Questions at the very heart of the American experiment-about what the nation is and who its people are-have lately assumed a new, even violent urgency. As the most fundamental aspects of American citizenship and constitutionalism come under ever more powerful pressure, and as the nation's politics increasingly give way to divisive, partisan extremes, this book responds to the critical political challenge of our time: the need to return to some conception of shared principles as a basis for citizenship and a foundation for orderly governance. In various ways and from various perspectives, this volume's authors locate these principles in the American practice of citizenship and constitutionalism. Chapters in the book's first part address critical questions about the nature of U.S. citizenship; subsequent essays propose a rethinking of traditional notions of citizenship in light of the new challenges facing the country. With historical and theoretical insights drawn from a variety of sources-ranging from Montesquieu, John Adams, and Henry Clay to the transcendentalists, Cherokee freedmen, and modern identitarians-American Citizenship and Constitutionalism in Principle and Practice makes the case that American constitutionalism, as shaped by several centuries of experience, can ground a shared notion of American citizenship. To achieve widespread agreement in our fractured polity, this notion may have to be based on "thin" political principles, the authors concede; yet this does not rule out the possibility of political community. By articulating notions of citizenship and constitutionalism that are both achievable and capable of fostering solidarity and a common sense of purpose, this timely volume drafts a blueprint for the building of a genuinely shared political future.

The recent economic crisis in the United States has highlighted a crisis of understanding. In this volume, Bradley C. S. Watson and Joseph Postell bring together some of America's most eminent thinkers on political economy an increasingly overlooked field wherein political ideas and economic theories mutually inform each other. Only through a restoration of political economy can we reconnect economics to the human good. Economics as a discipline deals with the production and distribution of goods and services. Yet the study of economics can-indeed must be employed in our striving for the best possible political order and way of life. Economic thinkers and political actors need once again to consider how the Constitution and basic principles of our government might give direction and discipline to our thinking about economic theories, and to the economic policies we choose to implement. The contributors are experts in economic history, and the history of economic ideas. They address basic themes of political economy, theoretical and practical: from the relationship between natural law and economics, to how our Founding Fathers approached economics, to questions of banking and monetary policy. Their insights will serve as trusty guides to future generations, as well as to our own."

Freedom and the Rule of Law takes a critical look at the historical beginnings of law in the United States, and how that history has influenced current trends regarding law and freedom. Anthony Peacock has compiled articles that examine the relationship between freedom and the rule of law in America. Although this is a theme that has been a perennial one since America's founding, it is also one of particular importance today, and this book explains how history makes this apparent. The rule of law is fundamental to all liberal constitutional regimes whose political orders recognize the equal natural rights of all, and whose purpose is to protect those natural rights in addition to the general welfare. The rule of law was essential to achieving both of these ends and to reconciling them where necessary. But just how free is America today? It was certainly within the contemplation of the Founders that the federal judiciary would have a significant role in interpreting the Constitution, federal laws, and treaties, but it would be difficult to argue that those who framed and ratified the Constitution contemplated a role for the courts, particularly for the United States Supreme Court, of the magnitude they have today. The writers take the reader far back into history to the very roots of American Law by examining the English common law roots that provided the foundation for the rule of law in America. This book explores these phenomena and other recent developments in American freedom through history.

This book presents the most significant speeches and writings of American constitutional conservatives during the period 1900-1930. Figures such as William Howard Taft, Calvin Coolidge, Elihu Root, Warren Harding, and David Jayne Hill present the alternative arguments that challenged the leading Progressive views of the period. Issues such as natural rights, civil rights, economic regulation, federalism, executive power, political parties, and foreign policy are addressed in these primary sources, many of which are reproduced for the first time. The readings in this book are relevant not only for understanding the political issues of the Progressive Era, but also for understanding the foundations of contemporary American conservatism.

Questions at the very heart of the American experiment-about what the nation is and who its people are-have lately assumed a new, even violent urgency. As the most fundamental aspects of American citizenship and constitutionalism come under ever more powerful pressure, and as the nation's politics increasingly give way to divisive, partisan extremes, this book responds to the critical political challenge of our time: the need to return to some conception of shared principles as a basis for citizenship and a foundation for orderly governance. In various ways and from various perspectives, this volume's authors locate these principles in the American practice of citizenship and constitutionalism. Chapters in the book's first part address critical questions about the nature of U.S. citizenship; subsequent essays propose a rethinking of traditional notions of citizenship in light of the new challenges facing the country. With historical and theoretical insights drawn from a variety of sources-ranging from Montesquieu, John Adams, and Henry Clay to the transcendentalists, Cherokee freedmen, and modern identitarians-American Citizenship and Constitutionalism in Principle and Practice makes the case that American constitutionalism, as shaped by several centuries of experience, can ground a shared notion of American citizenship. To achieve widespread agreement in our fractured polity, this notion may have to be based on "thin" political principles, the authors concede; yet this does not rule out the possibility of political community. By articulating notions of citizenship and constitutionalism that are both achievable and capable of fostering solidarity and a common sense of purpose, this timely volume drafts a blueprint for the building of a genuinely shared political future.