The Death of the American Dream: H. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail’72
The Death of the American Dream: H. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail’72

Summary/Abstract: The presidential elections of 1972 are considered to be one of the most significant in American history, since they were “generallyregarded as heralding a fundamental political realignment” (Schofield, Miller, Martin 2003: 217). They meant the ultimate victory of the Republican Party and its return to power on the political stage of the USA. The elections attracted the attention of many political observers, journalists and writers. Among them was Hunter S. Thomson (1937–2005), one of the representatives of New Journalism movement and the creator of gonzo journalism. H. Thompson was interested in politics both as a journalist, since he practiced political reportage, and personally – he participated in political campaigns in his home town Aspen. H. Thompson founded the “Freak Power Party”, basing its political platform on several points: prohibition of automobiles, legalization of drugs and renaming Aspen as “Fat City”. Thompson’s serious efforts in political reportage began in 1968, when he covered the Democratic Party conventions that resulted in the article “Chicago–1968”, that was later published in nonfiction collection Songs of the Doomed (1990). According to Thompson, being on the edge of financial crisis, he decided to write the book titled “The Death of the American Dream”, and felt that the best way to do it was to write the book about politics. The book was not written, but since then H. Thompson started covering political events regularly.

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