The conventional model for explaining the uniqueness of American democracy is its division between executive, legislative, and judicial functions. It was the great contribution of Frank J. Goodnow to codify a less obvious, but no less profound, element: the distinction between politics and policies, principles and operations. He showed how the United States went beyond a nation based on government by gentlemen and then one based on the spoils system brought about by the Jacksonian revolt against the Eastern Establishment into a government that separated political offi cials from civil...
The conventional model for explaining the uniqueness of American democracy is its division between executive, legislative, and judicial functions. It ...
When The New Democracy first appeared in 1912, it was widely regarded as one of the most influential works of the Progressive Era. Yet, despite continuing interest in the political thought of the Progressive Era, both Weyl and The New Democracy slipped into undeserved obscurity shortly after the author's death from cancer in 1919. Despite this, Weyl's book remains one of the most important links in the development of a liberal-progressive theory of democracy.
Weyl describes the efforts of a plutocracy seeking to control, often by corrupt means, the federal...
When The New Democracy first appeared in 1912, it was widely regarded as one of the most influential works of the Progressive Era. Yet, d...
One of the genuine classics of American political science literature, Constitutional Government in the United States is also a subtle and infl uential criticism of the American founding fathers produced during the Progressive Era. Wilson's interpretation of the Constitution shaped the thought of scholars and students of American politics. His defi nition of constitutional government and the place of the United States in the development of constitutional theory continues to shape discourse today. Wilson discusses the three branches of government in the United States, the relation between the...
One of the genuine classics of American political science literature, Constitutional Government in the United States is also a subtle and infl uential...
The government of the United States is a living system. As such, it is subject to subtle change and modifi cation over time, but still maintains a constancy via its central nervous system-a congressional form of rule. Woodrow Wilson saw congressional government as "Committee" government. It is administered by semi-independent executive agents who obey the dictates of a legislature, though the agents themselves are not of ultimate authority or accountability. Written by Wilson when he was a twenty-eight-year-old graduate student, this is an astounding examination of the American legislative...
The government of the United States is a living system. As such, it is subject to subtle change and modifi cation over time, but still maintains a con...
The nature of the presidency is an issue that has been debated since the drafting of the United States Constitution. The Federalists felt a strong executive was the backbone and prime mover of a strong government. On the other side, the Anti-Federalists felt the presidency represented monarchical tendencies and could potentially subvert republican government. How does executive leadership fit in with a limited government with enumerated powers? Does the Constitution require a containment of executive power, even during times of crisis, or do times of crisis warrant an abandonment of a strict...
The nature of the presidency is an issue that has been debated since the drafting of the United States Constitution. The Federalists felt a strong exe...
As Felix Frankfurter and James Landis write in their preface to The Business of the Supreme Court, "To an extraordinary degree legal thinking dominates the United States. Every act of government, every law passed by Congress, every treaty ratified by the Senate, every executive order issued by the President is tested by legal considerations and may be subjected to the hazards of litigation. Other Nations, too, have a written Constitution. But no other country in the world leaves to the judiciary the powers which it exercises over us."
This classic volume, first published in...
As Felix Frankfurter and James Landis write in their preface to The Business of the Supreme Court, "To an extraordinary degree legal think...
What do we need to know about political parties in order to understand them? In his classic study E. E. Schattschneider delineates six crucial points: A political party is an organized attempt to get control of the government. Parties live in a highly competitive world. The major parties manage to maintain their supremacy over the minor parties. The internal processes of the parties have not generally received the attention they deserve in treatises on American politics. The party is a process that has grown up about elections. And perhaps most important of all is the distribution of power...
What do we need to know about political parties in order to understand them? In his classic study E. E. Schattschneider delineates six crucial points:...
