The American Founding And The Social Compact

Author : Ronald J. Pestritto,Thomas G. West
Publisher : Lexington Books
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2003
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0739106651

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The American Founding and the Social Compact by Ronald J. Pestritto,Thomas G. West Pdf

Unlike many other books about the American founding, this new work by two of the most prominent scholars of American political history emphasizes the coherence and intelligibility of the social compact theory. Social compact theory, the idea that government must be based on an agreement between those who govern and those who consent to be governed, was one of the Founders' few unifying philosophical positions, and it transcended the partisan politics of that era. Contributors to this volume present a comprehensive overview of the social compact theory, discussing its European philosophical origins, the development of the theory into the basis of the fledgling government, and the attitudes of some of the founders toward the theory and its traditional proponents. The authors argue forcefully and convincingly that the political ideas of the American Founders cannot be properly understood without understanding social compact theory and the exalted place it held in the construction of the American system of government.

Author : Thomas G. West
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 431 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2017-04-03
Category : History
ISBN : 9781107140486

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The Political Theory of the American Founding by Thomas G. West Pdf

This book provides a complete overview of the Founders' natural rights theory and its policy implications.

Author : Gary Rosen
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 264 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 1999
Category : Social contract
ISBN : UOM:39015047547156

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American Compact by Gary Rosen Pdf

For students of the early American republic, James Madison has long been something of a riddle, the member of the founding generation whose actions and thought most stubbornly resist easy summary. The staunchest of Federalists in the 1780s, Madison would turn on his former allies shortly thereafter, renouncing their expansive nationalism as a threat to the Constitution and to popular government. In a study that combines penetrating textual analysis with deep historical awareness, Gary Rosen stakes out important new ground by showing the philosophical consistency in Madison's long and controversial public life. The key, he argues, is Madison's profound originality as a student of the social compact, the venerable liberal idea into which he introduced several novel, and seemingly illiberal, principles. Foremost among these was the need for founding to be the work of an elite few. For Madison, prior accounts of the social compact, in their eagerness to establish the proper ends of government, provided a hopelessly naive account of its origin. As he saw it, the Federal Convention of 1787 was an opportunity for those of outstanding prudence (understood in its fullest Aristotelian sense) to do for the people what they could not do for themselves. This troublesome reliance on the few was balanced, Rosen contends, by Madison's commitment to republicanism as an end in itself, a conclusion that he likewise drew from the social compact, accommodating the proud political claims that his philosophical predecessors had failed to recognize. Rosen goes on to show how Madison's idiosyncratic understanding of the social compact illuminates his differences not only with Hamilton but with Jefferson as well. Both men, Madison feared, were too ready to resort to original principles in coming to terms with the Constitution, putting at risk the fragile achievement of the founding in their determination to invoke, respectively, the claims of the few and the many. As American Compact persuasively concludes, Madison's ideas on the origin and aims of the Constitution are not just of historical interest. They carry crucial lessons for our own day, and speak directly to current disputes over diversity, constitutional interpretation, the fate of federalism, and the possibilities and limits of American citizenship.

Author : Ronald J. Pestritto,Thomas G. West
Publisher : Lexington Books
Page : 318 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2005
Category : History
ISBN : 0739108727

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Challenges to the American Founding by Ronald J. Pestritto,Thomas G. West Pdf

American politics in the twentieth century and beyond represents a sharp departure from the political vision of the American founders. This volume looks to the roots of this departure in the political ideas of nineteenth-century America, where the first substantial challenges to the founders' thought arose.

Author : Ronald J. Pestritto
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Page : 302 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2005
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0742515176

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Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism by Ronald J. Pestritto Pdf

Examines the political principles of Woodrow Wilson that influenced his presidency and the impact he had on United States and the progressive movement.

Author : Alin Fumurescu
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 267 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2019-09-05
Category : History
ISBN : 9781108415873

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Compromise and the American Founding by Alin Fumurescu Pdf

An original interpretation of 'the people's two bodies' that illuminates the opposite attitudes toward compromise throughout the American founding.

Author : Mark Hulliung
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2007
Category : History
ISBN : UOM:39015070761898

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The Social Contract in America by Mark Hulliung Pdf

The first comprehensive examination of the social contract's role in American political development. Traces the history of the contract--the closest thing we have to a common philosophy--from its role in the Founding up to current day debates, and charts its rise--and demise--in influence over American political thought.

Author : Ronald J. Pestritto
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Page : 298 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2005-01-20
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781442201088

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Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism by Ronald J. Pestritto Pdf

Woodrow Wilson is best known for his service as the twenty-eighth president of the United States and his influence on American foreign policy in the twentieth century and beyond. Yet Wilson is equally important for his influence on how Americans think about their Constitution and principles of government. Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism highlights Wilson's sharp departure from the traditional principles of American government, most notably the Constitution. Ronald J. Pestritto persuasively argues that Wilson's unfailing criticism places him clearly in line with the Progressives' assault on the original principles of American constitutionalism. Drawing primarily from early writings and speeches that Wilson made during his years as a scholar, Pestritto examines the future president's clear and consistent ideologies that laid the foundation for later actions taken as a public leader. Engaging and thought-provoking, Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism gets to the heart of Wilson's political ideologies and brings a fresh perspective to the study of American political development.

Author : Frances Fox Piven,Richard A. Cloward
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 464 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 1998-09-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1565844769

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The Breaking of the American Social Compact by Frances Fox Piven,Richard A. Cloward Pdf

In this text, social critics Francis Fox Piven and Richard Cloward address the tumultuous politics of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that have culminated in an all-out assault on the American social compact.

Author : Richard D. Baris
Publisher : Createspace Independent Pub
Page : 146 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2013-05-16
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1482316005

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Our Virtuous Republic by Richard D. Baris Pdf

America was founded as a republic, a collective nation of tightly knit families and autonomous communities, who relied upon each other to fulfill their needs and achieve their dreams. As never before, "Our Virtuous Republic" provides a comprehensive explanation to how and why our nation - once held together only by an empowering national identity - has now become increasingly dependent on a powerful, centralized government. Conservative academics and politicians have failed to make a decisive argument for our founding principles, which were born out of the blended wisdom of English common law, Natural Law and the Protestant ethic. Richard D. Baris, Creator and Editor of People's Pundit Daily, identifies the unique characteristics that define the traditional American identity; to which, the progressive narrative has attached an unsubstantiated, "backward" stigma. Past conservative arguments have focused only on the impact of progressive legal reforms, such as the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments, but beneath this structural shift is a deeper problem of values. They have overshadowed the true danger posed to Americans from big government; its strong, innate ability to destroy the human connection, which is threatening to "fundamentally transform" American citizens into a people that the Constitution was never designed to govern. Baris uses an all-encompassing approach, tapping history, philosophy, psychology, economics, and even science to deconstruct the progressive argument to its regressive core. Breaking through the superficial partisanship, he explains how our human nature interacts with the different elements of each political philosophy in American politics, and how it is exploited by politicians, special interest and bureaucrats. The evidence, in total, points to one conclusion. There is a Natural Law that illuminates our path to human happiness, empowerment and well-being. American history tells a story about the natural power of close, intimate human relationships. Our Founding Fathers designed the American social contract in accordance with their belief in a Natural Law that - when observed - ensures that we all have the opportunity to achieve the highest state of being. Honoring the terms of that social contract is the true path to progress..

Author : Vincent Phillip Muñoz
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 345 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2022-08-31
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780226821443

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Religious Liberty and the American Founding by Vincent Phillip Muñoz Pdf

"The Founders understood religious liberty to be an inalienable natural right. Vincent Phillip Muñoz explains what this means for church-state constitutional law, uncovering what we can and cannot determine about the original meanings of the First Amendment's Religion Clauses and constructing a natural rights jurisprudence of religious liberty."--

Author : Frank W. Fox,Clayne L. Pope
Publisher : Brigham Young University Press
Page : 258 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2004-12
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 0842526013

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America's Founding Heritage by Frank W. Fox,Clayne L. Pope Pdf

Author : Michael P. Zuckert
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 400 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2002
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : UOM:39015055207800

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Launching Liberalism by Michael P. Zuckert Pdf

In this volume, prominent political theorist Michael Zuckert presents an important and pathbreaking set of meditations on the thought of John Locke. In more than a dozen provocative essays, many appearing in print for the first time, Zuckert explores the complexity of Locke's engagement with his philosophical and theological predecessors, his profound influence on later liberal thinkers, and his amazing success in transforming the political understanding of the Anglo-American world. At the same time, he also demonstrates Locke's continuing relevance in current debates involving such prominent thinkers as Rawls and MacIntyre. Zuckert's careful reconsideration of Locke's role as "launcher" of liberalism involves a sustained engagement with the hermeneutical issues surrounding Locke, an innovator who faced special rhetorical needs in addressing his contemporaries and the future. It also involves highlighting the novelty of Locke's position by examining his stance toward the philosophical and religious traditions in place when he wrote. Zuckert argues that neither of the dominant ways of understanding Locke's relations to his predecessors and contemporaries is adequate; he is not well seen as a follower of any orthodoxy nor of any anti-orthodoxy of his day, either philosophical or theological. He found a path to innovation that was philosophically radical but which was also able to connect with prevailing and accepted traditions. That allowed him to exercise a practical influence in history rarely, if ever, matched by any other philosopher. Zuckert illustrates that influence by showing how William Blackstone used Lockean philosophy to reshape the common law and how the Americans of the eighteenth century used Lockean philosophy to reshape Whig political thought. Zuckert argues that Locke's philosophy has continuing philosophic and political force, a proposition he demonstrates by arguing that Locke presents a form of political philosophy superior to that of the liberal theorists of our day and that he has solid rejoinders to contemporary critics of liberalism.

Author : Ronald J. Pestritto,Thomas G. West
Publisher : Lexington Books
Page : 315 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2004-12-28
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780739152898

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Challenges to the American Founding by Ronald J. Pestritto,Thomas G. West Pdf

Ronald J. Pestritto's and Thomas G. West's earlier volume The American Founding and the Social Compact addressed the nature of the thought and philosophy of the men who shaped the American founding. In this second volume in a trilogy, Pestritto and West examine the fate of the founders' principles in the nine teeth century, when these principles faced their first great challenges. Support of slavery, culminating in secession and civil war, came from the South; and after the war came positivism, relativism, and radical egalitarianism, which originated in Europe and infiltrated American universities, where intellectuals repudiated the founders' views as historically obsolete and insufficiently concerned with true human liberation. In ten chapters covering major thinkers in nineteenth-century American political thought, contributors discuss the rise and resolution of ideological conflicts in the early generations of the American republic. In Challenges to the American Founding Pestritto and West have compiled an invaluable resource for the roots of the twentieth-century departure in American politics from the political vision of the American founders.

Author : John F Fenton
Publisher : Palala Press
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2016-05-22
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1358458332

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The Theory of the Social Compact by John F Fenton Pdf

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