Political parties and constitutional government : remaking American democracy
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Political parties and constitutional government : remaking American democracy
(Interpreting American politics)
Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999
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Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-218) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
The US Constitution makes no mention of political parties, yet they began to form shortly after its ratification. This text explores the uneasy relationship betwee the Constitution and the party system to advance the argument that parties arose as part of a deliberate programme of constitutional reform. The author shows that, forged on the anvil of Jeffersonian and Jacksonian democracy, parties initially formed as decentralized political associations that engaged the attention of ordinary citizens and held presidents accountable to local constituencies. As the power of the presidency and the federal government grew, parties shifted their attention from building political support in the states and localities to vying for control over national administration and, in the process, lost their vital connection to the electorate. With the decline of localized parties, Sidney Milkis concludes, there has arisen an administrative politics of rights and entitlements that belittles the efforts of Democrats and Republicans alike to define a collective purpose.
Ending with a discussion of possible methods of revitalization and reform, the book seeks to explain the reasons behind Americans' disenchantment with parties and the party system.
Table of Contents
Series Editor's Foreword
Preface
Chapter 1. Parties And American Democracy
Chapter 2. Localism, Political Parties, and Democratic Participation
Chapter 3. Progressivism and Direct Democracy: The Revival Of The Constitution-Against-Parties
Chapter 4. The New Deal Liberalism And The Doctrine Of Responsible Party Government
Chapter 5. Remaking American Politics: Participatory Democracy And The Triumph Of Administrative Politics
Chapter 6. Divided Government And Beltway Partisanship: Can There Be Another Realignment In American Democracy?
Chapter 7. Political Parties, Progressive Democracy, And The Future Of Politics In America
Notes
Index
by "Nielsen BookData"