In this stimulating volume, Stephen M. Krason considers whether the Founding Fathers' vision of the American democratic republic has been transformed and if so, in what ways. He looks to the basic principles of the Founding Fathers, then discusses the changes that resulted from evolving contemporary expectations about government. Referencing philosophical principles and the work of great Western thinkers, Krason then explores a variety of proposals that could forge a foundation for restoration. Acknowledging that any attempt to revive the Founders' views on a democratic republic must start in the public sphere, Krason focuses on concerned citizens who are aware of the extent to which our current political structures deviate from the Founders' vision and want to take action. Ultimately, a democratic republic can exist, be sustained, and flourish only when there is a deep commitment to it in the minds and norms of its people. Written by a foremost authority in the field of US Constitutional law, this book will appeal to those interested in American history, society, and politics.

Bryan D. Palmer's award-winning study of James P. Cannon's early years (1890-1928) details how the life of a Wobbly hobo agitator gave way to leadership in the emerging communist underground of the 1919 era. This historical drama unfolds alongside the life experiences of a native son of United States radicalism, the narrative moving from Rosedale, Kansas to Chicago, New York, and Moscow. Written with panache, Palmer's richly detailed book situates American communism's formative decade of the 1920s in the dynamics of a specific political and economic context. Our understanding of the indigenous currents of the American revolutionary left is widened, just as appreciation of the complex nature of its interaction with international forces is deepened.

The fourth volume in this series on independent and third-party politics in the United States focuses on the 1920s, a period when the American people, longing for a return to "normalcy," rejected the idealism and liberalism of Woodrow Wilson's administration and strongly embraced the conservatism of Warren G. Harding and his successors, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover. In electing Harding in a landslide, the American people made it clear that they had little interest in continuing the great wave of progressive reform that helped shape politics and the role of government in the United States from the turn of the century until 1917, shortly after the U.S. entered World War I. With the exception of Robert M. La Follette's momentous campaign for the White House in 1924-a year when one out of every six voters supported the Wisconsin insurgent's independent candidacy-it was a rather bleak period for America's progressive forces and a particularly painful and lonely period for the country's minor parties. This narrative concludes with the presidential election of 1928, a year when the dignified and urbane Norman M. Thomas, Eugene V. Debs' successor on the Socialist Party ticket, polled only a tiny fraction of the more than 919,000 votes cast for his imprisoned predecessor eight years earlier. Across the board, the results were calamitous for the country's nationally-organized third parties.

A backdrop to the evolving national developments of the New Deal, this study stands at the intersection of political, labor, and ethnic history and provides a new perspective on how working people affected urban politics in the interwar era."--BOOK JACKET.

"In a class by itself. Goldberg provides an engaging, nicely written narrative and draws upon a variety of secondary and primary sources to create an outstanding historical synthesis." -- Ohio Historian

This book is likely to rank as the standard source on the Hoover Presidency for years to come.

These persuasive essays, which are the product of a Conversation in the Discipline held at State University of New York at Geneseo in 1973, offer a definitive reevaluation of the Hoover era in the centennial year of his birth.

First published in 1986, this book assesses the politics of the West German trade unions in the context of their larger role as major actors in the polity. By focusing on the historical realities of the labour movement both before and after 1945, the study explains the extent to which organized labour solidified and challenged the dominant structures of politics and authority. It examines the metalworkers’ union, the construction workers’ union, the printers’ union and the chemical workers’ union and shows how the industrial reality of each organisation helped shape its political outlook and strategic thinking. This book will be of particular interest to students of trade unions, industrial relations and political economy in West Germany.