Liberty and Coercion: The Paradox of American Government from the Founding to the Present
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.99 (985 Votes) |
| Asin | : | B071YPNCJ6 |
| Format Type | : | |
| Number of Pages | : | 146 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-02-21 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Essential, Imperative I_Tichy For anyone trying to decipher the modern day struggle between Democrats and Republicans, this book is essential. For those under the age of fifty it's imperative. As some one who grew up only knowing the government as it currently exists, this book provides a historical context that is necessary to understand why different groups in this country are married to the ideologies that they are. Can't praise this book enough.. Five Stars Agnes Lin Scholarly rendition of the American democracy experiment which currently is in crisis. The book lends perspective.. George said Great Book! I am recommending it to my friends. Great Book ! I am recommending it to my friends. Really, puts some politics in the proper perspective.
. His many books include American Crucible and The Rise and Fall of the New Deal Order (both Princeton). Gary Gerstle is the Paul Mellon Professor of American History at the University of Cambridge. He lives in Cambridge, England, and Cambridge, Massachusetts
And the evidence Gerstle adduces ought to be sobering for everyone."--James Banner, Weekly Standard"A tour de force account of American governance."--Thomas Rodgers, Reviews in History"A brilliant work of American political history."--National Book Review"Liberty and Coercion is a pitch-perfect analysis of the contradictions built into America's federalist system. He develops considerable evidence for improvisational state-building and draws out the problematic implications of relying on strategies that effectively expand federal power without the accompanying constitutional authority."--Choice
American governance is burdened by a paradox. Conservatives rebelled, making the battle over government’s proper dominion the defining issue of our time.From the Revolution to the Tea Party, and the Bill of Rights to the national security state, Liberty and Coercion is a revelatory account of the making and unmaking of government in America.. On the one hand, Americans don't want "big government" meddling in their lives; on the other hand, they have repeatedly enlisted governmental help to impose their views regarding marriage, abortion, religion, and schooling on their neighbors. How did we reach this political impasse? Historian Gary Gerstle, looking at two hundred years of U.S. history, argues that the roots of the current crisis lie in two contrasting theories of power that the Framers inscribed in the Constitution.One theory shaped the federal government, setting limits on its power in order to protect personal liberty. More impressive was their staying power. These contradictory stances on the role of public power have paralyzed policymaking and generated rancorous disputes about government’s legitimate scope. But as the power of the central state expanded, its constitutional authority did not keep pace. Only in the 1960s did the federal government, impelled by the Cold War and civil rights movement, definitively assert its primacy. Another theory molded the states, authorizing them to go to extraordinary lengths, even to the point of