In a major reinterpretation of American political thought in the revolutionary era, Marc Kruman explores the process of constitution making in each of the thirteen original states and shows that the framers created a distinctively American science of politics well before the end of the Confederation era. Suspicious of all government power, state constitution makers greatly feared arbitrary power and mistrusted legislators' ability to represent the people's interests. For these reasons, they broadened the suffrage and introduced frequent elections as a check against legislative self-interest. This analysis challenges Gordon Wood's now-classic argument that, at the beginning of the Revolution, the founders placed great faith in legislators as representatives of the people. According to Kruman, revolutionaries entrusted state constitution making only to members of temporary provincial congresses or constitutional conventions whose task it was to restrict legislative power. At the same time, Americans maintained a belief in the existence of a public good that legislators and magistrates, when properly curbed by one another and by a politically active citizenry, might pursue. |Explores the process of constitution making in each of the thirteen original states and shows that the framers greatly feared arbitrary power and mistrusted legislators' ability to represent the people's interests. For these reasons, they broadened the suffrage and introduced frequent elections as a check against legislative self-interest. Kruman's analysis challenges Gordon Wood's now-classic argument that, at the beginning of the Revolution, the founders placed great faith in legislators as representatives of the people.

The essays in this volume are drawn from the tenth anniversary conference of the Center for the Study of Citizenship at Wayne State University, whose theme, "The Meaning of Citizenship," provided an opportunity to reflect on a decade of study in the field. In an academic area where definitions are dynamic and multidisciplinary, editors Richard Marback and Marc W. Kruman have assembled fifteen contributors to show some of the rich nuances of membership in a political community. The Meaning of Citizenship addresses four dimensions of citizenship: the differentiation of citizenship in theory and practice, the proper horizon of citizenship, the character of civic bonds, and the resolution of conflicting civic and personal obligations. Contributors answer these questions from varying disciplinary perspectives, including ethnography, history, and literary analysis. Essays also consider the relevance of these questions in a number of specific regions, from Africa to the Caribbean, Middle East, Europe, and the United States. By identifying the meaning of citizenship in terms of geographic specificity and historical trajectory, the essays in this volume argue as a whole for a cross-disciplinary approach to the issues of inclusion and exclusion that are generated through any assertion of what citizenship means. The four primary concerns taken up by the contributors to this volume are as timely as they are timeless. Scholars of history, political science, sociology, and citizenship studies will appreciate this conversation about the full meaning of citizenship.

In the decades following the end of the Cold War, scholars turned their attention to reevaluating patriotism. Many saw both its ability to serve as a cohesive force and its desirability as a political and moral concept waning in a time of peace and globalization. The shock of September 11 shook this assessment, as it brought a new surge of patriotism to America. In this volume, nine authors debate the consequences of the 21st century's patriotic resurgence, examining it both in theoretical and comparative terms that draw on examples of patriotism from ancient Greece to post-apartheid South Africa. Each author has chosen a different angle of approach, examining a variety of interlinking questions. Should patriotism be defined to enhance universalistic concerns or is its particularistic vantage point the source of its virtue? Is patriotism a concept prone to manipulation by elites or is it a source of independent judgments by citizens? If patriotism is love of one's country, how is that love best expressed? Is such love demonstrated by fidelity, gratitude, compassion, remembrance, shame, dissent, or some combination? Joined together by Philip Abbott's incisive introduction, the essays illuminate the many-faceted nature of patriotism today. Published in cooperation with The Center for the Study of Citizenship at Wayne State University.

In the decades following the end of the Cold War, scholars turned their attention to reevaluating patriotism. Many saw both its ability to serve as a cohesive force and its desirability as a political and moral concept waning in a time of peace and globalization. The shock of September 11 shook this assessment, as it brought a new surge of patriotism to America. In this volume, nine authors debate the consequences of the 21st century's patriotic resurgence, examining it both in theoretical and comparative terms that draw on examples of patriotism from ancient Greece to post-apartheid South Africa. Each author has chosen a different angle of approach, examining a variety of interlinking questions. Should patriotism be defined to enhance universalistic concerns or is its particularistic vantage point the source of its virtue? Is patriotism a concept prone to manipulation by elites or is it a source of independent judgments by citizens? If patriotism is love of one's country, how is that love best expressed? Is such love demonstrated by fidelity, gratitude, compassion, remembrance, shame, dissent, or some combination? Joined together by Philip Abbott's incisive introduction, the essays illuminate the many-faceted nature of patriotism today. Published in cooperation with The Center for the Study of Citizenship at Wayne State University.