skip to content
A revolution in favor of government : origins of the U.S. Constitution and the making of the American state Preview this item
ClosePreview this item
  • Preview this Item (Questia)

A revolution in favor of government : origins of the U.S. Constitution and the making of the American state

Author: Max M Edling
Publisher: Oxford [England] ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2003.
Edition/Format:   Book : EnglishView all editions and formats
Summary:
In this new interpretation of America's origins, Max Edling argues the the Federalists were primarily concerned with building a government that could act vigorously in defense of American interests. The Constitution transferred the powers of war making and resource extraction from the states to the national government thereby creating a nation-state invested with all the important powers of Europe's  Read more...
Rating:

(not yet rated) 0 with reviews - Be the first.

 

Find a copy online

Links to this item

Find a copy in the library

Retrieving... Finding libraries that hold this item...

Details

Material Type: Internet resource
Document Type: Book, Internet Resource
All Authors / Contributors: Max M Edling
ISBN: 0195148703 9780195148701
OCLC Number: 50809975
Description: xii, 333 p. ; 23 cm.
Contents: Introduction: beyond Madisonian federalism --
pt. I. Interpreting the debate over ratification. Legitimacy and meaning: the significance of public debate to the adoption of the Constitution ; The elusive meaning of the debate over ratification ; European states, American contexts ; The ideological response to state expansion --
pt. II. Military powers. An impotent Congress ; Independence, commerce, and military strength ; A government of force ; Government by consent ; The Federalists and the uses of military powers --
pt. III. Fiscal powers. Congressional insolvency ; Unlimited taxation, public credit, and the strength of government ; The costs of government ; A government for free ; The Federalists and the uses of fiscal powers ; Conclusion: the Constitution, the Federalists, and the American state.
Responsibility: Max M. Edling.
More information:

Abstract:

In this new interpretation of America's origins, Max Edling argues the the Federalists were primarily concerned with building a government that could act vigorously in defense of American interests. The Constitution transferred the powers of war making and resource extraction from the states to the national government thereby creating a nation-state invested with all the important powers of Europe's eighteenth-century "fiscal-military states." A strong centralized government, however, challenged the American people's deeply ingrained distrust of unduly concentrated authority. To secure the Constitution's adoption the Federalists had to accommodate the formation of a powerful national government to the strong current of anti-statism in the American political tradition. They did so by designing a government that would be powerful in times of crisis, but which would make only limited demands on the citizenry and have a sharply restricted presence in society. The Constitution promised the American people the benefit of government without its costs.

Reviews

User-contributed reviews
Retrieving weRead reviews...
Retrieving GoodReads reviews...
Retrieving Amazon reviews...

Tags

Be the first.
Confirm this request

You may have already requested this item. Please select Ok if you would like to proceed with this request anyway.

Close Window

Please sign in to WorldCat 

Don't have an account? You can easily create a free account.