In Defense of the Founders Republic: Critics of Direct Democracy in the Progressive Era

by Lonce H. Bailey (Editor), Jerome M. Mileur (Editor)

Overview

Who were the Progressive reformers arguing with? The answer might surprise you. Drawing together a veritable powerhouse of scholars from across the political spectrum, In Defense of the Founders Republic examines the historical roots of these critics as well as their potential contribution to current debates about government and role of politics and institutions in our constitutional republic. Profiles and debates across a variety of progressive-era dissenters including politicians, community activists, political scientists, and socialists create a more complete picture of the national conversation, and the development of this monumental American political era. With clear contemporary relevance, In Defense of the Founders Republic is required reading for anyone interested in the complete progressive debate.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781623560300
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	03/12/2015
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

Lonce Bailey is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Shippensburg University, USA, where he teaches course on U.S. politics and public administration. He is the co-editor, along with Doug Harris, of The Democratic Party; Documents Decoded and The Republican Party, Documents Decoded. He also serves as the Academic Director for the US State Department's Study of the US Institute on American Politics and Political Thought, an academic institute for academics from overseas.

Jerome M. Mileur is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA, where he taught courses on American politics and thought. He is coeditor, with Sidney Milkis, of Progressivism and the New Democracy (1999), The New Deal and the Triumph of Liberalism (2002), and The Great Society and the High Tide of Liberalism (2005).

Table of Contents

1. Progressivisim and Its Critics. Lonce H. Bailey, Shippensburg University
2. James Madison: Architect of the First Founding. Jeffrey Leigh Sedgwick, University of Massachusetts Amherst
3. Nicholas Murray Butler: Universal Truths and the Foundations of Republican Institutions.
Lonce H. Bailey, Shippensburg University
4. Henry Jones Ford: The President and Responsible Democracy. Lonce H. Bailey, Shippensburg University and Jerome M. Mileur, University of Massachusetts Amherst
5. William Howard Taft: The Constitutionalist as Critic of Progressivism. Paul M. Rego, Messiah College
6. Joseph G. Cannon: Partisan Majorities and Responsible Democracy. Douglas H. Harris,
Loyola University Maryland
7. Elihu Root: Balancing Constitutionalism and Democracy. Robert J. Lacey, Iona College
8. Eugene V. Debs: Champion of Social Democracy. Jerome M. Mileur, University of Massachusetts Amherst
9. Laboratories of Reform: Wisconsin and Oregon. Jerome M. Mileur, University of Massachusetts Amherst and Lonce H. Bailey, Shippensburg University
10. American Politics Remade. Jerome M. Mileur, University of Massachusetts Amherst University
Index

Editorial Reviews

Progressivism's critics included some of the most experienced and brilliant American leaders of their day. In this sterling collection, first-rate scholars bring their perspectives to life and explore the roots, meaning and impact of their ideas. Like or hate these critics, understanding them greatly enriches our knowledge of one of the great reform periods in American history-and gives us more insight into American politics today.” —David B. Robertson, Professor of Political Science, University of Missouri-St. Louis, USA

“Lonce H. Bailey and Jerome M. Mileur have done an outstanding job in describing how Progressives formed a Second American Republic. Their study captures the major issue of our time–how much power should be vested in the people vs. the importance of mediating institutions. It is the decline of the latter that has shaped much of our present-day politics and should worry all of us.” —John Kenneth White, Professor of Politics, Catholic University of America, USA

“Bailey and Mileur have recruited a learned and engaging cast of scholars who shed new light on the struggle for America's constitutional soul at the dawn of the 20th century. Recapturing the most thoughtful critics of Progressive Democracy, this volume offers a compelling portrait of alternative visions of modern America. Although the defenders of the constitutional sobriety, political parties, and social democracy failed to thwart Progressivism's advance, their prescient critique of plebiscitary politics and administrative aggrandizement resonate powerfully in our own political time. The authors' well written and probing essays on America's “second founding” will appeal both to scholars and those outside of the academy who seek a deeper understanding of the causes of America's present discontents.” —Sidney M. Milkis, White Burkett Miller Professor of Politics, University of Virginia, USA

“In Defense of the Founders Republic is a timely book and should be read by all who want to understand the prevailing problems of governance in Washington and state capitols across the nation. This volume re-introduces us to a vibrant cast of intellectual and political leaders who warned a century ago against applying untested reforms to remake the American republic from its foundational roots. By re-discovering the arguments of the original critics of Progressivism-critics who ranged from conservatives to socialists-we begin to understand why America's representative institutions do not seem capable of meeting the challenges of our times.” —Ray La Raja, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA

From the Publisher