Cords of affection : constructing constitutional union in early American history / Emily Pears.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pears, Emily, author.

Series:

American political thought.

American political thought

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Constitutional history--United States.

Constitutional history.

Representative government and representation--United States.

Representative government and representation.

Citizenship--United States.

Citizenship.

Republicanism--United States.

Republicanism.

Self-interest--Political aspects--United States.

Self-interest.

National characteristics, American--Political aspects.

National characteristics, American.

Political participation--United States.

Political participation.

United States--Politics and government--Philosophy.

United States.

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

Physical Description:

1 online resource (1 volume)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Lawrence, Kansas : University Press of Kansas, [2021]

Summary:

"American democracy seems to be running on empty. Beyond our falling faith in institutions, Americans seem to have lost trust in one another and faith in our common political enterprise. Polarization, culture wars, and protest movements have called into question our personal commitments to the constitutional community and the content of that union. Political commentators offer a huge array of descriptions of the actual problem-from polarization to anti-establishment cultural movements, and an even broader array of proposed solutions ranging from the impractical to the apocalyptic. While some of these proposals are promising, few are adequately grounded in the deep history of American politics and American political thought in particular. Emily Pears argues that a part of what we are facing today is a weakening of political attachments. Defined as the deep-seated and instinctual emotional connections between individuals and their constitutional union, attachments have long been the foundation on which our voluntary, republican society is based. But attachments are not formed automatically and require tending to maintain their strength. Pears looks back to the American Founding, a time when attachments were particularly weak, to understand how such attachments might be constructed and nurtured today. Cords of Affection explores three main mechanisms for developing and sustaining political attachments: the utilitarian use of material self-interest, the use of historical narrative to create a shared cultural identity, and the participatory use of political parties and direct democracy. While no strategy has proved successful in itself, the history of attachment-building provides lessons and resources for reforging a unified American political community today"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction

The problem of political attachments in the American founding

The utilitarian mechanism in practice

Forging attachments through historical narrative

Parties, participation, and the natural attachments of direct democracy

Conclusion.

Notes:

OCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.

ISBN:

0-7006-3278-6

OCLC:

1292423996