The original compromise : what the Constitution's framers were really thinking / David Brian Robertson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Robertson, David Brian, 1951-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Constitutional Convention (1787).

United States.

Constitutional Convention (United States : 1787).

United States. Constitutional Convention.

Political science--United States--History--18th century.

Political science.

History.

United States--Politics and government--Philosophy.

Politics and government.

Philosophy.

United States--Politics and government--1783-1789.

Constitutional history--United States.

Constitutional history.

Local Subjects:

United States. Constitutional Convention.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xvii, 324 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Oxford University Press, [2013]

Summary:

The eighty-five famous essays by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay--known collectively as the Federalist Papers--compose the lens through which we typically view the ideas the U.S. Constitution. But we are wrong to do so, writes David Robertson, if we really want to know what the Founders were thinking. In this provocative new account of the framing of the Constitution, Roberston observes that the Federalist Papers represented only one side in a fierce argument that was settled by compromise--in fact, multiple compromises. Drawing on numerous primary sources, Robertson unravels the highly political dynamics that shaped the document. Brilliantly argued and deeply researched, this book will change the way we think of "original intent." With a bracing willingness to challenge old pieties, Robertson rescues the political realities that created the government we know today. -- Provided by publsiher, inside flaps.

Contents:

1. Introduction

The framers' aspirations

A stronger national government

A republican national government

From aspiration to compromise

The records of the Constitutional Convention

Accounts written after the Convention

Analyzing the Constitutional Convention

Ideas and interests

Politics

Broad nationalism and narrow nationalism

The sequence of constitutional choice

What the framers produced

The plan

pt. I. The illness and the cure

2. The setting

Who were the delegates?

The central role of politics

The national crisis

The delegates differences

A capsule history of the Convention

From crisis to reconstitution

3. The remedy

Was it necessary and timely to reconstruct the nation's government?

Public opinion and constitutional reform

The requirements and ambiguities of republicanism

The challenge of reconstitution

4. Controlling Republican politics : the main challenge

The central role of political majorities

In republican government

Malicious politicians

could a republican government control republican politics?

The challenge of republican government

5. Broad nationalism : the politics of the Virginia Plan

Madison's strategy for the Convention

Virginia's diagnosis

Virginia's plan for a new national government

From agenda to battleground

6. Narrow nationalism : the Virginia Plan's opponents

The Virginia Plan's threat

The political strategy of Virginia

Plan's opponents

An alternative agenda : New Jersey's Plan

The New Jersey Plan's consequences

Crossroads.

pt. II. The politics of building government institutions

7. Selecting U.S. representatives

Why was the selection of members of Congress so crucial?

The direct election of U.S. Representatives

The struggle for proportional representation in the House

Apportioning House seats among the States

Determining House seats in the future

The path of representation in the House

8. Selecting U.S. senators

Envisioning the Senate

Who selects the Senators?

Apportioning Senate seats

The Connecticut compromise

The path of representation in the Senate

9. Congressional independence

The power of the purse

Forbidding multiple office-holding

Controlling elections

Controlling members' qualifications and pay

Legislative rules

The path of congressional development

10. Selecting the president

Envisioning a republican executive

Dual tracks for choosing the president

The compromise on the presidency

The path of presidential selection

11. Presidential independence and isolation

The executive's term and qualifications

Removing and replacing the executive

The executive's council and appointments

The executive veto and policy influence

Pardons

The path of presidential power

12. The courts and a bill of rights

The national courts' authority

Judicial independence : selection, term, and pay

How many national courts?

Citizen rights

The path of courts and rights

pt. III. The politics of government power

13. Federalism

A supreme national government

A national veto of state laws

Shared sovereignty

The ambiguity of national authority

Treason and shared sovereignty

The path of American federalism

14. Slavery

Slavery and representation

The slave trade

Fugitive slaves

The path of slavery and race in the United States

15. Economic authority

Taxes and their limits

Commerce

Money, credit, and debt

Land

Economic development

The path of economic authority

16. National security and foreign policy

The military

domestic rebellion and the state militias

War, peace, and treaties

The path of national security and foreign policy

17. The end game

The ratification process

Amendments

New states

Imperfections and signing

The uncertainties that remained

The path of constitutional acceptance and development

18. A republic, if you can keep it

What drove the Constitution's design?

Broad and narrow nationalism

The results of the Constitutional Convention

The enduring republic

The original compromise

The unfinished republic

Appendix 1. Chronological sequence of Constitutional Convention decisions

Appendix 2. The United States Constitution and accompanying documents from the Constitutional Convention.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-301) and index.

ISBN:

9780199796298

0199796297

OCLC:

785511238

Publisher Number:

99952738688