Abstract
Despite Willmoore Kendall's (1909–1967) status as a leading figure in the early conservative movement and a preeminent political theorist, his work has fallen into relative obscurity. This neglect is attributable in part to the nature of his scholarly output.The bulk of Kendall's production consists of essays and reviews. Apart from John Locke and the Doctrine of Majority Rule, Kendall's only book-length projects were The Conservative Affirmation (itself a collection of thematically related essays) and The Basic Symbols of the American Political Tradition, adapted from a series of his lectures, co-authored with George Carey and published posthumously. Kendall also served as a founding editor of National Review, to which he contributed many essays. In addition, he was an enthusiastic writer of letters, an activity that consumed a great deal of his time.
