Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- PART ONE: SEPARATION-OF-POWERS MULTIPLICITY -- Prelude -- 1 Political Institutions in the Public Sphere -- 2 The Role of Congress -- PART TWO: CONGRESSIONAL HARD POWERS -- 3 The Power of the Purse -- 4 The Personnel Power -- 5 Contempt of Congress -- PART THREE: CONGRESSIONAL SOFT POWERS -- 6 The Freedom of Speech or Debate -- 7 Internal Discipline -- 8 Cameral Rules -- Conclusion: Toward a Normative Evaluation -- Notes -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z
Classic Books Library presents this brand new edition of “The Federalist Papers”, a collection of separate essays and articles compiled in 1788 by Alexander Hamilton. Following the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776, the governing doctrines and policies of the States lacked cohesion. “The Federalist”, as it was previously known, was constructed by American statesman Alexander Hamilton, and was intended to catalyse the ratification of the United States Constitution. Hamilton recruited fellow statesmen James Madison Jr., and John Jay to write papers for the compendium, and the three are known as some of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Alexander Hamilton (c. 1755–1804) was an American lawyer, journalist and highly influential government official. He also served as a Senior Officer in the Army between 1799-1800 and founded the Federalist Party, the system that governed the nation’s finances. His contributions to the Constitution and leadership made a significant and lasting impact on the early development of the nation of the United States.
Mount Vernon introduces replica of Acts of Congress, exquisite copy of history-making volume unveiled for library opening. It was a book that made history, owned and treasured by the man whose ideas and values shaped the founding of a nation. Purchased for $9.8 million by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, George Washington’s personal copy of the Acts of Congress captured headlines around the globe in 2012 when it set a new auction record, returning to the hands of the organization that safeguards his life and legacy. This fascinating volume is now back home at Washington’s Virginia estate, and the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association has designed a stunning reproduction—a must-have for history lovers who were captivated by the story of the book’s remarkable rescue and return. In his own personal copy of the Constitution, included in the Acts, George Washington carefully took note of the roles and responsibilities he would undertake as the first democratically elected leader of a republican government. It was not an office he sought, but one that he accepted, bending to his country’s voice “with veneration and love.” He received the vote of all sixty-nine electors making him the only unanimously elected president. The precedents that Washington established as the leader of a new nation have endured for more than 225 years, and so, too, has his personal copy of the document that served as his guide. First published in September 1789, the original volume is in remarkable condition. On the cover, still shiny gilt letters spell out the title of the book’s owner, “President of the United States,” while a decorative gold pattern adorns its spine. The inside cover bears Washington’s bookplate, a personal touch that he reserved for his most cherished volumes, and the title page bears his signature. He brought the book back to his Mount Vernon estate upon retiring from the presidency in 1797, and it remained there until his death. Since its purchase by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, tens of thousands of Washington admirers have viewed the Acts in temporary exhibitions at Mount Vernon and at all thirteen presidential libraries. Marveling at the book’s significance to the founding of the United States and at the insights it offers into the mind of its first leader, they have expressed a desire to thumb through its fragile pages to read more of Washington’s notes. This new reproduction book will enable them to do so, and to discuss and reflect upon the significance of the words with friends, family, students, and colleagues. To replicate the original volume in an authentic manner, each component of the 106-page-book is painstakingly designed to match the original. The pages are yellowed slightly to show the effects of passing centuries. Ink smudges and flourishes mimic the imperfect printing processes of the 18th century. The leather cover is aged to appear slightly worn, and the variations in its gold accents mirror the ones found on Washington’s volume. The replica also copies, line for line, Washington’s margin notes—the penciled words and neat bracket drawings that point to the duties that he considered most important. The book’s release coincides with the opening of The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon in fall 2013
Through a close analysis of legislative proceedings and of the precise language used, Maltz builds a strong case that Congressional actions on civil rights, including statutes such as the Freedman's Bureau Bill, the District of Columbia Suffrage Bill, and the Civil Rights Act of 1866, as well as the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments of the early Reconstruction era generally reflected the ideology and intentions of the more conservative Republicans. These "moderates" advocated limited absolute equality rather than total racial equality and opposed the undue federal regulation of private and state actions.
"The reader can't help but hold out hope that maybe someday, some of these sweeping changes could actually bring the nation's government out of its intellectual quagmire...his lively, conversational tone and compelling examples make the reader a more than willing student for this updated civics lesson." --The Hill The political book of the year, from the acclaimed founder and director of the Center for politics at the University of Virginia. A More Perfect Constitution presents creative and dynamic proposals from one of the most visionary and fertile political minds of our time to reinvigorate our Constitution and American governance at a time when such change is urgently needed, given the growing dysfunction and unfairness of our political system . Combining idealism and pragmatism, and with full respect for the original document, Larry Sabato's thought-provoking ideas range from the length of the president's term in office and the number and terms of Supreme Court justices to the vagaries of the antiquated Electoral College, and a compelling call for universal national service-all laced through with the history behind each proposal and the potential impact on the lives of ordinary people. Aware that such changes won't happen easily, but that the original Framers fully expected the Constitution to be regularly revised, Sabato urges us to engage in the debate and discussion his ideas will surely engender. During an election year, no book is more relevant or significant than this.
In Enforcing Equality, Rebecca E. Zietlow assesses Congress's historical role in interpreting the Constitution and protecting the individual rights of citizens, provocatively challenging conventional wisdom that courts, not legislatures, are best suited for this role. Specifically focusing on what she calls “rights of belonging”—a set of positive entitlements that are necessary to ensure inclusion, participation, and equal membership in diverse communities—Zietlow examines three historical eras: Reconstruction, the New Deal era, and Civil Rights era of the 1960s. She reveals that in these key periods when rights of belonging were contested and defined, Congress has played the role of protector of rights at least as often as the Supreme Court has adopted this role. Enforcing Equality also engages in a sophisticated theoretical analysis of Congress as a protector of rights, comparing the institutional strengths and weaknesses of Congress and the courts as protectors of the rights of belonging. With the recent new appointments to the Supreme Court and Congressional elections in November 2006, this timely book argues that individual rights are best enforced by the political process because they express the values of our national community, and as such, litigation is no substitute for collective political action.
