American factions : how the us constitution can end extreme partisanship / James L. Huffman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Huffman, James (James L.), Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Constitutional history--United States.

Constitutional history.

Political parties--United States.

Political parties.

Partisanship--United States.

Partisanship.

Separation of powers--United States.

Separation of powers.

Democracy--United States.

Democracy.

United States--Politics and government.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxi, 332 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2026.

Summary:

Americans of all political stripes are becoming increasingly frustrated with the partisanship of present-day politics. Democrats and Republicans alike claim mandates on narrow margins of victory and are quick to condemn their opponents as enemies of the public good. The Framers of the Constitution understood that such divisions are rooted in the political factions inherent in democracy. Their solutions were federalism, the separation of powers, bicameralism, judicial review and other structural constraints on majority rule. Over the course of US history some of those constraints have been eroded as American politics have become more democratic and less respectful of the liberties and freedoms the Framers sought to protect. American Factions advocates for a renewed understanding of the problem of political factions and a restoration of the Constitution's limits to revive a politics of compromise and bipartisanship.

Contents:

Part I The Curse of Faction

Chapter 1 A Constitution for a Divided Nation

Chapter 2 A New Nation of Factions

Chapter 3 Political Faction and Civic Virtue

Chapter 4 Causes of Division

Chapter 5 The Hazards of Political Faction

Part II Remedies for the Curse of Faction

Chapter 6 The Theoretical Republic

Chapter 7 Controlling the Representatives

Chapter 8 A Legislature of Enumerated Powers

Chapter 9 An Energetic Executive of Limited Authority

Chapter 10 An Independent Judiciary

Part III Democratization of the Republic

Chapter 11 From Representation to Democratization: Political Parties

Chapter 12 Democratization of American Governments

Part IV A Weakened Constitutional Structure

Chapter 13 Expansion of National Power

Chapter 14 A Porous Wall of Separation

Chapter 15 Judicial Arrogations and Concessions

Part V A Republic, If We Can Keep It

Chapter 16 Where the Framers Design Has Faltered

Chapter 17 Where the Framers Design Has Worked

Chapter 18 Repairing and Restoring the Framers Design

Epilogue.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 30 Apr 2026).

ISBN:

1-009-76811-5