Constitution: government and the state Books

Book SynopsisToday, approximately half of all American states have lobbying offices in Washington, DC, where governors are also represented by their own national, partisan, and regional associations. Jennifer M. Jensen draws on quantitative data, archival research, and more than 100 in-depth interviews to detail the political development o fthis constellation of advocacy organisations.Trade Review“This book is an extremely valuable contribution to our understandingof the key intergovernmental organization in the U.S.—the NationalGovernors Association. Professor Jensen provides a careful and welldocumentedlongitudinal analysis of this important peak associationrepresenting states.” - Carol Weissert, Florida State University

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Book SynopsisInvestigates whether legislators in earlier historical eras were motivated by many of the same factors that influence their behaviour today, especially with regard to the pursuit of reelection. In this respect, they examine the role of electoral incentives in shaping legislative behaviour across a wide swath of the nineteenth century.Trade ReviewElectoral Incentives in Congress renews a focus on one of the most important books ever written about Congress, draws together disparate matters that together make up the Congress of the 1800s, and makes a significant contribution to our understanding of legislative and party politics in that era."" - Andrew Taylor, NC State University""The authors present an impressive array of data and evidence to support their arguments . . . this book makes a major contribution to the field of American Political Development."" - Jon R. Bond, Texas A&M University

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Book SynopsisTraditional accounts of the 1787 Constitutional Convention gloss over the complicated coalition politics that produced important compromises. Founding Factions helps us understand the nature of shifting majorities and how they created the American government.

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Book SynopsisPresidents and their advisors consistently seek to improve the management of foreign policy decision processes. This book analyses administrations from Kennedy to Nixon as they sought to strike a balance between the personal style of the president and the need for a strong interagency structure that could systematically evaluate policy options.Trade Review“This work is an important scholarly contribution. Newmann carefully reconstructs, with meticulous attention to archival sources, case studies of decision making on China policy across the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon presidencies. Yet there is more: he explores how the evolving decision-making structures and processes of each of these presidents, and the presidential actors themselves, affected policy outcomes. His overall analysis of a dynamic, ‘evolutionary-balanced’ model for understanding presidential choice is intriguing and worthy of attention.” —John P. Burke, John G. McCullough Professor of Political Science Emeritus, University of Vermont “In Isolation and Engagement, William Newmann provides us with invaluable insight into the continual adaptation in the processes of presidential decision making, changes that are driven by the interaction of institutional political forces and idiosyncratic aspects of each president.” —George C. Edwards III, University Distinguished Professor and Jordan Chair Emeritus, Texas AM University, and Distinguished Fellow, University of OxfordTable of Contents List of Figures and Tables Acknowledgments Note on Chinese Transliteration and Sources Chapter One: Introduction Chapter Two: The Evolution-Balance Model Chapter Three: John F. Kennedy: “A Livelier Sense of Duty” Chapter Four: Kennedy and China Chapter Five: Lyndon B. Johnson: “Energy in the Executive” Chapter Six: Johnson and China Chapter Seven: Richard M. Nixon: “If Men Were Angels…” Chapter Eight: Nixon and China Chapter Nine: Conclusion

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisWho ought to govern those held in custody, and by what right?Democracy in Captivityexamines various efforts to answer these questions, centering on two case studies at custodial institutions: the rise and demise of patient self-governance at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, DC, between 1947 and 1965 and the prisoner-organized governance of Massachusetts's Walpole State Prison following a 1973 prison-guard strike. As Christopher D. Berk shows, the promise of these initiatives was tempered by the custodians' backlash to their wards' attempts at self-rule. This backlash arrived not only in the blunt forms of restraint chairs, riot gear, and a surgeon's scalpel but also as more covert measures taken under the cover of so-called democratic managementwhich in turn entrenched disenfranchisement and naturalized authoritarian rule. Turning from these case studies to a wider consideration of custody and democracy, Berk explores pathologies that have captured the politics of punishment, witTable of ContentsContents Acknowledgments 1. Custody and Democracy 2. Patients, Prisoners, Children, and Travelers 3. Mad Politics 4. Community Control in Custody 5. On Prison Democracy 6. Democratic Erosion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis volume presents a set of new essays by leading economists, philosophers and political scientists concerned with the normative underpinnings of the state. The Good Polity is devoted to the analysis of detailed substantive issues arising within the normative theory of the state rather than with the exegesis of received views or the polemical statement of alternative positions. The essays are grouped around the themes of democracy, contract and compliance, and the responsibility of the state. Each author provides a detailed and freestanding examination of one aspect of the normative analysis of the state, and the resulting collection clearly displays the growing interaction between academic disciplines. The editors provide an introduction which sets out the analytic prerequisites for the normative theory of the state. The contributors are: Geoffrey Brennan, Joshua Cohen, Partha Dasgupta, Robert Goodin, Alan Hamlin, Russell Hardin, Philip Pettit, Robert Sugden, Albert Weale.Table of ContentsPreface 1. The Normative Analysis of the State: Some Preliminaries Alan Hamlin and Philip Pettit Part I - Democracy 2. Deliberation and Democratic Legitimacy Joshua Cohen 3. The Limits of Democracy Albert Weale 4. Politics with Romance: Towards a Theory of Democratic Socialism Geoffrey Brennan Part II - Contract and Compliance 5. Maximizing Social Welfare: Is it the Government's Business? Robert Sugden 6. Liberty, Contract and the State Alan Hamlin 7. Political Obligation Russell Hardin Part III - The Responsibility of the State 8. The State as a Moral Agent Robert E. Goodin 9. The Freedom of the City: A Republican Ideal Philip Pettit 10. Power and Control in the Good Polity Partha Dasgupta Bibliography Contributors Index.

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Book Synopsisaeo The first volume to be published in a major new textbook series. aeo Provides a coherent analysis of one of the most turbulent and most popular periods of British history. aeo Offers thorough analysis of social and political themes within a chronological overview of the period. aeo Gives full consideration to the a Britisha context.Trade Review"Dr Nicholls has proved to be a resourceful choice ... he delivers an accurate, sensitive and engaging account, never allowing the reader to be lost in the quagmires of scholarly debate." The Historical AssociationTable of ContentsList of Illustrations. List of Maps. List of Genealogical Tables. List of Abbreviations. Preface. 1. 1603: Union of the Crowns. 2. Great Britain's Solomon. 3. The Ascendancy of Buckingham. 4. The Personal Rule of Charles. 5. The Collapse of Multiple Monarchies. 6. War in Three Kingdoms. 7. The British Republic. 8. The Restoration of the British Monarchies. 9. Court and Country. 10. Exclusion and Reaction. 11. A Glorious Revolution?. 12. Britain under William and Anne. 13. 1707: Union of the Kingdom. Bibliographical Essay. Appendices. Index.

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Book SynopsisThis special issue of International Studies Review focuses on the Westphalian Moment when the modern system of territorially organized states is said to have come into existence.Table of ContentsChanges in the Westphalian Order: Territory, Public Authority, and Sovereignty James A. Caporaso The Westphalian Deferral David L. Blaney and Naeem Inayatullah The End of Empire and the Extension of the Westphalian System: The Normative Basis of the Modern State Order Hendrik Spruyt Popes, Kings, and Endogenous Institutions: The Concordat of Worms and the Origins of Sovereignty Bruce Bueno de Mesquita Environment, Wealth, and Authority: Global Climate Change and Emerging Modes of Legitimation Karen T. Litfin Sovereignty Bargains in Regional Integration Walter Mattli Changing the Rules: Reconceiving Change in the Westphalian System Kurt Burch

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Book SynopsisThis groundbreaking, interdisciplinary volume brings together diverse analyses of state space in historical and contemporary capitalism. The first volume to present an accessible yet challenging overview of the changing geographies of state power under capitalism. A unique, interdisciplinary collection of contributions by major theorists and analysts of state spatial restructuring in the current era. Investigates some of the new political spaces that are emerging under contemporary conditions of globalization''. Explores state restructuring on multiple spatial scales, and from a range of theoretical, methodological and empirical perspectives. Covers a range of topical issues in contemporary geographical political economy. Contains case study material on Western Europe, North America and East Asia, as well as parts of Africa and South America. Trade Review"This useful and interesting reader addresses an emergent research agenda on the production and transformation of state space" Johanna Kantola, Univeristy of BristolTable of ContentsAcknowledgments. Introduction: State Space in Question: Neil Brenner, Bob Jessop, Martin Jones, Gordon MacLeod (New York University; Lancaster University; University of Wales Aberystwyth; University of Durham). Part I: Theoretical Foundations:. 1 Exploration, Cartography and the Modernization of State Power: Marcelo Escolar (Director of the Institute de Geografía). 2 The Autonomous Power of the State: Michael Mann (University of Virginia). 3 The Nation: Nicos Poulantzas. 4 Space and the State: Henri Lefebrve. 5 The State as Container: Territoriality in the Modern World System: Peter J. Taylor (University of Newcastle). Part II: Remaking State Territorialities:. 6 The State of Globalization: Towards a Theory of State Transformation: Martin Shaw (University of Sussex). 7 The Rise of East Asia and the Withering Away of the Interstate System: Giovanni Arrighi (The Johns Hopkins University). 8 The Struggle over European Order: Transnational Class Agency in the Making of 'Embedded Neo-Liberalism'': Bastian Van Apeldoorn. 9 The Imagined Economy: Mapping Transformations in the Contemporary State: Angus Cameron and Ronen Palan (University of Leicester; University of Sussex). 10 Debordering the World of States Towards a Multi-Level System in Europe and a Multi-Polity System in North America? Insights from Border Regions: Joachim K. Blatter (University of Konstanz). 11 Re-articulating Spatial Scale and Temporal Horizons of Trans-border Spaces: Ngai-Ling Sum (University of Lancashire). Part III: Reshaping Political Spaces:. 12 Remaking Scale: Competition and Cooperation in Prenational and Postnational Europe: Neil Smith (Graduate Center and Hunter College). 13 The National and the Regional: Their Autonomy vis-à-vis the Capitalist World Crisis: Alain Lipietz. 14 The Invention of Regions: political restructuring and territorial government in Western Europe: Michael Keating. 15 Globalization Makes States: Local Governance in the Age of the World City: Roger Keil. 16 Cities and Citizenship: James Holston and Arjun Appadurai (University of California, San Diego: University of Chicago). 17 Citizenship, Territoriality and the Gendered Construction of Difference: Nira Yuval-Davis. 18 Shadows and Sovereigns: Caroline Nordstrom. Subject Index. Name Index.

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Book Synopsis* The first volume to present an accessible yet challenging overview of the changing geographies of state power under capitalism. * A unique, interdisciplinary collection of contributions by major theorists and analysts of state spatial restructuring in the current era.Trade Review"This useful and interesting reader addresses an emergent research agenda on the production and transformation of state space" Johanna Kantola, Univeristy of BristolTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: State Space in Question 1 Neil Brenner, Bob Jessop, Martin Jones, and Gordon MacLeod Part I Theoretical Foundations 27 1 Exploration, Cartography and the Modernization of State Power 29 Marcelo Escolar 2 The Autonomous Power of the State: Its Origins, Mechanisms and Results 53 Michael Mann 3 The Nation 65 Nicos Poulantzas 4 Space and the State 84 Henri Lefebvre 5 The State as Container: Territoriality in the Modern World-System 101 Peter J. Taylor Part II Remaking State Territorialities 115 6 The State of Globalization: Towards a Theory of State Transformation 117 Martin Shaw 7 The Rise of East Asia and the Withering Away of the Interstate System 131 Giovanni Arrighi 8 The Struggle over European Order: Transnational Class Agency in the Making of ``Embedded Neo-Liberalism'' 147 Bastiaan van Apeldoorn 9 The Imagined Economy: Mapping Transformations in the Contemporary State 165 Angus Cameron and Ronen Palan 10 Debordering the World of States: Toward a Multi-Level System in Europe and a Multi-Polity System in North America? Insights from Border Regions 185 Joachim K. Blatter 11 Rethinking Globalisation: Re-articulating the Spatial Scale and Temporal Horizons of Trans-Border Spaces 208 Ngai-Ling Sum Part III Reshaping Political Spaces 225 12 Remaking Scale: Competition and Cooperation in Pre-National and Post-National Europe 227 Neil Smith 13 The National and the Regional: Their Autonomy Vis-aÁ-Vis the Capitalist World Crisis 239 Alain Lipietz Government in Western Europe 256 Michael Keating 15 Globalization Makes States: Perspectives on Local Governance in the Age of the World City 278 Roger Keil 16 Cities and Citizenship 296 James Holston and Arjun Appadurai 17 Citizenship, Territoriality and the Gendered Construction of Difference 309 Nira Yuval-Davis 18 Shadows and Sovereigns 326 Carolyn Nordstrom Subject Index 344 Name Index 354

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Book SynopsisThis manual for students focuses on archival research in the economic and business history of the Republican era (19111949). Following a general discussion of archival research and research aids for the Republican period, the handbook introduces the collections of archives in the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan.

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Book SynopsisThis text argues that constitutional change, seemingly so orderly, and refined, has in fact been a revolutionary process from the first. It sets contemporary events, such as the Reagan revolution, in deeper, constitutional perspective and considers fundamental reforms that might resolve them.Trade ReviewIt sounds rather, well, unconstitutional to say the Constitution can be ignored when great issues are at stake, so long as the People are on your side. But that concept, according to Mr. Ackerman, is the key to understanding our constitutional system...Mr. Ackerman is attempting [a] revolution in the way we look at constitutional law. It's a massive endeavor...[which] mates history and legal theory at a time when specialization has sent the two disciplines in different directions...[It has] drawn much praise--Sanford Levinson, of the University of Texas's law school, has called it 'The most important project now under way in the entire field of constitutional theory'...This is one professor, it's safe to say, who couldn't be accused of dodging the big questions. -- Christopher Shea * The Chronicle of Higher Education *We the People: Transformations is a welcome return to a sort of constitutional and political history that is no longer fashionable in the academy, where social history is now ascendant. It is, in addition, a lively and informative read. -- Adam Wolfson * Commentary *[Bruce Ackerman's] particular constitutional focus is Article Five, that lays down the rules for the process of constitutional amendments, and how "We the people" have transformed the constitution in ways not laid down by such rules in the three most significant constitutional processes in American history: 1787, Reconstruction, and the New Deal...[This] book may serve as an instance of American Studies at its very best...Ackerman's analyses and arguments may at times be controversial but they are always clearly and convincingly expressed. Running through its narrative and serving to make it a compelling one is the story of how the United States has developed from a federation of states to a nation. -- Orm Overland * American Studies in Europe *We the People offers a thoroughly researched, provocative, and passionate counterpoint to the now stale debate over original intent as a guide to constitutional understanding. -- Kermit L. Hall * Journal of American History *This is a superb, provocative, and often gripping account of how We the People mobilize to produce constitutional change. A wonderful blend of history, political science, and constitutional law, this volume attempts to vindicate Ackerman's striking claim that the Civil War and the New Deal inaugurated large-scale constitutional transformations. -- Cass Sunstein, University of Chicago Law SchoolTwo myths sustain the American people, Ackerman suggests. The first holds that the federal government consistently ignores the will of the people, whose mandate must constantly be pressed against its compromised and uncompromising leaders. The second is that our Constitution is so artfully constructed that changing it, for good or bad, is nearly impossible. Drawing on subtle legal argument and a solid command of history, Ackerman goes on to suggest that although the first scenario may seem to be accurate, the second is certainly not; governments have frequently bent the Constitution to serve their ideological ends...Readers well grounded in constitutional law will find Ackerman's arguments fascinating and provocative. * Kirkus Reviews *In an analysis which is by turns breezy, scholarly and impassioned, Ackerman investigates the origins of those 'transformative moments' in the past when the American people have engaged in a 'deepening institutional dialogue' with political elites to adapt and renew the United States Constitution, thereby reaffirming and extending popular sovereignty…The energy and learning with which its case is advanced make Transformations the most provocative intellectual history of constitutional issues published in many a year. -- Peter Thompson * English Historical Review *Table of Contents* Acknowledgments Part 1: In the Beginning * Higher Lawmaking * Reframing the Founding * The Founding Precedent Part 2: Reconstruction * Formalist Dilemmas * Presidential Leadership * The Convention/Congress * Interpreting the Mandate * The Great Transformation Part 3: Modernity * From Reconstruction to New Deal * Rethinking the New Deal * The Missing Amendments * Rediscovery or Creation? * Reclaiming the Constitution * Frequently Cited Works * Notes * Index

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Book SynopsisGordon explores the main venues of constitutional practice in ancient Athens, Republican Rome, Renaissance Venice, the Dutch Republic, seventeenth-century England, and eighteenth-century America—and describes how constitutionalism has developed since then into the modern concept of constitutional democracy.Trade ReviewWhile not defending any particular version of constitutionalism as best, Gordon argues persuasively that some form of constitutional government is necessary for both prosperity and the preservation of individual liberty. -- R. Hudelson * Choice *An unusually sweeping book...[Gordon] provides a...concise and accessible introduction to the history of constitutional government ... Particularly valuable for its distinctive emphasis on countervailing power as the cornerstone of constitutional governance and its broad survey of the practice and idea of constitutionalism over the course of Western history. -- Keith E. Whittington * Law and Politics Book Review *Table of ContentsPreface Introduction 1. The Doctrine of Sovereignty The Classical Doctrine of Sovereignty The People as Sovereign Parliament as Sovereign Critics of Sovereignty 2. Athenian Democracy Constitutional Development The Athenian Political System The Theory of the Athenian Constitution The Doctrine of Mixed Government The Constitutional Totalitarianism of Sparta 3. The Roman Republic The Development of the Republic, and Its Fall The Political System of the Republic Theoretical Interpretation of the Republican System 4. Countervailance Theory in Medieval Law, Catholic Ecclesiology, and Huguenot Political Theory Canon Law and Roman Law Catholic Ecclesiology and the Conciliar Movement The Huguenot Political Theorists 5. The Republic of Venice Venice and Europe The Venetian System of Government Venetian Constitutionalism Church and State The Myth of Venice Venice, Mixed Government, and Jean Bodin 6. The Dutch Republic The Golden Age of the Dutch Republic The Political History of the Republic, 1566-1814 The Republican Political System Dutch Political Theory 7. The Development of Constitutional Government and Countervailance Theory in Seventeenth-Century England Religious Toleration and Civic Freedom The Roles of Parliament "Mixed Government" and the Countervailance Model The Early Stuart Era From the Civil War to the Revolution of 1688 The Provenance of English Countervailance Theory The Eighteenth Century, and Montesquieu 8. American Constitutionalism The Political Theory of the American Revolution The State Constitutions The National Constitution The Bill of Rights and the Judiciary A Note on Provenance 9. Modern Britain Archaic Remnants: The Monarchy and the House of Lords The House of Commons and the Cabinet The Bureaucracy The Judiciary Unofficial Political Institutions: Pressure Groups Epilogue References Index

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Book SynopsisThis book uses Song China to explain how a pre-industrial regime organized itself spatially in order to exercise authority. By detailing the relationship between the court and local administration, Mostern complicates the received paradigm of Song centralization and decentralization.

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Book SynopsisRobert Tsai’s history invites readers into the circle of defiant groups who refused to accept the Constitution’s definition of who “We the People” are and how their authority should be exercised. It is the story of America as told by dissenters: squatters, Native Americans, abolitionists, socialists, internationalists, and racial nationalists.Trade ReviewEngaging to read… [Tsai’s] picture is far richer than the grim founder worship usually found in American political orthodoxy… For Tsai’s constitution writers, the U.S. Constitution stands as an obligatory model, something they necessarily define themselves in relation to. All designed some sort of republic. All detailed mechanisms for ‘popular decision making, divided powers, and enumerated rights.’ And all, in the end, underline just how largely the Constitution figures in the American political imagination: less a charter of freedom than a document of power. -- Tom Arnold-Foster * Daily Beast *Offers a refreshing and innovative take on a centuries-old topic… These stories of ‘forgotten constitutions’ offer a tantalizing glimpse into the power of the written word in shaping American political discourse and ideas, both popular and philosophical, about American society. This is not merely a collection of assorted oddities or constitutional anecdotes from America’s political margins, however. Taken together, they comprise a chronological narrative of some of the key issues galvanizing political activism throughout the past 200 years of American history… By exploring the efforts of those who went beyond mere intellectual debate, and who actually tried to build alternative nations or states within the U.S., Tsai offers a unique vantage into the ideological struggles underpinning American history and politics… These constitutional efforts all represent efforts by everyday Americans to take charge of the society immediately surrounding them, express their grievances with the status quo and literally re-write the conditions of their lives. -- Hans Rollman * PopMatters *Offers an enlightening, refreshing take on constitutional history that is accessible to legal veterans and newcomers alike. * Harvard Law Review *Tsai recovers extensive and diverse traditions of alternative constitution writing from across the political spectrum. He thus highlights the deep plurality of American constitutional culture as well as the centrality of dissident chords in shaping our legal and political institutions. The book is a remarkable feat of excavation, one that offers a much-needed corrective to the conventional histories of American constitutionalism—histories that deemphasize the vitality and importance of popular suspicion toward the federal Constitution. -- Aziz Rana * Texas Law Review *Magisterial…surely one of the most captivating works on American political thought and American constitutional history to be written in the last several years. -- Susan McWilliams * Tulsa Law Review *Tsai examines eight instances of dissenting constitutions written by groups representing cultural attitudes out of the norm seeking unconventional sovereignty… The author succinctly explains each of these constitutions with the thoroughness of a legal mind and writing that avoids legalese. * Kirkus Reviews *Tsai has selected eight transformative legal texts to show how legality and social process interact in dissident communities and diverse settings. The documents represent an astonishing array of ideologies from utopian socialism and internationalism to Confederate and black power movements. Using an analytical framework based on categories of sovereignty and self-rule, each chapter considers the historical significance and dynamic growth of its community, culminating in marginalization or integration of its philosophies into the broader legal and political culture of this nation. The organization is historical, beginning with 19th-century social campaigns to nascent Aryan nation communities. The author successfully demonstrates the difficulties of establishing and maintaining alternative legal cultures even with strong, visionary leadership… A deft, readable investigation of this country’s complex legal traditions with lessons for contemporary fringe groups. * Library Journal *Tsai’s recovery of the constitutional plans of dissenting political communities challenges our sense of a stable constitutional history. America’s Forgotten Constitutions masterfully exposes the disturbingly shaky foundations of constitutional identity; yet it also shows the (mildly reassuring) consistency of constitutional thinking, even among white supremacists, land-grabbers, and moralistic ideologues. -- Sarah Barringer Gordon, author of The Spirit of the Law: Religious Voices and the Constitution in Modern AmericaFor two centuries, dissenters from the American mainstream have drawn inspiration from the U.S. Constitution—and chafed at it. Tsai elegantly maps the margins of our constitutional landscape to reveal one of the Framers’ great forgotten legacies. A brilliantly conceived book. -- John Fabian Witt, author of Lincoln’s Code: The Laws of War in American History

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Book SynopsisObservers have been predicting the demise of China's Communist state since Mao's death. Yet policymakers have managed the fastest sustained economic expansion in world history. This book shows that many contemporary techniques of governance have their roots in experimental policy generation and implementation dating to the revolution and early PRC.Trade ReviewMao’s Invisible Hand is one of those books that make one feel good about scholarship. It describes inner workings of Chinese Communist society about which few nonexperts know anything—it may even surprise the experts—and it will interest anyone professionally interested in China. Its central purpose is to explain how China has escaped the disintegration of other Communist states. -- Jonathan Mirsky * New York Review of Books *This is one of the most insightful and thought-provoking books published in recent years on the critical questions about China’s developmental path and the role of history. -- Chen Xi * China Beat *One of the most sophisticated works of this sort. -- Jeffrey Wasserstrom * Miller-McCune.com *

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Book SynopsisObamaâs 2008 victory, coming amid the greatest economic crisis since the 1930s, opened the door to major reforms. But he quickly faced skepticism from supporters and fierce opposition from Republicans. What happened? Skocpol surveys the political landscape to help us to understand Obamaâs triumphs and setbacks and see where we might be headed next.Trade ReviewSkocpol's incisive account of the first two years of the Obama presidency's "new New Deal" begins by highlighting contrasts with the original New Deal era. She emphasizes significant contextual differences (economic conditions, media biases, public attitudes toward government) that would have daunted FDR himself, who, unlike Obama, enjoyed bipartisan support at the beginning of his administration…Informed by pathbreaking research on the Tea Party, Skocpol's provocative, original, and lively analysis is supplemented by contributions from Larry M. Bartels, Mickey Edwards, and Suzanne Mettler. Anyone who is passionately concerned about politics and prefers thoughtful discussion to polemic will find this book invaluable. * Publishers Weekly *Did America sweep into office a candidate promising to remake health care and then punish him a mere two years later for doing just that? More complicated factors were at work, and the Harvard sociologist and political scientist Theda Skocpol attempts to unravel them in Obama and America's Political Future...Whatever is happening with the Democrats, Skocpol's take-home message is that we need to recognize the substantial rightward slide of the Republican Party--a fact that she says has only been underscored by Mitt Romney's choice of Paul Ryan as his running mate...In the book, Skocpol homes in on the Tea Party, the members of which she and her colleagues have spent many hours interviewing. She's careful to draw a nuanced view of them, to explain that they are not the strict anti-government activists many make them out to be. -- Jesse Singal * Daily Beast *If you read only one book about Obama this electoral season, read Obama and America's Political Future, the slim volume that includes Skocpol's essay and three smart responses. Together, they rise above the tick-tocks and polemics that characterize too much of the United States' political writing. -- Chrystia Freeland * New York Times *A crisp, intelligent report card on Obama's domestic-policy record. -- John T. McGreevy * Commonweal *

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsDescriptive List of Illustrations Introduction 1. Charles Francis Adams, Diarist, 1836-1840 2. The Manuscripts and the Editorial Method Acknowledgments Guide to Editorial Apparatus 1. Textual Devices 2. Adams Family Code Names 3. Descriptive Symbols 4. Location Symbols 5. Other Abbreviations and Conventional Terms 6. Short Titles of Works Frequently Cited Diary of Charles Francis Adams, June 1836--February 1838

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Book SynopsisThis is the sixth and final volume collecting the letters of an outstanding figure in American history. During the years when these letters were written, Garrison was secure, both financially and in his reputation as distinguished abolitionist. Although officially retired, he remained vigorously concerned with issues crucial to him--the relationship of the races, woman suffrage, temperance, national and international affairs, and, above all, his family. He writes about the Alabama Claims and the proposed annexation of Santo Domingo, aligning himself with the Radical Republicans. His letters support President Grant, despite the charges of corruption that surrounded him, but his public views on Rutherford B. Hayes change from cautious optimism to condemnation. He is saddened by the return to power in the South of the white ruling class, and to the end of his life he is deeply involved with the plight of minority groups in the country. The center of Garrison's life was his family, and his correspondence reveals the ways his days passed in association with those nearest to him. There is evidence of friction in the family, but his relationships are warm and loving. His private letters tell of the death of his wife in 1875 and his failing health. He died in 1879, an old reformer still fighting for the rights of humanity.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Editorial Statement Abbreviations of Works Cited Letters 1868-1879 Calendar of Letters Known 1868-1879 Index of Recipients Index of Names

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Book SynopsisThese volumes document John Adams's thinking and actions during the final years of his congressional service and take him through his first five months as a Commissioner in France in association with Benjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee.Trade ReviewThese two volumes…bring the corpus of Adams family materials available in a modern letterpress edition to twenty-eight superb volumes. Just as earlier volumes in this series gave an object lesson on how determined men initiated and justified a revolution for political independence, these two illustrate in detail how many of the same men sustained that revolution. The nearly six hundred documents printed and calendared here are more than a record of the activities of John Adams; they are a cross section, with Adams as the epicenter, of the multitude of particular details that had to be attended to in making the struggle for independence successful. -- Constance B. Schulz * Journal of Southern History *Two by two emerge the volumes from the Adams family manuscripts reposing at the Massachusetts Historical Society. And with the publication of every pair we have reason for gratitude, pleasure, and even awe… Taylor, Lint, and Walker guide us through manuscripts from two of the most exciting years in John Adams’ life and in the history of a struggling new nation. These volumes show what Adams himself contended, that his role at home and abroad during the Revolutionary era was more significant than was generally understood… As these newest volumes of John Adams papers show, no more important editorial and publishing undertaking exists than that of the Adams Papers. Anyone who has struggled through all the microfilm reels of unedited Adams Papers emerges knowing that these amazing manuscripts contain the broadest and most rewarding vantage point we have to view more than a century of American history. -- Paul C. Nagel * New England Quarterly *Table of ContentsVOLUME 5 Descriptive List of Illustrations Introduction 1. "Weary...almost with my Life" 2. Adams in France 3. Notes on Editorial Method Acknowledgements Guide to Editorial Apparatus 1. Textual Devices 2. Adams Family Code Names 3. Descriptive Symbols 4. Location Symbols 5. Other Abbreviations and Conventional Terms 6. Short Titles of Works Frequently Cited Papers of John Adams, August 1776-March 1778 VOLUME 6 Descriptive List of Illustrations Papers of John Adams, March-August 1778 Index

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Book SynopsisIn the run-up to the Iraq invasion, a number of Americans thought the idea was crazy. Now everyone, except a few die-hards, thinks it was. So what was going through the minds of the talented and experienced men and women who planned and initiated the war? What were their assumptions? Overreach aims to recover those presuppositions.Trade ReviewExcellent… MacDonald is profoundly and chillingly right in his diagnosis of the mentality that ultimately set this disastrous chain of events in motion. -- James B. Rule * Dissent *In Overreach, MacDonald methodically dissects the top ten reasons most often used to explain why the war was a failure, and in the process shows each to be self-serving, inadequate, misleading—or all of the above. He does the same for explanations of why we went to war in the first place. -- Scott Beauchamp * Bookforum *MacDonald demonstrates vigorously and with intellectual clarity why the tenets of American exceptionalism do not usually translate to other areas of the world, with Iraq being just one example. A useful analysis of failed American military initiatives that could inform future debates about interventions in traditionally despotic nations that are also split among historically hostile religious factions. * Kirkus Reviews *With gloomily apt timing, as U.S. bombs drop once again on a now deeply fractured Iraq, international relations specialist MacDonald analyzes the usual explanations for why the Bush administration launched its invasion of Iraq in 2003 and finds them lacking. MacDonald argues that, beyond oil, the Israeli lobby, or Bush family history, the Iraq War and its horrific outcomes owe their existence to a more general trait in U.S. foreign policy, namely, a tendency to equate the country’s values with its interests. * Publishers Weekly *Overreach is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how and why the project of ‘regime change’ in Iraq not only failed, but was incoherent from the outset. With his characteristic political acumen, meticulous research practices, and marvelously lucid prose, MacDonald reveals the tragic political (not cultural!) blindness suffered by American architects of that project. This is a gripping, sad, and immensely important story. -- Wendy Brown, University of California, BerkeleyIt is easy to forget how many supported the Iraq War in 2002 and 2003. For anyone who wants to remember what happened—and what went wrong—this is an absorbing read. We misunderstood Iraq and the war, MacDonald shows, because we misunderstood ourselves—profoundly and tragically. -- Russell Muirhead, Dartmouth College

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Book SynopsisIntegrating themes from American history, political science, and philosophy, We the People confronts popular sovereignty in America. Rejecting arguments of judicial activists, proceduralists, and neoconservatives, Ackerman’s new model of judicial interpretation synthesizes the constitutional contributions of many generations into a coherent whole.Trade Review[We the People] cuts through the futile and absurd search for the ‘original intent of the founders’ as the way to discover the will of the people. It recognizes that the great and extraordinary occasions required for action by the people have not been confined to a single instance in the eighteenth century. It deflates the pretensions of politicians in normal politics but magnifies the importance of political leadership in mobilizing popular support for constitutional politics when constitutional politics is needed. It gives pragmatic meaning to government of, by, and for the elusive, invisible, inaudible, but sovereign people. -- Edmund S. Morgan * New York Review of Books *This book is one of the most important contributions to American constitutional thought in the last half-century. -- Cass R. Sunstein * New Republic *We the People can be recommended to anyone seeking a readable and complete introduction to the state of current Constitutional thought. Its analysis of the constraints on past and present judges and legal theorists, and the weaknesses in a panoply of jurisprudential positions is lucid and elegant. -- Stephen Presser * Chicago Tribune *The most important project now underway in the entire field of constitutional theory…to be published in this decade…indeed, perhaps in the past half-century… Ackerman posits a complex process of ‘Publian politics’ where ‘We the People’ become authorized to change the Constitution without ever invoking the procedures laid out in Article V… We the People can also lay claim to being the most significant work in ‘constructive’ American political thought since Louis Hartz’s The Liberal Tradition in America, published some 35 years ago… Ackerman is reopening the question about ‘American exceptionalism’ and arguing, with extraordinary vigor, that American political development is indeed importantly different from European and other models. -- Sanford Levinson, University of Texas School of Law[We the People is] one of the most distinguished works on the American Constitution since World War II. It combines law, political theory, political science—and even a little economics—with a rare attention to history, and it does so while developing an extremely innovative and original argument, one that has a solid claim to acceptance… There is no doubt that the book will be highly influential. I think that it will significantly alter the way that people think and talk about the American Constitution… The book is extremely well-written. Indeed, it successfully carries out the most unusual task of making difficult matters accessible to an extremely wide audience… This is a truly distinguished contribution to constitutional thought, one that will reorient the field in major ways. -- Cass R. Sunstein, University of Chicago Law SchoolTable of ContentsAcknowledgments PART 1: DISCOVERING THE CONSTITUTION 1. Dualist Democracy 2. The Bicentennial Myth 3. One Constitution, Three Regimes 4. The Middle Republic 5. The Modern Republic 6. The Possibility of Interpretation PART 2: NEO-FEDERALISM 7. Publius 8. The Lost Revolution 9. Normal Politics 10. Higher Lawnmaking 11. Why Dualism? Notes Index

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Book SynopsisNo sitting federal judge has ever written so trenchant a critique of the federal judiciary as Richard A. Posner does in this, his most confrontational book. He exposes the failures of the institution designed by the founders to check congressional and presidential power and resist its abuse, and offers practical prescriptions for reform.Trade ReviewThe book is an interesting and boldly written tour of the judicial branch of the federal government. -- Thomas Filbin * Arts Fuse *[Posner’s] call to arms against originalism and outdated procedures in the American judicial system are as urgently relevant as they have ever been…The Federal Judiciary is very much worth reading. Posner demonstrates beyond a reasonable doubt that originalism is a bankrupt legal philosophy. He reminds us that eighteenth century Americans could not foresee NSA spying, lethal injections, or public sector unions…Posner demonstrates as well that Justice Scalia, the emperor of originalism, had no clothes. Indeed, Posner cites several cases in which Scalia abandoned originalism when it got in the way of a result he preferred. -- Glenn C. Altschuler * Huffington Post *Persuasive…Serious-minded readers who relish an intellectually challenging read…will appreciate Posner’s reasoning. * Publishers Weekly *Posner’s newest book is a delightfully iconoclastic critique of ideas many judges and academics hold dear, full of interesting, original, and wide-ranging claims for reform in the federal judiciary and law school teaching. -- Victoria Nourse, author of Misreading Law, Misreading DemocracyIn this book on the federal judiciary, Judge Posner takes aim at every sacred legal cow: the Supreme Court and its Justices; law schools; the existence, even desirability, of apolitical judges. His critique of the federal bench as dangerously enthralled to backward-looking judicial standpattism will be controversial, as will his proposals for reform, but they cannot be ignored. -- William D. Popkin, Indiana University Maurer School of Law[Posner’s] persistent assault on the sanctimony and pomposity of federal judicial culture is acutely entertaining, signaling to some of his more arrogant colleagues that they’re not as important or intelligent as they might think…His frank irritability is strangely charming, and charmingly strange. The federal judiciary has lost a maverick but gained a needed detractor. -- Allen Mendenhall * Los Angeles Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisMadhav Khosla describes the remarkable work of the founders of independent India. All at once they built a democratic system in the midst of illiteracy and poverty enforced by a century of imperial domination and neglect. They crafted a constitution aimed at creating democratic citizens through democratic politics.Trade ReviewIn demonstrating how India’s democratic tendencies were founded by the constitution rather than vice versa, [Khosla] succeeds in his aim of placing the Indian constitution at least on a par with that of the U.S. * Financial Times *Couldn’t [be] timelier. It delves into the mystery of how some 400 men and women who had spent their lives as colonial subjects went on to create a charter of such breathless ambition…Deeply interesting. -- Sonia Faleiro * Foreign Policy *A punchy reminder of the success of India’s birth as a democratic republic. The genius of its constitution kept the country on course for seven decades of peace and (slow) growth; but it has suffered erosion in the era of Narendra Modi. * The Economist *By grounding Indian constitutional debates in political philosophy, Khosla has given an entirely novel perspective to India’s democratic origins. Perhaps now political philosophers will have reason to more intimately engage with India’s constitutional ideas. -- Ashutosh Varshney * Boston Review *I recommend it to anyone with an interest in India, in the challenges that democracies face, in global constitution-making, or in all three…A fascinating window into the framing of the Indian Constitution. -- Cheryl Saunders * Constitutional Commentary *Democratic citizenship, for India’s founders, meant individual freedom for all, regardless of religion, caste, class, or culture. In this insightful analysis of one of the most significant postcolonial constitutions in the world, Madhav Khosla provides an essential framework for understanding current challenges to the fundamental principles upon which the country was built. -- Bruce Ackerman, author of Revolutionary ConstitutionsErudite, analytically dazzling, and with a rare understanding of both India's and democracy’s challenges, Madhav Khosla’s India’s Founding Moment gives readers unparalleled access to the ideas behind India’s radical experiment in democratic constitution-making. As that noble vision is now under assault from sinister forces that Gandhi, Nehru, and Ambedkar knew well, we all should ponder Khosla’s all-too-timely book and do whatever we can to prevent the demise of India’s constitutional order. -- Martha C. Nussbaum, author of The Cosmopolitan Tradition: A Noble but Flawed Ideal and The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India’s FutureThis brilliant and challenging book shows how political choices—what to put in a constitution, the locus of effective power, and the forms of representation—can create citizens who can and must govern themselves in a modern democracy while facing deep challenges caused by poverty, caste, and illiteracy. It is at once a contribution to Indian constitutional history, constitutional theory, and political theory, and is a ‘must read’ for everyone in those fields. -- Mark Tushnet, author of Taking Back the ConstitutionKhosla’s superb study of the almost miraculous emergence of Indian democracy is an exceptional interweaving of complex and subtle insights from jurisprudence, political theory, and intellectual history. -- Sudipta Kaviraj, author of The Enchantment of Democracy and IndiaThis is a sensitive analysis of the moral imagination behind the Indian Constitution, a document intended to free the democratic process from sectarian identities and to strengthen centralized state power. As Indian democracy struggles to stay on the rails, Khosla’s book is a timely reminder of what it was meant to be. -- Partha Chatterjee, author of The Black Hole of EmpireFinely written…Khosla’s work forms an important basis of the second moment of Constitutional scholarship which seeks to connect to the idea of constitution as a manifesto of social transformation. -- Suhas Palshikar * Economic & Political Weekly *Insightful…[Khosla’s] sophisticated analysis concentrates on the Assembly’s vision of a constitution that would produce a functioning democracy. -- Michael H. Fisher * Journal of Interdisciplinary History *A deep and thoughtful account of the framing of India’s Constitution. It locates the Constitution within a history of democracy, democratic ideas and democratic contestations. It is an invaluable contribution to the history of constitutionalism. -- Gautam Bhatia * Rechtsgeschichte-Legal History *

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Book SynopsisExplores questions ranging from the nature of creating the US Constitution to the philosophy behind amending it. This collection brings together 14 essays that consider the meaning of having a constitution, the implications of choices in the design of constitutions, and the meaning of judicial supremacy in the interpretation of the Constitution.Trade Review"All essays provide interesting insight into the concepts of judicial review and judicial activism. [An] excellent book. I highly recommend it to all."--Ruth Ann Wary, Law and Politics Book Review "A provocative, enlightening, and creative study of the intricacies and fragilities of constitutionalism in the modern day."--ChoiceTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1. Alternative Political Systems by Walter F. Murphy 9 2. The Civic Constitution: Some Preliminaries by John E. Finn 41 3. Judicial Supremacy and Constitutional Distortion by Christopher L. Eisgruber 70 4. We the Exceptional American people by James E. Fleming 91 5. Constitution and Revolution by Jeffrey K. Tulis 116 6. What Did They Think They Were Doing When They Wrote the U.S. Constitution, and Why Should We Care? By Suzette Hemberger 128 7. Notes on Constitutional Maintenance by Sotirios A. Barber 162 8. Transformative Constitutionalism and the Case of Religion: Defending the Moderate Hegemony of Liberalism by Stephen Macedo 167 9. Promoting Diversity in the Public Schools (Or, to What Event Does the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment Hinder the Establishment of More Genuinely Multicultural Schools?) by Sanford Levinson 193 10. Second Thoughts on the First Amendment by H. N. Hirsch 223 11. Constitutional Citizenship by Wayne D. Moore 238 12. The Political Foundations of Judicial Supremacy by Keith E. Whittington 261 13. Constitutionalism and Constitutional Failure by Mark E. Brandon 298 14. Justice, Legitimacy, and Allegiance: "The End of Democracy?" Symposium Revisited by Robert P. George 314 Notes on Contributors 329 Index 331

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Book SynopsisArmed interventions in Libya, Haiti, Iraq, Vietnam, and Korea challenged the US president and Congress with a core question of constitutional interpretation: does the president, or Congress, have constitutional authority to take the country to war? War Powers argues that the Constitution doesn't offer a single legal answer to that question. But itsTrade ReviewWinner of the 2014 Richard E. Neustadt Award, Presidents and Executive Politics Section of the American Political Science Association "Zeisberg has written a sophisticated, painstakingly researched analysis focusing on the age-old question of the proper allocation of war powers between Congress and the president."--Choice "War Powers is an important entry into a vital substantive area where the concerns of scholars connect to real world problems that impact leaders and citizens across the globe. The author's creative and ambitious account deserves further development, defense, and elaboration, including its application to separation of powers contexts well beyond struggles over war."--Bruce Peabody, Congress and the Presidency "An ambitious new book."--Joseph Margulies, Political Science QuarterlyTable of ContentsChapter 1: Who Has Authority to Take the Country to War? 1 Chapter 2: Presidential Discretion and the Path to War: The Mexican War and World War II

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive account of how the Athenian constitution was created and how political and economic goals that were normally associated with Western developed countries were once achieved through different institutional arrangements--with lessons for contemporary constitution-building.ding.Trade Review"This book does an excellent job of demonstrating the salience of Athens for our understanding of constitutionalism, and provides a historically well-grounded and analytically precise account of constitutional emergence."—Melissa Schwartzberg, New York University "Explaining Athenian institutions in a wonderfully clear and concise fashion, this book demonstrates how much insight can be gleaned from applying concepts and tools from the social sciences to classics research."—F. Andrew Hanssen, Clemson University

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Book SynopsisThis is a study of one of the most popular, yet most misunderstood, presidents. The author aims to extend and revise our understanding of Ford's struggles to restore credibility to the presidency in the wake of Watergate and Vietnam.

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Book SynopsisThis text encourages civil servants to reflect on specific constitutional principles and events and learn to apply them to the decisions they make. It includes 20 articles which seek to legitimate public service by grounding its ethics in constitutional practice.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA magnificent contribution to the study of the Grant presidency. It is a beautifully written and the most thorough study of the Grant administrations. What emerges is a staunch defense of Grant against the charges of corruption leveled by previous historians, and, a massive documentation of Grant’s steadfast commitment to the rights of black freedmen."" - Michael F. Holt, author of By One Vote: The Disputed Presidential Election of 1876""Eminent historian Charles Calhoun’s new book takes Grant’s presidency beyond the superficial corrupt label it has been dismissed with into a more accurate place of importance. Without soft peddling the difficulties of Grant’s time in the Executive Mansion, Calhoun’s new book demonstrates just how important a president this quiet man was. Well-researched and well-written, this book is a must read for scholars and others interested in gaining accurate insight about a major American leader."" - John F. Marszalek, Giles Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History and executive director of the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, Mississippi State University

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Book SynopsisGerald Ford's (1913-2006) life and career in and out of Washington spanned nearly the entire twentieth century. Ambition, Pragmatism, and Party captures for the first time the full scope of Ford's long and remarkable political life.Trade ReviewA splendid biography. Scott Kaufman has mined the archives to capture Gerald Ford’s life, providing fresh insights and cogent analysis. Readers will relish the book’s details and powerful narrative drive. This work is crucial to understanding Ford’s rise to power and political career."" - Yanek Mieczkowski, author of Gerald Ford and the Challenges of the 1970s ""This is the best biography of President Gerald Ford. It offers a compelling account of his life, his guiding philosophy, and his many contributions. This book is also a persuasive history of American society in the twentieth century, and the possibilities for integrity and cooperation in politics during that period. Every citizen who cares about politics will benefit from reading this biography."" - Jeremi Suri, author of The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America’s Highest Office""At last we have the biography Gerald Ford deserves. Scott Kaufman offers a judicious portrait of the former president’s personal life and political career, as well as a richly textured tour of the turbulent decades following the Second World War and the political landscape that shaped Ford’s unlikely rise to power. This important and engagingly written study reminds us of the importance of a politician whose strength—an instinct for moderation—was also his greatest weakness."" - Barbara Keys, author of Reclaiming American Virtue: The Human Rights Revolution of the 1970s""No one understands the American political scene of the 1970s—that swirling, chaotic, dispiriting and transformational decade that continues to befuddle and fascinate historians—like Scott Kaufman. His beautifully written biography of Gerald Ford sheds new light on a man who was much more than an accidental president. Sailor, athlete, prosecutor, politician, and ultimately unlikely commander-in-chief, Ford’s story is one of the entire American century, and Kaufman tells it brilliantly."" - Jeffrey A. Engel, Director, Center for Presidential History, Southern Methodist University

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Book SynopsisTable of Contents Preface Introduction Part I. The Heroic Courts 1. The Origins of the U.S. Supreme Court 2. The Jay and Ellsworth Courts, 1789-1801 3. The Marshall Court, 1801-1835 4. The Taney Court, 1836-1864 5. The Chase Court, 1864-1873 Part II. The Classical Courts 6. The Waite Court, 1874-1888 7. The Fuller Court, 1888-1910 8. The White Court, 1910-1921 9. The Taft Court, 1921-1930 10. The Hughes Court, 1930-1941 Part III. The Modern Courts 11. The Stone Court, 1941-1946 12. The Vinson Court, 1946-1952 13. The Warren Court, 1953-1969 14. The Burger Court, 1969-1986 15. The Rehnquist Court, 1986-2005 16. The Roberts Court, 2005-2017 Conclusion Bibliographic Essay Index

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Book SynopsisIt is broadly understood that an American president might test the limits of the law in extraordinary circumstances - and does so with advice from legal counsel. Advising the President is an exploration of this process, viewed through the experience of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Robert H. Jackson on the eve of World War II.Trade ReviewJustice Robert H. Jackson was one of the Supreme Court’s most gifted writers and a longtime intimate advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Professor Casto nicely illuminates their relationship and Jackson’s legal and political thought."" - David M. O'Brien, author of Justice Robert H. Jackson’s Unpublished Opinion in Brown v. Board""Robert Jackson served with distinction as solicitor general, attorney general, and associate justice of the Supreme Court. His concurring opinion in the Youngstown Steel Seizure Case of 1952 remains a landmark. W. R. Casto adeptly explores in detail Jackson’s nuanced and evolving understanding of a president’s constitutional powers. This is an important book. It not only explains and assesses Jackson’s views, it also helps us gain insight on enduring constitutional issues that remain relevant today."" - John P. Burke, John G. McCullough Professor of Political Science, University of Vermont

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Book SynopsisThe American presidency is not what it once was. Nor, Stephen Knott contends, what it was meant to be. Taking on an issue as timely as Donald Trump's latest tweet and old as the American republic, Knott documents the devolution of the American presidency from the neutral, unifying office into the demagogic, partisan entity of our day.Trade ReviewHow did the Founders’ vision of a dignified presidency that elevates the republic evolve to its current status as the national seat of direct populist leadership often appealing to and enabling some of the worst instincts of our citizens? As Knott so ably describes and analyzes, it didn’t start with President Trump, who represents the culmination of a long and troubling trend in our democratic republic. To understand how we got to our current situation, no work of scholarship better tells that story. A must-read." - Mark J. Rozell, author of Executive Privilege: Presidential Power, Secrecy, and Accountability "The Lost Soul of the American Presidency is a significant contribution to the field of presidency studies. Stephen F. Knott offers a reassessment of the office that challenges the tendency of many scholars in recent decades who focus more on ‘presidential greatness’ than the core constitutional principles the Framers envisioned for the office. It is an essential read for anyone who wants a better understanding of the origins of the office and how it can explain the president’s role in the current political environment." - Lori Cox Han, coauthor of Presidents and the American Presidency"The Lost Soul of the American Presidency provides a welcome and timely antidote to both the left’s romance with the progressive presidency model and the right’s newfound love affair with the ‘unitary executive.’ Arguing that the Framers’ limited ‘republican’ presidency has morphed into a president as democratic tribune to the people, Knott calls for a return to the ‘sober expectations’ of the Framers’ true or ‘originalist’ constitutional model of the presidency. Challenging the contemporary orthodoxy, this book should have a significant impact on how we view the presidency." - Michael A. Genovese, president, Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University and author of How Trump Governs: An Assessment and a Prognosis"In this provocative, beautifully written book, Stephen F. Knott reopens the essential debate regarding the origins and evolution of presidential power." - David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler, award-winning historians and authors of The Rise of Andrew Jackson: Myth, Manipulation, and the Making of Modern Politics

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Book SynopsisIn this expanded third edition, Stephen Skowronek addresses Donald J. Trump's presidency. Skowronek's insights have fundamentally altered our understanding of the American presidency. A classic widely used in courses on the presidency, Skowronek's book has greatly expanded our understanding of and debates over the politics of leadership.Trade ReviewPraise for the first edition:""With this brilliant work, Skowronek scans the centuries to illuminate the dynamics that have made some presidents the master of political time—and others its victim.""- Ron Brownstein, Los Angeles Times national affairs columnist;""Brief, accessible, and captivating, this is an important contribution to our understanding of presidential leadership in American politics.""- Political Science Quarterly;""Shows us the presidency in a whole new light.""- Bruce L. Miroff, author of Presidents on Political Ground: Leaders in Action and What They Face;""A brilliant, provocative reading of presidential history that sparkles with originality and insight.""- Richard Ellis, author of Founding the American Presidency

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Book SynopsisThe American presidency is not what it was meant to be. Taking on an issue as timely as Donald Trump's latest tweet and old as the American republic, Stephen Knott documents the devolution of the presidency from the neutral, unifying office envisioned by the framers of the Constitution into the demagogic, partisan entity of our day.Trade ReviewAn important book with a compelling thesis."—Law & Liberty"Knott tackles a subject on the minds of many Americans: How did we get to where we are? How did we get to our highly polarized country, complete with a highly divisive and arguably demagogic president? Knott offers an answer worth thinking about: our condition is at least partly the logical outgrowth of the transformation of the presidency from a constitutional office to a popular office." —Perspectives on Politics"Thanks to Knott, readers finally have a book that places the Trump administration in historical context. [His] thesis is thought-provoking, making the book a must-read for students of the presidency. Essential." —Choice"A fantastic history of the second branch of government. Fascinating throughout, and a model of how to think about American history through an institutional lens." —National Review"Meticulously researched and eloquently reasoned." —Washington Times "How did the Founders’ vision of a dignified presidency that elevates the republic evolve to its current status as the national seat of direct populist leadership often appealing to and enabling some of the worst instincts of our citizens? As Knott so ably describes and analyzes, it didn’t start with President Trump, who represents the culmination of a long and troubling trend in our democratic republic. To understand how we got to our current situation, no work of scholarship better tells that story. A must-read."—Mark J. Rozell, author of Executive Privilege: Presidential Power, Secrecy, and Accountability"The Lost Soul of the American Presidency is a significant contribution to the field of presidency studies. Stephen F. Knott offers a reassessment of the office that challenges the tendency of many scholars in recent decades who focus more on ‘presidential greatness’ than the core constitutional principles the Framers envisioned for the office. It is an essential read for anyone who wants a better understanding of the origins of the office and how it can explain the president’s role in the current political environment."—Lori Cox Han, author of Advising Nixon: The White House Memos of Patrick J. Buchanan"The Lost Soul of the American Presidency provides a welcome and timely antidote to both the left‘s romance with the progressive presidency model and the right’s newfound love affair with the ‘unitary executive.’ Arguing that the Framers’ limited ‘republican’ presidency has morphed into a president as democratic tribune to the people, Knott calls for a return to the ‘sober expectations’ of the Framers’ true or ‘originalist’ constitutional model of the presidency. Challenging the contemporary orthodoxy, this book should have a significant impact on how we view the presidency."—Michael A. Genovese, president, Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University and author of How Trump Governs: An Assessment and a Prognosis"In this provocative, beautifully written book, Stephen F. Knott reopens the essential debate regarding the origins and evolution of presidential power."—David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler, award-winning historians and authors of The Rise of Andrew Jackson: Myth, Manipulation, and the Making of Modern PoliticsTable of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: The Long, Declining Road 1. The Founders Presidency: Washington, Hamilton, and an Office of Sober Expectations 2. The Presidency of Popular Consent: Thomas Jefferson and the "Revolution of 1800" 3. Andrew Jackson: "The Majority Is to Govern" 4. Abraham Lincoln and the "Mobocratic Spirit" 5. Woodrow Wilson: "To Be as Big a Man as He Can" 6. FDR and Harry Truman: "Give 'Em Hell" 7. Ike and Jack: A Study in Contrasting Presidencies 8. The Road to Degradation 9. The Apotheosis of the Popular Presidency: Donald J. Trump 10. The Prospects for Renewal Notes Index

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Book SynopsisWoodrow Wilson envisioned a ‘responsible government’ in which a strong leader and principled party would integrate the separate executive and legislative powers. His ideal, however, was constantly challenged by political reality. Daniel Stid explores Wilson’s views on this form of government and his endeavours to establish it in the US.

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