When it was first published twenty-five years ago, this classic work of political theory gained notoriety because neither its approach nor its interpretations readily fit into any of the major schools of thought dealing with the American political tradition. More significantly, its arguments challenged core tenets of what had become received wisdom concerning the roots of our political beliefs and institutions. Willmoore Kendall and George W. Carey argue that a new, largely contrived political tradition has gained currency in many legal, academic, and political circles. This new tradition, set forth by Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address, holds that our fundamental political ideas are derived from the Bill of Rights and the "all men are created equal" clause of the Declaration of Independence. Proponents of this view not only champion individual rights but also believe that the achievement of a broadly defined equality represents a binding but as yet unfulfilled promise made by the American people in the Declaration. In the present work, Kendall and Carey instead maintain that one must look to the founding era and its key documents in order to understand our indigenous political tradition. In so doing, one sees that the right of the people to govern themselves, rather than the concept of individual rights, is at the heart of the American political tradition. Using the analytical approach developed by Eric Voegelin, the authors examine the documents that are vital to an understanding of our political origins: "the Mayflower Compact,"" the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut,"" the Massachusetts Body of Liberties, the Virginia Bill of Rights, the Constitution" itself, and "the FederalistPapers." At the same time, they consider questions highly relevant to the subsequent course of American political development. This thought-provoking book contributes important arguments to the fundamental debate over the place of equality in our political self-understanding. It will continue to be of immense interest to all serious students of American political thought.

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"The Government of Poland is the only finished work in which Rousseau himself dons the mantle of legislator, applying the principles of the Social Contract to the real world around him. Poland teaches us much about the mysterious art of the Social Contract's 'legislator,' how he transforms each individual into part of a larger whole. Only in . . . Poland do we find what this crucial transformation entails and what it presupposes. But probably the greatest lesson to be learned from . . . Poland concerns Rousseau's understanding of the proper relationship between theory and practice. . . . Time and again we see Rousseau advising the Poles to do things which are in gross violation of the strict principles of political right he had elaborated in the Social Contract." --Richard Myers in Canadian Journal of Political Science

This is a new release of the original 1959 edition.

Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

"The Government of Poland is the only finished work in which Rousseau himself dons the mantle of legislator, applying the principles of the Social Contract to the real world around him. Poland teaches us much about the mysterious art of the Social Contract's 'legislator,' how he transforms each individual into part of a larger whole. Only in . . . Poland do we find what this crucial transformation entails and what it presupposes. But probably the greatest lesson to be learned from . . . Poland concerns Rousseau's understanding of the proper relationship between theory and practice. . . . Time and again we see Rousseau advising the Poles to do things which are in gross violation of the strict principles of political right he had elaborated in the Social Contract." --Richard Myers in Canadian Journal of Political Science

In this work, the author invites the reader to travel along with him as he investigates many of the political questions that have long confronted our society: Congress vs. the President, is it deadlock, gridlock or two majorities? The American community, is it pluralism or orthodoxy? What do Americans mean by "All men are created equal"? Who should control our public schools? Is the genius of the American people for self-government failing? A posthumous collection originally published by 1971 by Arlington House, this reprinted edition includes for the first time Kendall's provocative essay, "The 'Open Society' and its Fallacies" as relevant today as when it was first written. The essays, speeches, and part of a projected book included in this work direct the reader's attention to subjects that reflect the general theme running through all of Kendall's political thought the ways that majority rule can bring about government that is sound and just."