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Author: Alexander Keyssar Publisher: Harvard University Press ISBN: 067497414X Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 545
Book Description
A New Statesman Book of the Year “America’s greatest historian of democracy now offers an extraordinary history of the most bizarre aspect of our representative democracy—the electoral college...A brilliant contribution to a critical current debate.” —Lawrence Lessig, author of They Don’t Represent Us Every four years, millions of Americans wonder why they choose their presidents through an arcane institution that permits the loser of the popular vote to become president and narrows campaigns to swing states. Congress has tried on many occasions to alter or scuttle the Electoral College, and in this master class in American political history, a renowned Harvard professor explains its confounding persistence. After tracing the tangled origins of the Electoral College back to the Constitutional Convention, Alexander Keyssar outlines the constant stream of efforts since then to abolish or reform it. Why have they all failed? The complexity of the design and partisan one-upmanship have a lot to do with it, as do the difficulty of passing constitutional amendments and the South’s long history of restrictive voting laws. By revealing the reasons for past failures and showing how close we’ve come to abolishing the Electoral College, Keyssar offers encouragement to those hoping for change. “Conclusively demonstrates the absurdity of preserving an institution that has been so contentious throughout U.S. history and has not infrequently produced results that defied the popular will.” —Michael Kazin, The Nation “Rigorous and highly readable...shows how the electoral college has endured despite being reviled by statesmen from James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson to Edward Kennedy, Bob Dole, and Gerald Ford.” —Lawrence Douglas, Times Literary Supplement
Author: Alexander Keyssar Publisher: Harvard University Press ISBN: 067497414X Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 545
Book Description
A New Statesman Book of the Year “America’s greatest historian of democracy now offers an extraordinary history of the most bizarre aspect of our representative democracy—the electoral college...A brilliant contribution to a critical current debate.” —Lawrence Lessig, author of They Don’t Represent Us Every four years, millions of Americans wonder why they choose their presidents through an arcane institution that permits the loser of the popular vote to become president and narrows campaigns to swing states. Congress has tried on many occasions to alter or scuttle the Electoral College, and in this master class in American political history, a renowned Harvard professor explains its confounding persistence. After tracing the tangled origins of the Electoral College back to the Constitutional Convention, Alexander Keyssar outlines the constant stream of efforts since then to abolish or reform it. Why have they all failed? The complexity of the design and partisan one-upmanship have a lot to do with it, as do the difficulty of passing constitutional amendments and the South’s long history of restrictive voting laws. By revealing the reasons for past failures and showing how close we’ve come to abolishing the Electoral College, Keyssar offers encouragement to those hoping for change. “Conclusively demonstrates the absurdity of preserving an institution that has been so contentious throughout U.S. history and has not infrequently produced results that defied the popular will.” —Michael Kazin, The Nation “Rigorous and highly readable...shows how the electoral college has endured despite being reviled by statesmen from James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson to Edward Kennedy, Bob Dole, and Gerald Ford.” —Lawrence Douglas, Times Literary Supplement
Author: Charles Hyneman Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1351497944 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 413
Book Description
Political theory consists in clarification of language and concepts, in description and analysis of institutions and behavior, and in appraisal and evaluation of political events. Hyneman's theory is not one of the behavioral or functional varieties that rely on special language and concepts drawn from other disciplines than political science. It emphasizes a central concern of both conventional and behavioral theory: the distribution of "power," or what proportion of people have influence over what aspects of government. He is also interested in how power is shared, divided, checked, and balanced.The main task of political theory, Hyneman thinks, is clarification of the values served by and sustaining American democracy. This task gives meaning and direction to analysis of the elements of democracy and to empirical research on the processes of democracy. In this sense political science is not "value-free"; it is most useful in pursuit of the implications of basic beliefs and ideals. These beliefs and ideals can be found in historical statements as well as inferred from institutions and behavior.Hyneman's emphasis on popular control, electoral politics, and equality of influence tends to challenge both of the "pluralist" and "ruling elite" schools-though it should be clear that he is not engaged in a scholastic debate. The freedom of his analysis, ranging from specific reference to the professional controversies of his day is one of its strengths and a probable source of originality. He connects it explicitly to the literature of political science at critical points, as it existed when originally published in 1968.
Author: Archibald Macmechan Publisher: CreateSpace ISBN: 9781505369038 Category : Fiction Languages : en Pages : 76
Book Description
"[...]international affair. It is a plain offence against the laws of the United States, and I am confident that the United States desires to prevent such outrages.' He followed up this bold declaration of faith in American justice by sending his brother-in-law, Colonel Grey of the 71st Regiment, to Washington to lay the facts before President Van Buren and to remonstrate vigorously against the laxity which permitted an armed force to organize within the borders of the Republic for an attack upon its peaceful neighbour. Such laxity was against the law of nations.[...]".
Author: William Howard Taft Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1351497979 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 360
Book Description
The modern presidency is increasingly seen as in trouble by all sides of the political spectrum and by people of the most diverse political views. Understanding why this is the case requires examining the basic principles of the presidency itself, and there is no better place to start than William Howard Taft's Popular Government. His views on executive power and constitutional interpretation of this power are not rooted in nostalgia. Instead, Taft describes how and why the Progressive Movement marked one of the major turning points in American political thought. Taft wrote out of concern over the nature of the American system itself. He sought to describe the founding principles of the country, arguing that grasping these is essential for Americans' understanding of themselves as a people and for their daily exercise of citizenship. The concerns he addressed remain central today. Th at is because Taft's quarrels with the liberal-progressive tradition in politics have not yet completely played themselves out, either in academic life, or in the political arena. In a brilliant new introduction, Sidney Pearson argues that neither Roosevelt nor Wilson should be viewed as enemies of free government by any serious student of American political thought, nor should Taft be so regarded either. The concerns Taft engages remain important for any understanding of the problems that confront the American experiment in popular government. Popular Government is a basic introduction to debate about the nature of the presidency and the larger constitutional context in which such arguments take place. Th ere is no better way to gain perspective on the debate than reading this volume.
Author: Archibald McKellar 1862-1933 Macmechan Publisher: Wentworth Press ISBN: 9781373105875 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 206
Book Description
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Author: Archibald McKellar MacMechan Publisher: DigiCat ISBN: Category : History Languages : en Pages : 123
Book Description
DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "The Winning of Popular Government: A Chronicle of the Union of 1841" by Archibald McKellar MacMechan. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.
Author: Archibald McKellar Macmechan Publisher: Palala Press ISBN: 9781356337606 Category : Languages : en Pages : 208
Book Description
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Author: Alexander Keyssar
Author: Alexander Keyssar
Author: Archibald MacMechan
Author: Charles Hyneman
Author: Archibald Macmechan
Author: Archibald Macmechan
Author: William Howard Taft
Author: Archibald McKellar 1862-1933 Macmechan
Author: Archibald McKellar MacMechan
Author: Archibald MacMechan
Author: Archibald McKellar Macmechan