Commonwealth, when first published in 1947, was a pioneer effort to investigate the historical role of government in the American economy. It revealed for the first time the importance of political action in the development of the American free enterprise system. The present edition has been revised by the authors to take into account the research of the past two decades. Focusing on Massachusetts as a key state, the Handlins describe the changes in the ways the government dealt with the economy from the period of independence to the Civil War, and they analyze the social groups...
Commonwealth, when first published in 1947, was a pioneer effort to investigate the historical role of government in the American economy. I...
Using the ability of the individual to take action as a working measure of the extent of liberty at any time, Oscar Handlin and Mary Handlin identify and describe numerous factors that have had an important effect on American freedom since colonial days. In defining the broad dimensions of the conception, they investigate, among other subjects, the significance of the idea that the state derived power from the consent of the governed, the early concept of the Commonwealth, the later one of police powers, the roles played by governmental institutions, churches, secret lodges, voluntary...
Using the ability of the individual to take action as a working measure of the extent of liberty at any time, Oscar Handlin and Mary Handlin identify ...
