Socialist parties have been major forces in every democratic country in the world, yet they have played a surprisingly insignificant role in American politics. Why the United States should constitute an exception has been a critical question of American history and political development. The authors shed light on why it has not been possible to establish a durable socialist party in the US and provide important insights into American society and politics. Comparing America with other English-speaking countries, the authors eschew conventional explanations of socialism's failure to present a fuller understanding of how multiple factors combined to seal socialism's fate. Further chapters examine the distinctive character of American trade unions, immigration, the fragmentation of the American working class, socialist strategies and repression, concluding with an analysis of American political exceptionalism up to the present day.