Description
Book SynopsisRobert Ross addresses a fascinating and unresolved constitutional question: why did political parties emerge so quickly after the framers designed the Constitution to prevent them? The text of the Constitution is silent on this question. Most scholars of the subject have taken that silence to be a hostile one, arguing that the adoption of the two-party system was a significant break from a long history of antiparty sentiments and institutional design aimed to circumscribe party politics.
The constitutional question of parties addresses the very nature of representation, democracy, and majority rule. Political parties have become a vital institution of representation by linking the governed with the government. Efforts to uphold political parties have struggled to come to terms with the apparent antiparty sentiments of the founders and the perception that the Constitution was intended to work against parties.
The Framers' Intentions connects political parties and t
Trade Review
“I found this to be an engaging text on the rise of political parties in early America. The entire book is thoroughly researched, and Robert Ross has clearly immersed himself in the literature. I believe that this book, although it analyzes political battles from over two hundred years ago, can speak to the American people in this era when we are so divided.” —William Bolt, Francis Marion University
“Robert Ross has provided us with a provocative argument that contradicts scholarly wisdom regarding the emergence of a two-party system in the early American republic. Ross’s interpretation that the founders were not fighting against parties but rather manipulating their development as legitimate tools is a genuine contribution to the literature for both historians and political scientists.” —John Belohlavek, University of South Florida
"Robert Ross challenges the received wisdom on the relationship between the Constitution and political parties. He shows that political parties became deeply entrenched in a constitutional order that was initially intended to work against them. He details how over the course of American political development the Constitution acquired new elements and interpretations that served to strengthen political parties. This book is a must read for scholars of political parties and of American political development." —Marc Landy, Boston College
“The heart of this scholarly study is Ross’s thesis, which proposes to scholars that there is another way in which to view the Constitution’s transition from anti-party to party. . . . Ross offers a book that belongs on the library shelves of all academic institutions with advanced history and political science programs.” —Choice
"The story of political parties' decline, and how that decline led to Congress's, has yet to be told. Until then, : The Framers' Intentions provides a valuable service by showing the essential role parties have played in making workable our republican government." —Claremont Review of Books
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Antipartyism and the Constitution: Reassessing the “Constitution-Against-Parties” Thesis
1.Antiparty Constitutionalism and the Tradition of Political Parties Partyism Before the Constitution
2.Partyism and the First Amendment: Organizing Opposition and the Partisan Press
3.Partyism and the Presidential Selection System: The Twelfth Amendment and Political Opposition
4.Partyism and Organized Opposition in Elections
5.Partyism and the Electoral College: Completing the Twelfth Amendment
6Partyism, the Election Clause, and the House of Representatives
7.Conclusion: Partyism and the Twenty-Fourth Amendment: Entrenching the Two-Party Constitution
