Showing papers on "Constitution published in 1984"

The Constitution of Society. Outline of the Theory of Structuration

Abstract: Anthony Giddens has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade. In "The Constitution of Society" he outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form. A particular feature is Giddens' concern to connect abstract problems of theory to an interpretation of the nature of empirical method in the social sciences. In presenting his own ideas, Giddens mounts a critical attack on some of the more orthodox sociological views. "The Constitution of Society" is an invaluable reference book for all those concerned with the basic issues in contemporary social theory.

Capitalism and a New Social Order: The Republican Vision of the 1790s

Abstract: In 1800 the Jeffersonian Republicans, decisive victors over what they considered elitist Federalism, seized the potential for change in the new American nation. They infused in it their vision of a society of economically progressive, politically equal, and socially liberated individuals. This book examines the fusion of ideas and circumstances which made possible this triumph of America's first popular political movement. When the Federalists convened in New York to form the "more perfect union" promised by the new United Sates Constitution, they expected to build a strong central government led by the revolutionary members of the old colonial elite. This expectation was dashed by the emergence of a vigorous opposition led by Thomas Jefferson but manned by a new generation of popular politicians: interlopers, emigres, polemicists--what the Federalists called the "mushroom candidates." They turned the 1790s into an age of passion by raising basic questions about the characters of the American experiment in government. When the Federalists defenders of traditional European notions of order and authority came under attack, they sought to discredit the radical beliefs of the Jeffersonians. Although the ideas that fueled the Jeffersonian opposition came from several strains of liberal and libertarian thought, it was the specific prospect of an expanding commercial agricutlure that gave substance to their conviction that Americans might divorce themselves from the precepts of the past. Thus, capitalism figured prominently in the Jeffersonian social vision. Aroused by the Federalists' efforts to bind the nation's wealthy citizens to a strengthened central government, the Jeffersonians unified ordinary men in the southern and middle states, mobilizing on the national level the power of the popular vote. Their triumph in 1800 represented a new sectional alliance as well as a potent fusion of morality and materialism.

The Storrs Lectures : Discovering the Constitution *

Abstract: The root difficulty is that judicial review is a countermajoritarian. force in our system. There are various ways of sliding over this ineluctable reality. Marshall did so when he spoke of enforcing, in behalf of \"the people,\" the limits that they had ordained for the institution of a limited government . . . . Marshall himself followed Hamilton, who in the 78th Federalist denied that judicial review [was undemocratic]. \"It only supposes,\" Hamilton went on, \"that the power of the people is superior to both [the courts and the Congress]; and that where the will of the legislature, declared in its statutes, stands in opposition to that of the people, declared in the Constitution, the Judges ought to be governed by the latter rather than the former.\" But the word \"people\" so used is an abstraction. Not necessarily a meaningless or pernicious one by any means; always charged with emotion, but nonrepresentational-an abstraction obscuring the reality that when the Supreme Court declares unconstitutional a legislative act, . . . it thwarts the will of the representatives of the actual people of the here and now; it exercises control, not in behalf of the prevailing majority, but against it. That, without mystic overtones, is

The Role of the Senate in the Augustan Regime

Abstract: Discussions of the constitution of the Principate are usually focused on the powers of the emperor, and relatively little attention is given to the role of the senate; by exception much has been written on its jurisdiction, with which I shall not be concerned. Despite his theory of a dyarchy of emperor and senate, which I do not wish to revive, Mommsen, partly because he devoted separate volumes to each, did I not exhibit the extent to which Augustus and Tiberius at least worked through the senate, and on occasions attributed to them legal powers to act by their own authority, when in reality (as I shall argue) they caused the senate to take action as the only proper means of effecting their wishes. More recently, F. de Martino in his admirable account of the Principate dedicates only one out of twenty-seven chapters to the composition, functions and procedure of the senate. For Syme it was simply an ‘organ that advertised or confirmed the decisions of the government’. This description does not bring out the truth that it was performing a role essential to Augustus' design. For though in effect he founded a monarchy, he commonly thought it expedient on necessary obtain for his measures senatorial approval. That this was the practice of Tiberius in his early years is clearly attested, and some suppose that he behaved in an entirely different manner from Augustus. This view seems to be mistaken, and the mistake is of some consequence.

The Political Theory of The Federalist

Abstract: In "The Political Theory of "The Federalist,"" David F. Epstein offers a guide to the fundamental principles of American government as they were understood by the framers of the Constitution. Epstein here demonstrates the remarkable depth and clarity of The Federalist's argument, reveals its specifically political (not merely economic) view of human nature, and describes how and why the American regime combines liberal and republican values.

The Political Structure of Constitution Making: The Federal Convention of 1787

Abstract: The authors contend that our understanding of the Federal Convention and of the Constitution that it produced has been substantially and unnecessarily clouded by an ancient dispute between the adherents of two very broad traditions of political analysis. A "rationalist" line of interpretation has consistently argued for the centrality of ideas and political principles to the outcome of the Convention's debates, while a "materialist" tradition has consistently stressed the importance of practical politics and economic interests. The authors integrate these alternative traditions of analysis and explanation by demonstrating that a dynamic relationship of mutual interdependence existed between philosophical and material influences in the Convention. The authors demonstrate, through both empirical and interpretive means, that, although questions of both philosophical and material content and import were before the Convention throughout, questions of each general type dominated the Convention's attention during particular phases of its work. Therefore, the focus of debate and decision, as well as the voting coalitions that confronted one another over the issues under discussion, were organized around shared principles at some stages, while at other times they were organized around conflicting material interests.

That Every Man Be Armed: The Evolution of a Constitutional Right

Abstract: That Every Man Be Armed , the first scholarly book on the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, has played a significant role in constitutional debate and litigation since it was first published in 1984. Halbrook traces the right to bear arms from ancient Greece and Rome to the English republicans, then to the American Revolution and Constitution, through the Reconstruction period extending the right to African Americans, and onward to today's controversies. With reviews of recent literature and court decisions, this new edition ensures that Halbrook's study remains the most comprehensive general work on the right to keep and bear arms.

Economic Interests and the American Constitution: A Quantitative Rehabilitation of Charles A. Beard

Abstract: An important change in the structure of U.S. institutions occurred when the government under the Articles of Confederation was replaced by a new government under the Constitution. In 1913, Charles A. Beard proposed a view of the formation of the United States Constitution—an economic interpretation—that remains a much discussed yet unresolved explanation of the behavior and motives of the men who wrote the document. This paper provides the first rigorous statistical test of this issue. We summarize the preliminary results of a statistical analysis of the relationship between the voting behavior of individual delegates involved in the making of the Constitution and their economic and personal characteristics. Contrary to current historical wisdom, significant patterns related to economic interests are found in the voting, with the division of interests generally consistent with that outlined by Charles A. Beard seventy years ago.

Public Opinion and the Balanced Budget

Abstract: While most Americans have long favored a balanced federal budget , not all do. This paper uses cross-sectional differences among respondents to two public opinion polls to try to discriminate among competing hypotheses about why Americans want the budget balanced. Logit models are fit to data from two different public opinion polls : a Gallup poll and a CBS/New York Times poll conducted , respectively, in March and April of 1980, a time when the proposed balanced budget amendment to the Constitution was very much in the news. In each case , a large majority favored a balanced budget requirement. However, they favor it for a smorgasbord of reasons and at unclear price. It appears that political affiliation, ideology and personal circumstances are far less important determinants of the choice than economic rationales.

City of Sokrates: An Introduction to Classical Athens

Abstract: Preface Acknowledgements Introduction The Sources of Knowledge 1. Country and Town 2. Population, Property, Taxation 3. Radical Democracy: Constitution Cohesion 4. The Imperial Ethos 5. Schooling, Literacy, Books and History 6. Religion 7. Art and Patronage: Poetry in General Tragedy Comedy Visual Art 8. Science, Nature, Culture and the Sophists 9. Philosophy, from Anaxagoras to Sokrates Appendix 1. Athenian Money Appendix 2. Chronological Table Further Reading Index.

The Fate of the Commune

Abstract: The Chinese people's commune, as we know it, is on its way out. The possibility of an across-the-board radical restructuring of the commune has been under discussion in Chinese political and academic circles for the past few years.' Carefully monitored keypoint-type experiments in decommunization have been conducted around the country. And the 1982 state constitution makes it clear that the distinctive feature of the people's commune-its merger of political, social, economic, and governmental functions within a single comprehensive organization-will be discontinued. There is to be a deliberate separation of economic authority and governmental power at the local level (zheng she fenkai). Township governments (xiang zhengfu), the rural local administrative form of the early 1950s, are to be reestablished to handle civil affairs and routine state administration (Zhang Youyu et al., 1982).2 The term "commune" will be preserved for the time being but will refer to the various collective economic enterprises, companies, shareholders' committees, service bureaus, market brokerage units, and corporate planning and management committees that are now taking shape in the

The National Archives of the United States

Abstract: Features more than 250 illustrations documenting the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, and other treasures enshrined in The National Archives

Jews, Turks, and infidels

Abstract: Borden reveals the ways in which many mainstream Protestants worked to maintain preferential treatment for Christians in common law, state constitutions, and federal practices, even attempting through interpretation and amendment to alter the meaning of the U.S. Constitution. Even though religious freedom was guaranteed by the constitution in 1788, it took the sustained efforts of vigilant Jews during the nineteenth century to fulfill the constitution's promise of religious equality.Originally published in 1984.A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

Regionalisation, federalism and the reconstruction of the South African state

Abstract: It is widely agreed that South African capitalism has faced a sustained crisis of political legitimation and economic accumulation since the early 1970s (1) The intensification of this crisis in the 1980s has generated a new sense of urgency within the ruling groups The state's short-term response to the current crisis, and indeed its longer term reform programme, are directly subject to the changing balance of forces in society However, even as the state and oppositional groups do battle on a "tactical" field of conjunctural action, elements within the ruling groups, both inside and outside the state, are attempting to map out a longer-term "strategic" terrain of action within which they hope to confine future battles These more advanced reformers are looking to solutions that go well beyond those associated with Wiehahn/Riekert, the "Koornhof Bills", the new Constitution,