Hillsdale College Ph.D. Candidate Ezekiel Loseke Presents Doctoral Research
Loseke presented research from his dissertation, ‘The Antifederalist Party Machine of New York.’
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Hillsdale College doctoral candidate Ezekiel Loseke gave a research presentation on his dissertation, entitled “The Antifederalist Party Machine of New York,” on Oct. 31. Loseke argued New York owed its political influence throughout the eighteenth century to the party machine built by George Clinton, who served as governor twice between 1777 and 1804. Loseke gave his presentation after successfully defending his dissertation before a faculty panel.
Joseph Postell, associate professor of politics, served as Loseke’s dissertation chair and gave introductory remarks.
“Ezekiel, in this dissertation, examines the roots of party machines in New York state politics and identifies an Antifederalist political theory of representation that animates the political development of this party machine,” Postell said. “Ezekiel’s dissertation is an impressive synthesis of both American political thought and American political development.”
“Ezekiel’s dissertation is an impressive synthesis of both American political thought and American political development.”
Loseke argued that Clinton based his politics on the idea that the people’s representatives should embody their “general mind,” an idea Antifederalist writers like Brutus and Melancton Smith had articulated in their arguments against the Constitution.
“In ‘Brutus 1’ he says that representatives are supposed to have the mind of their constituents and be possessed of the integrity to represent or declare this singular mind,” Loseke said. “It is not a multitude of individuals but a singular mind. The singular mind governing a single body results from a social contract, according to Melancton’s statement.”
As governor, Clinton implemented this idea through a system of patronage that employed one in 200 of New York’s citizens. Martin Van Buren essentially dismantled this system but replaced it with a multi-level party system that articulated and enforced the “general mind” through a powerful system of platforms and conventions.
Loseke is an assistant professor of instruction at Texas State University, and beginning in fall 2026, will be an assistant professor of political science at Angelo State University. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Government from Eastern Washington University in 2015, his Master of Arts in Political Science from Texas State University in 2019, and his Master of Arts in Politics from Hillsdale College’s Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship in 2021. Having successfully defended his dissertation, he will earn a Doctor of Philosophy in Politics and receive his diploma at Hillsdale College’s Commencement Ceremony in May 2026.
- Headshot of Loseke
- Loseke’s student profile
- Photos of Hillsdale College
- High-resolution copy of the Hillsdale College clocktower logo
About Hillsdale College Graduate School of Statesmanship
The Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship was founded in 2010 “to educate students in the language of American constitutionalism and to place its graduates in positions of public service in politics, in journalism, in the Academy, and elsewhere.” Its courses of study, which culminate in either a Master of Arts or a Doctor of Philosophy in Politics, are centered around the core texts from the Western and American traditions of political thought — what Thomas Jefferson called the “elementary books of public right.” All admitted students receive a full-tuition scholarship and admitted Ph.D. students receive an additional living stipend. For more information, visit gradschool.hillsdale.edu.