Popular Government

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In Popular Government Sir Henry Sumner Maine examines the political institutions of popular governments. The four essays included are: The Prospects of Popular Government, The Nature of Democracy, The Age of Progress, and The Constitution of the United States, together with an Index. Sir Henry Sumner Maine, a highly respected legal historian, a vigorous critic of democracy, and one of the best writers in the humanities of his generation, convinced many legal historians that law and legal institutions must be studied historically if they are to be understood.

Sir Henry Sumner Maine was one of the great intellects of the Victorian era. In Popular Government he examines the political institutions of men. He saw that popular governments, unless they are founded upon and consonant with the evolutionary development of a people, will crumble from their own excesses. George W. Carey is Professor of Government at Georgetown University and editor of the Political Science Reviewer. Please note: This title is available as an ebook for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes.

Athens is often considered to have been the birth place of democracy but there were many democracies in Greece during the Archaic and Classical periods and this is a study of the other democratic states. Robinson begins by discussing ancient and modern definitions of democracy, he then examines Greek terminology, investigates the evidence for other early democratic states and draws conclusions about its emergence.

Having organized neighborhood discussion groups before World War I, Follett traces the dynamics she noticed in these forums and develops some core concepts useful for those working on questions of public deliberation today. She also shows how deliberation informs debates that raged in political theory during her own era. She discusses the works of pluralists (Harold Laski), idealists (T. H. Green and Bernard Bosanquet), and pragmatists (William James) and makes important arguments about the relationship between socialism and democracy. Her work is marked by rigorous thinking about the implications of democratic principles as they relate to political and socioeconomic organization. This book articulates the formation of a &“new state&” growing out of the local activities of citizens and renews the American idea of &"federalism&" in order to balance local activities and national purposes. By doing this, Follett leaves us with a pathbreaking work that demands more attention today. With preliminary essays by Benjamin Barber and Jane Mansbridge, plus a historical introduction provided by Kevin Mattson, this reissued edition will be of use to scholars and activists who are currently working on issues of democratic participation, civic education, and public deliberation.

The modern presidency is increasingly seen as in troubleby all sides of the political spectrum and by people of themost diverse political views. Understanding why this isthe case requires examining the basic principles of thepresidency itself, and there is no better place to start thanWilliam Howard Taft's Popular Government. His views onexecutive power and constitutional interpretation of thispower are not rooted in nostalgia. Instead, Taft describeshow and why the Progressive Movement marked one ofthe major turning points in American political thought. Taft wrote out of concern over the nature of the Americansystem itself. He sought to describe the foundingprinciples of the country, arguing that grasping these isessential for Americans' understanding of themselves asa people and for their daily exercise of citizenship. Theconcerns he addressed remain central today. Th at is becauseTaft's quarrels with the liberal-progressive traditionin politics have not yet completely played themselves out,either in academic life, or in the political arena. In a brilliant new introduction, Sidney Pearson arguesthat neither Roosevelt nor Wilson should be viewed asenemies of free government by any serious student ofAmerican political thought, nor should Taft be so regardedeither. The concerns Taft engages remain important for anyunderstanding of the problems that confront the Americanexperiment in popular government. Popular Governmentis a basic introduction to debate about the nature of thepresidency and the larger constitutional context in whichsuch arguments take place. Th ere is no better way to gainperspective on the debate than reading this volume. William Howard Taft served as thetwenty-third president of the United Statesfrom 1909-1913 and as Chief Justice of theSupreme Court from 1921-1930. He is theonly person to have held the highest officein two of the three branches of Americangovernment. He wrote numerous booksincluding Our Chief Magistrate andHis Powers, The Anti-Trust Act and theSupreme Court, and The Covenanter: AnAmerican Exposition of the Covenant of the League of Nations. Sidney A. Pearson, Jr. is professor emeritus of political scienceat Radford University. He is also the series editor of Library ofLiberal Thought at Transaction Publishers.

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.