DOCSLIB.ORG

Free Download

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Free Download Transforming America A Voter’s Bill of Rights W ILLIAM J OHN C OX ALSO BY WILLIAM JOHN COX Hello: We Speak the Truth You’re Not Stupid! Get the Truth: A Brief on the Bush Presidency Mitt Romney and the Mormon Church: Questions Target Iran: Drawing Red Lines in the Sand The Holocaust Case: Defeat of Denial The Book of Mindkind: A Philosophy for the New Millennium Sam: A Political Philosophy An Essential History of China: Why it Matters to Americans Millennial Math & Physics Copyright © 2015 William John Cox All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from William John Cox, who asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work. USVRA.US A California Nonprofit Corporation http://www.usvra.us ISBN 13: 9780692562536 ISBN 10: 0692562532 TABLE OF CONTENTS The United States Voters’ Rights Amendment · · · · · · · · · xv Preface · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · xxiii The Illumination of Rights · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 1 Sovereignty and Political Power · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 2 The Enlightenment and Individual Rights · · · · · · · · · · 3 Creation of a Republic · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 8 Taxation Without Representation · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 9 The Continental Congresses · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 12 The Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederacy · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 14 The Constitution of the United States of America · · · · 17 The Growth of Freedom · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 22 Forming a Government · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 23 The Emergence of Political Parties · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 26 John Adams and the Federalists · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 28 Thomas Jefferson, the Virginia Dynasty, and the First Republican Party · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 30 The Unique Presidency of John Quincy Adams · · · · · · 33 The Expansion of Democracy · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 35 The Right of Secession · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 38 Manifest Destiny · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 40 The Power of Political Parties · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 41 Public Education · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 42 Corporations Are Not People · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·157 Abraham Lincoln, the New Republican Party, Money Is Not Speech · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·158 and the End of Slavery · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 43 Freedom of the Press and the Internet · · · · · · · · · · · ·160 Due Process and Equal Protection of the Law · · · · · · 47 Public Funding of Elections · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·161 The Growth of Corporate Power · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 50 Gerrymandering and Adequate Congressional Extending the Suffrage · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 52 Representation · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·164 The Progressive Era · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 55 Political Education and Public Information · · · · · · · ·166 Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal · · · · · · · · · · 61 Articulation of Policy Issues · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·170 Freedom and the American Dream · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 65 National Policy Referendum, Voting Holidays, The Destruction of Freedom · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 75 and Write-In Voting · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·172 The Corporate Conspiracy · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 77 Popular Election of the President and The Creed of Greed · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 83 Vice President· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·177 Ronald Reagan, Corporate Pitchman · · · · · · · · · · · · · 84 Lobbying, Bribery, and the Revolving Door · · · · · · · ·181 Consolidation of the Corporate State · · · · · · · · · · · · · 93 Conflict of Interest · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·182 World Corporate Government · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 97 Ratification by State Conventions and The Corporate Media · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·100 Absence of Deadline · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·184 The Economic Casino · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·102 The Seventh Party System · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·187 An American Crisis · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·124 The Future · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·188 Failure to Keep the Peace · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·126 Transformation · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·189 Failure to Improve the Economy · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·128 The Power of the Constitution · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·191 Failure to Correct Abuses of Power · · · · · · · · · · · · ·133 The Power of a Mass, Nonpartisan, Failure to Ensure Justice · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·135 Populist Movement · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·192 Failure to Repair the Infrastructure · · · · · · · · · · · · ·138 The Power of the Internet and Social Media · · · · · · · ·194 Failure to Protect the Environment · · · · · · · · · · · · ·138 The Power of Nonviolence · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·195 Failure to Reform Health Care · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·141 The Power of Youth · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·198 Failure to Legislate · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·142 Failure is Not an Option · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 200 Failure to Control Corporate Power · · · · · · · · · · · · ·145 Sources · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 203 The USVRA: A Voter’s Bill of Rights · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·148 The Illumination of Rights · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 203 The Right to Vote · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·151 Creation of a Republic · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 203 Equality of All Rights · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·153 The Growth of Freedom · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 205 Maximizing Voter Participation · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·154 The Destruction of Freedom · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 207 An American Crisis · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 209 The USVRA—A Voter’s Bill of Rights · · · · · · · · · · ·210 Transformation · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·211 DEDICATION To the People of the United States of America, Whose consent to be governed, Cannot be taken for granted. “As it is my design to make those that can scarcely read understand, I shall therefore avoid every literary ornament and put it in language as plain as the alphabet.” Thomas Paine, Common Sense, (1776) THE UNITED STATES VOTERS’ RIGHTS AMENDMENT Section 1. The right of all citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to cast effective votes in political elections is inherent under this Constitution and shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State. Section 2. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Section 3. The States shall ensure that all citizens who are eligible to vote are registered to vote. In balancing the public benefit of maximum voter partici- pation with the prevention of voting fraud, Congress and the States shall not impose any unjustifiable restriction on registra- tion or voting by citizens. xv Transforming America The United States Voters’ Rights Amendment The intentional suppression of voting is hereby prohibited Section 6. and, in addition to any other penalty imposed by law, any per- Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to abridge son convicted of the intentional suppression of voting shall be the freedom of the press, which includes electronic and digital ineligible for public office for a period of five years following publication. such conviction. Section 7. Section 4. In balancing the public benefits of corruption-free elections The rights protected by the Constitution of the United States with allowing candidates to accept private campaign contribu- are the rights of natural persons only. tions, Congress and the States shall favor public financing over Artificial entities established by the laws of any State, the private contributions. United States, or any foreign state shall have no rights under Broadcasters using the public airwaves shall provide free air- this Constitution and are subject to regulation by the People, time for political campaign programming; ensure controversial is- through Federal, State, or local law. sues of public importance are presented in an honest, equitable and The privileges of artificial entities shall be determined by balanced manner; and provide equal time to opposing candidates the People, through Federal, State, or local law, and shall not be and political points of view. construed to be inherent or inalienable. No campaign for elective public office, including receipt of campaign contributions, shall commence prior to six months be- fore such election. Section 5. Federal, State and local government shall regulate, limit, or pro- hibit contributions and expenditures, to ensure that all citizens, Section 8. regardless of their economic status, have access to the political Election districts represented by members of Congress, or by process, and that no person gains,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Choices of Mind
    THE CHOICES OF MIND WILLIAM JOHN COX Copyright © 2020 William John Cox All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from William John Cox, who asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work. Cover design by Liam Newman and Maggie Pagratis. Cover im- age of a double rainbow over Bow Lake in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada filmed by David Brooke Martin. Author photograph by Catherine Frost. This digital edition contains all corrections to date. ISBN 9798601809955 The Gift of Mind Series Mindkind Publications Mindkind.Info BY WILLIAM JOHN COX You’re Not Stupid! Get the Truth: A Brief on the Bush Presidency Mitt Romney and the Mormon Church: Questions Target Iran: Drawing Red Lines in the Sand The Holocaust Case: Defeat of Denial Transforming America: A Voters' Bill of Rights Sam: A Political Philosophy An Essential History of China: Why it Matters to Americans Millennial Math & Physics The Way of Righteousness: A Revealing History & Reconciliation of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam THE GIFT OF MIND SERIES A Message of Mind: Hello, We Speak the Truth The Book of Mindkind: A Philosophy for the New Millennium Mind & Its Languages of Reason Mind: Before & After The Way of Righteousness Contents Dedication ................................................................ x Preface Deception and Choices ................................. 1 The Extinction Papers ............................................. 13 An Inquest Into the Criminal Assault on Mother Earth ........................................................................... 15 The Ice Age Cycle ......................................... 17 Effects of Industrialization ............................ 19 The Melting of the Sea Ice ............................. 21 The Methane Bomb ......................................
    [Show full text]
  • The American Experience with Diplomacy and Military Restraint I
    PART I: THE AmERICAN EXPERIENCE WITH DIPLOMACY AND MILITARY RESTRAINT i. Orphaned Diplomats: The American Struggle to Match Diplomacy with Power Jeremi Suri E. Gordon Fox Professor of History and Director, European Union Center of Excellence, University of Wisconsin, Madison Benjamin Franklin spent the American Revolution in Paris. He had helped to draft the Declaration of Independence in the summer of 1776, one of the most radical documents of the eighteenth century—sparking rebellion on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Serving as a representative for the Continental Congress in France during the next decade, Franklin became a celebrity. He was the enlightened idealist from the frontier, the man of principled action who enthralled onlookers in the rigid European class societies of the 1770s and ’80s. Franklin embodied the American critique of Old World society, economy, and diplomacy. He was one of many American revolutionaries to take aim at the degenerate world of powdered wigs, fancy uniforms, and silver-service dinners where the great men of Europe decided the fate of distant societies. Franklin was a representative of the enduring American urge to replace the diplomacy of aristocrats with the openness and freedom of democrats.1 Despite his radical criticisms of aristocracy, Franklin was also a prominent participant in Parisian salons. To the consternation of John Adams and John Jay, he dined most evenings with the most conservative elements of French high society. Unlike Adams, he did not refuse to dress the part. For all his frontiers- man claims, Franklin relished high-society silver-service meals, especially if generous portions of wine were available for the guests.
    [Show full text]
  • Grasso on Chervinsky
    Lindsay M. Chervinsky. The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2020. 432 pp. $29.95, cloth, ISBN 978-0-674-98648-0. Reviewed by Joanne S. Grasso (New York Institute of Technology) Published on H-Early-America (July, 2021) Commissioned by Troy Bickham (Texas A&M University) As a grand epic but over a shorter period of jor author of the Federalist Papers. And Bradford history, Lindsay M. Chervinsky’s The Cabinet served in the Revolutionary War and then went chronicles George Washington and the creation of into law. The Virginia dynasty of presidents was in the first US presidential cabinet. In this expansive the making: Jefferson first served as secretary of account of how Washington oversaw, constructed, state, James Madison in the House of Representat‐ and ultimately organized his cabinet, the author ives, and James Monroe as an ambassador. segments her book from his pre-presidency days, In the introduction, the author begins her nar‐ when he developed relationships and strategies, in rative with the grandiose ceremony of the inaugur‐ the chapter “Forged in War,” to the initial stages of ation of Washington as the first president of the the development of his cabinet in “The Cabinet United States and then discusses many of his ad‐ Emerges,” and all the way through to problems in ministration’s initial tasks and strategies. Wash‐ “A Cabinet in Crisis.” ington used the “advice and consent” clause found As depicted, some of the brightest and time- in the United States Constitution with respect to tested minds from the Revolutionary War era were the US Senate, which states that the president cabinet members, including Henry Knox, Edmund “shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Randolph, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided and William Bradford.
    [Show full text]
  • Biography of William John
    THE PROFESSIONAL LIFE OF WILLIAM JOHN COX The eighth and last child of a pioneer family that included American Revolutionary War patriots, William John Cox was born on a dry-land cotton farm near Lubbock, Texas, on February 15, 1941 to Samuel Hubert and Minnie Irene (Oswalt) Cox. Cox traces his ancient ancestry through his sixth great-grandmother, Naomi Hussey (who married Solomon Cox I) and her forebear, Sir John Hussey1 and his marriage to Lady Anne Grey, thus back through the House of Plantagenet to King John (who sealed the Magna Carta) and to William the Conqueror, who is Cox’s 30th great-grandfather.2 Of the English families of the Cox Clan who migrated to the American colonies, many were Quakers who first settled in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and then down into North Carolina, where a group of Friends gathered at Cane Creek in 1751. When the Revolutionary War began, patriots Solomon Cox I and Samuel Cox II chose to fight for their rights of liberty in the war for independence. They were shunned by their pacifistic congregation.3 Following independence, the outcast families, one headed by Samuel Cox II married to Martha Cox, and the other by Solomon Cox I and his wife Naomi Hussey, migrated under the leadership of Solomon’s grandson, Joseph Cox, along with other families.4 They explored and developed frontier settlements in Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Missouri, and finally down into the Republic of Texas while it was still independent. The two Cox family branches were 5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hussey,_1st_Baron_Hussey_of_Sleaford 2 As an independent source of reliable and unbiased information, Wikipedia.org has been an invaluable resource to the author.
    [Show full text]
  • Pen & Parchment: the Continental Congress
    Adams National Historical Park National Park Service U.S. Department of Interior PEN & PARCHMENT INDEX 555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555 a Letter to Teacher a Themes, Goals, Objectives, and Program Description a Resources & Worksheets a Pre-Visit Materials a Post Visit Mterialss a Student Bibliography a Logistics a Directions a Other Places to Visit a Program Evaluation Dear Teacher, Adams National Historical Park is a unique setting where history comes to life. Our school pro- grams actively engage students in their own exciting and enriching learning process. We hope that stu- dents participating in this program will come to realize that communication, cooperation, sacrifice, and determination are necessary components in seeking justice and liberty. The American Revolution was one of the most daring popular movements in modern history. The Colonists were challenging one of the most powerful nations in the world. The Colonists had to decide whether to join other Patriots in the movement for independence or remain loyal to the King. It became a necessity for those that supported independence to find ways to help America win its war with Great Britain. To make the experiment of representative government work it was up to each citi- zen to determine the guiding principles for the new nation and communicate these beliefs to those chosen to speak for them at the Continental Congress. Those chosen to serve in the fledgling govern- ment had to use great statesmanship to follow the directions of those they represented while still find- ing common ground to unify the disparate colonies in a time of crisis. This symbiotic relationship between the people and those who represented them was perhaps best described by John Adams in a letter that he wrote from the Continental Congress to Abigail in 1774.
    [Show full text]
  • Founding-Era Jus Ad Bellum and the Domestic Law of Treaty Withdrawal
    DANIEL J. HESSEL Founding-Era Jus Ad Bellum and the Domestic Law of Treaty Withdrawal ABSTRACT. The Constitution provides no textual guidance for how, as a matter of domestic law, the United States can withdraw from an Article II treaty. The Supreme Court has not clarified matters. In the face of this uncertainty, government officials and scholars alike have long debated whether the President may unilaterally withdraw from a treaty or whether Congress has a role to play. This Note contributes to the debate by examining the relationship between treaty withdrawal and war powers through an originalist lens. Through close assessment of the contemporaneous jus ad bellum, the Note concludes that, at the Founding, treaty withdrawal presented a clear justification for war. Treaty withdrawal therefore implicates the War Powers Clause, which assigns primary responsibility for initiating war to Congress. Because the Founders and their contemporaries likely saw treaty withdrawal as a matter of war and peace, and because the Constitution entrusts Congress with the power to commence war, this Note concludes that the original understanding of the Constitution supports a role for Congress in treaty withdrawal. AUTHO R. Yale Law School, J.D. 2016. I am indebted to Professors Oona Hathaway and Lea Brilmayer for their supervision and guidance. I am grateful to Rebecca Crootof and Professors Bruce Ackerman, Curtis Bradley, Harold Hongju Koh, and Michael Reisman for their insights, and to my family members and friends who read early drafts of this Note. For their constructive feedback, careful editing, and patience, I thank Alexander Kazam, Elizabeth Ingriselli, Charlie Bridge, Rebecca Lee, Michael Clemente, and the editors of the Yale Lawjournal.
    [Show full text]
  • A Republican Abroad: John Adams and the Diplomacy of the American Revolution
    W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1991 A Republican Abroad: John Adams and the Diplomacy of the American Revolution Robert Wilmer Smith College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the International Relations Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Smith, Robert Wilmer, "A Republican Abroad: John Adams and the Diplomacy of the American Revolution" (1991). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539625694. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-ggdh-n397 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A REPUBLICAN ABROAD: JOHN ADAMS AND THE DIPLOMACY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfilment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts By Robert W. Smith, Jr. 1991 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Robert W.Smith, Jy. Approved, April 1991 Joh: . Selbv Edward P. Crapcjl Thomas F. Sheppa TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS................................ iv ABSTRACT......................................... v INTRODUCTION.....................................2 PART I. A VIRTUOUS REPUBLIC.....................5 PART II. A COMMERCIAL REPUBLIC................ 16 PART III. THE DIPLOMACY OF A SHORT WAR......... 27 PART IV. JOHN ADAMS IN PARIS...................38 PART V.
    [Show full text]
  • John Adams and the Diplomacy of the American Revolution
    University of Kentucky UKnowledge Diplomatic History History 1980 John Adams and the Diplomacy of the American Revolution James H. Hutson Library of Congress Click here to let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Thanks to the University of Kentucky Libraries and the University Press of Kentucky, this book is freely available to current faculty, students, and staff at the University of Kentucky. Find other University of Kentucky Books at uknowledge.uky.edu/upk. For more information, please contact UKnowledge at [email protected]. Recommended Citation Hutson, James H., "John Adams and the Diplomacy of the American Revolution" (1980). Diplomatic History. 4. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_diplomatic_history/4 JOHN ADAMS AND THE DIPLOMACY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION JAMES H. HUTSON JOHN ADAMS AND THE DIPLOMACY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY FOR KATHY Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Hutson, James H John Adarns and the diplomacy of the American Revolution Bibliography: p. Includes Index. 1. United States-Foreign relations-Revolution, 1775-1783 2. Adams, John, Pres. U. S., 1735- 1826. I. Title. E249.H87 973.3'2'0924 79-57575 ISBN 978-0-8 13 1-53 14-8 Copyright@ 1980 by The University Press of Kentucky Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth serving Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Club, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University. Editorial andSaLes Ofices: Lexington, Kentucky 40506 CONTENTS Acknowledgments vii Chapter 1 Formulating an American Foreign Policy 1 Chapter 2 France, 1778-1779 33 Chapter 3 France Again, 1780 5 1 Chapter 4 The Netherlands 75 Chapter 5 Dutch Recognition 102 Chapter 6 Peace Negotiations 117 Chapter 7 John Adarns and Revolutionary Diplomacy 142 Notes 157 A Note on Sources 191 Index 193 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Edmund S.
    [Show full text]
  • Good Books About History, 2015-16 Bernard Bailyn, the Barbarous
    Good Books about History, 2015-16 Reviews by members of the OLLI-GMU History Club Compiled by Tom Hady Compiler’s Note: With our decision a few years ago to include historical fiction, the question of what to call “history” has become more difficult. I view my role as limited. I will occasionally ask a contributor whether this belongs in a history compilation, but I generally accept their conclusion. Other than that, I compile the reviews, put them in a common format, and do a very limited amount of editing.--TFH. Bernard Bailyn, The Barbarous Years; The Peopling of British North America—The Conflict of Civilizations, 1600-1675 (2013), reviewed by Jim Crumley In this book, Mr. Bailyn takes a look at the early settlers in America, focusing on the colonization of Virginia, Massachusetts, and New York, though he also discusses the early years of the Maryland and Delaware colonies. Even someone steeped in Virginia history and very familiar with the Jamestown colony will find new information in this book. It’s a somewhat ponderous volume and not read quickly or easily, but it’s packed with information, including statistics on the extraordinarily high mortality rates among the colonists. Marina Belozerskaya, To Wake the Dead: A Renaissance Merchant and the Birth of Archaeology (2009), reviewed by Tom Hady In 1407, fourteen-year-old Ciriacus Pizzecolii or Ancona was apprenticed to learn the trade of a merchant. As a merchant, he travelled widely in the Mediterranean, and he became interested in the ancient ruins that lay all over that part of the world.
    [Show full text]
  • Political Parties in a Critical Era by John H. Aldrich
    Political Parties in a Critical Era1 by John H. Aldrich Duke University Prepared for delivery at “The State of the Parties: 1996 and Beyond,” Bliss Institute Conference, University of Akron, October 9-10, 1997 Political Parties in a Critical Era 2 Democracy, we often forget, is a process, and thus is continually in the making. It is not, as we usually like to think of it, an outcome. The central questions to ask about this process concern, first, the relationship between the beliefs and actions of citizens and of those whom they choose to govern them. The second question concerns the consequences of elite actions, that is, the policies and other outputs of the political system. This relationship between the mass and elite evolves over time, and as a result so does the pattern of policy produced by the government. That evolution is, indeed, the consequence of democracy being a process and not an outcome. Richard Niemi and I (Aldrich and Niemi, 1990; 1996; Aldrich, 1995) proposed a slight generalization and redefinition of V.O. Key's concept of a critical election (1955). We also offered a method for demonstrating at least some of the features of what we called "critical eras" and the period of stability (perhaps even equilibrium) in between. In our view, the 1960s were a critical era, and the 1970s and 1980s were a period of stable alignment.2 We dubbed the stable era that of the "candidate-centered party system," due to the importance of candidates and their assessments in shaping citizens’ choices, of the individual impact of incumbency on elections, and of related aspects of candidate-centered elections that so mark this period.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    Notes INTRODUCTION 1. Harper's, 'Is there Virtue in Profit: Reconsidering the Morality of Capitalism', vol. 273 (December 1986 ), 38. 2. Joyce Appleby, Capitalism and a New Social Order: The Republican Vision of the 1790s (New York, 1984), 25-50. 3. John M. McCusker & Russell R. Menard, The Economy of British America, 1607-1789 (Chapel Hill, 1985), 71. On the importance of overseas trade to individuals' income in the colonies see Alice Hansen Jones, Wealth of a Nation: The American Colonies on the Eve of the Revolution (New York, 1980), 65-66. 4. James A. Field Jr., 'All Economists, All Diplomats', in William H. Becker and Samuel F. Wells Jr., eds, Economic and World Power (New York, 1989), 1. 5. Jefferson to James Madison, January 30, 1787; to William Stephen Smith, November 13, 1787, Julian P. Boyd et al. eds, The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, 24 vols to date (Princeton, 1950- , hereafter Jefferson Papers), XI, 93, XII, 356. 6. Richard K. Mathews, The Radical Politics of Thomas Jefferson: A Revisionist View (Lawrence, Kansas, 1984), 122. 7. James Madison toN. P. Trist, May 1832, Gillard Hunted., The Writings of James Madison 9 vols (New York, 1900-1910) IX, 479. 8. Dumas Malone, Jefferson and his Time, 6 vols (Boston 1948-1981), vol. 1: Jefferson the Virginian vol. 2: Jefferson and the Rights of Man; vol. 3: Jefferson and the Ordeal Liberty; vol. 4: Jefferson the President: First Term, 1801-1805; vol. 5: Jefferson the President: Second Term, 1805-1809; vol. 6: The Sage of Monticello. 9. Merrill Peterson, Thomas Jefferson and the new Nation: A Biography (New York, 1970); idem, The Jefferson ]mage in the American Mind (New York, 1960).
    [Show full text]
  • John Marshall
    William & Mary Law Review Volume 43 (2001-2002) Issue 4 Symposium: The Legacy of Chief Article 9 Justice John Marshall March 2002 John Marshall: Remarks of October 6, 2000 William H. Rehnquist Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmlr Part of the Legal History Commons, and the Supreme Court of the United States Commons Repository Citation William H. Rehnquist, John Marshall: Remarks of October 6, 2000, 43 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 1549 (2002), https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmlr/vol43/iss4/9 Copyright c 2002 by the authors. This article is brought to you by the William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository. https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmlr JOHN MARSHALL REMARKS OF OCTOBER 6,2000 WILLIAM H. REHNQUIST* Thank you, Dean Reveley, for the kind introduction. It is a great pleasure to be here. Next January will be the two hundredth anniversary of the appointment of John Marshall as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. I am quite convinced that Marshall deserves to be recognized along with George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson as one of the "Founding Fathers" of this country. Admittedly, he does not have the name recognition of Washington, Hamilton, or Jefferson, but a strong case can be made for the proposition that his contribution to our system of government ranks with any of theirs. I shall try to make that case this evening. Of these Founders, Washington had the experience as a military commander and the reputation for public rectitude that were essential in our first President.
    [Show full text]