Foundations of American political thought : readings and commentary / Alin Fumurescu, University of Houston, Anna Marisa, University of Houston.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fumurescu, Alin, 1967- author.

Schön, Anna Marisa, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political science--United States--History--Sources.

Political science.

Political science--Philosophy--Sources.

United States--Politics and government--Sources.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 405 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2021.

Summary:

American political thought was shaped by a unique combination of theoretical influences: republicanism, liberalism, and covenant theology. This reader shows how these influences came together. Organized chronologically from the Puritans' arrival in the New World to the Civil War, each chapter includes carefully selected primary sources and substantial commentary to explain the historical context and significance of the excerpts. A coherent interpretative framework is offered by focusing the analysis on the different assumptions of the people - the republican understanding as a corporate whole and the liberal understanding as a multitude of individuals - that were intertwined during the founding. The book features, for the first time, two chapters on non-American authors, who capture the main tenets of republicanism and liberalism and were widely quoted in the era, as well as excerpts from lesser-known sources, including Puritan covenants, the first state constitutions, and Native American speeches.

Contents:

Introduction: The people's two bodies

Republicanism : the people "is"

Liberalism : the people "are"

The Puritans : the bi-dimensional covenant

Independence : the negative founding

The positive founding (I) : one people or several peoples?

The positive founding (II) : the people as and many

The whole and the parties

People that were left behind

The United States "is."

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 09 Jul 2021).

ISBN:

1-108-80045-9

1-108-80121-8

1-108-77415-6

OCLC:

1266905122