Buch, Englisch, 880 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 1467 g
Buch, Englisch, 880 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 1467 g
ISBN: 978-0-19-994203-9
Verlag: ACADEMIC
Most Americans revere their Constitution yet know relatively little about its origins. Indeed, until now, nobody has written a comprehensive history of the Constitution's making. Based on prodigious research and told largely through participants' voices, Michael J. Klarman's The Framers' Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution fills that void.
Klarman's narrative features colorful characters and riveting stories, such as the rebellion by debtor farmers in Massachusetts that contributed enormously to the Constitution's creation, George Washington's agonized deliberations over whether to attend the Philadelphia convention, Patrick Henry's demagogic efforts to defeat ratification in Virginia, and the political machinations of Alexander Hamilton and John Jay at the New York ratifying convention that produced an improbable victory for ratification.
Three principal themes characterize Klarman's narrative. The first is contingency. The Philadelphia convention almost did not take place; once assembled, it nearly failed; and the Constitution it produced almost went unratified. Second, the Constitution was more a product of ordinary political struggle than of disinterested political philosophizing. Creditors and debtors, city dwellers and backcountry farmers, northerners and southerners-all had competing interests and fought for them with the weapons of ordinary politics, such as the disparaging of adversaries' motives, character assassination, and even threats of violence. Finally, the Framers wrote a Constitution very different from what most Americans anticipated or wanted. Many of its features were designed to insulate the national government from populist political influence. Why was the Philadelphia convention so unrepresentative of national opinion, and how did the Framers convince ordinary Americans to approve a scheme that drastically reduced their political influence? For anyone interested in a comprehensive, lively, and provocative account of the making of the American Constitution, this is the ideal volume.
Autoren/Hrsg.
Fachgebiete
- Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Staats- und Regierungsformen, Staatslehre
- Rechtswissenschaften Recht, Rechtswissenschaft Allgemein Rechtsgeschichte, Recht der Antike
- Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Amerikanische Geschichte
Weitere Infos & Material
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: Flaws in the Articles of Confederation
- Lack of a Taxing Power
- Lack of a Commerce Power
- Failed Efforts at Amendment
- Other Flaws in the Articles
- Sectional Conflict
- Chapter 2: Economic Turmoil in the States and the Road to Philadelphia
- Paper Money and Debtor Relief Legislation
- Shays's Rebellion
- The Annapolis Convention
- To the Philadelphia Convention
- Chapter 3: The Constitutional Convention
- Madison's Agenda
- The Virginia Plan
- Expanding the Powers of the National Government
- Establishing the Supremacy of the National Government
- The National Legislature
- Apportioning Representation in the National Legislature
- Other Features of the Senate
- The Executive Branch
- Interpreting the Convention
- Chapter 4: Slavery and the Constitutional Constitution
- Background
- How To Count Slaves in Apportioning National Political Power
- Slavery and Economic Issues
- Other Issues Involving Slavery
- Slavery and Ratification
- Chapter 5: Critics of the Constitution: The Antifederalists
- Preliminaries
- The Legitimacy of the Constitution
- Was Fundamental Reform Necessary?
- Consolidation
- The Taxing Power
- Military Powers
- The Commerce Power and the Treaty-Making Power
- Other Congressional Powers
- The Federal Judiciary
- The House of Representatives
- The Senate
- The President
- Checks and Balances
- Article I, Section 10
- Actual Motivations
- Chapter 6: The Ratifying Contest
- The Nature of the Debate
- The Federalists' Advantages in the Ratifying Contest
- First Steps Toward Ratification
- Running Into Snags in New England
- Maryland and South Carolina
- Virginia
- New York
- North Carolina and Rhode Island
- The Federalists' Great Fears: Conditional Ratification and a Second Convention
- Interpreting Ratification
- Chapter 7: The Bill of Rights
- The Arguments Pro and Con
- Madison's Election to Congress
- Madison and the Bill of Rights in Congress
- Madison's Amendments
- Interpreting the Enactment of the Bill of Rights
- Chapter 8: Conclusion
- Contingency
- Interests
- Hostility Toward Democracy
- Ratification as Ordinary Politics
- Excluding Intermediate Alternatives
- The Decline of Legitimacy Objections
- How the Constitution Did and Did Not Adapt to Democracy
- From the Perspective of Today
