American political theory needs to be rescued from the undeserved status of a subordinate subfield of political theory, contends Donald Lutz. And so in A Preface to American Political Theory he sets out to emancipate American political theorists from empiricism and inappropriate European theories and methodologies. He argues for clarification of the core of American political theory and its attendant methodologies to distinguish it from other intellectual enterprises. The way to achieve that, according to Lutz, is to establish a foundation for the systematic study of American behaviour, institutions and ideas; to provide a general introduction to the study of American political theory; and to illustrate how textual analysis, history, empirical research and analytic philosophy are all part of the scheme. Designed for students and scholars in many disciplines, including political science, history and legal studies, this book is not intended to address central continuing issues. Rather, it aims to provide an effective entree into the study of American political theory. The book sets out to arm readers with the intellectual tools to engage in systematic study and to make them aware of the pitfalls they will inevitably encounter.