering private practice, over which national principals have little control. These results underscore an alternative mechanism under which shirking by federal prosecutors may be punished. Additionally, we find that ideological distance from the President is a potent predictor of the probability of nomination to the federal courts but has no association with elevation within the executive branch.