Download or read book A More Perfect Constitution written by Larry J. Sabato and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2010-07-23 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The reader can't help but hold out hope that maybe someday, some of these sweeping changes could actually bring the nation's government out of its intellectual quagmire...his lively, conversational tone and compelling examples make the reader a more than willing student for this updated civics lesson." --The Hill The political book of the year, from the acclaimed founder and director of the Center for politics at the University of Virginia. A More Perfect Constitution presents creative and dynamic proposals from one of the most visionary and fertile political minds of our time to reinvigorate our Constitution and American governance at a time when such change is urgently needed, given the growing dysfunction and unfairness of our political system . Combining idealism and pragmatism, and with full respect for the original document, Larry Sabato's thought-provoking ideas range from the length of the president's term in office and the number and terms of Supreme Court justices to the vagaries of the antiquated Electoral College, and a compelling call for universal national service-all laced through with the history behind each proposal and the potential impact on the lives of ordinary people. Aware that such changes won't happen easily, but that the original Framers fully expected the Constitution to be regularly revised, Sabato urges us to engage in the debate and discussion his ideas will surely engender. During an election year, no book is more relevant or significant than this.

Download or read book Plan of Reform in the Constitution and Government of the United States and the State of New York written by and published by . This book was released on 1845 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Plan of Reform in the Constitution and Governemnt of the United States and the State of New York written by and published by . This book was released on 1840 with total page 22 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Plan of Reform in the Constitution and Governemnt of the United States and the State of New York Classic Reprint written by and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2017-12-11 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Plan of Reform in the Constitution and Governemnt of the United States and the State of New York The winter of 1839 - 40, finds us in a situation differ mg in but avery slight degree from the period alluded to above, but worse, perhaps, in some measure, from the mournful certainty. Which time has given us, of the delusiveness of that hope which we all so fondly che rished, that our embarrassments were but mere tempo rary ones, which the resources of the country and the industry of its people would not be long in overcoming. Now then is the season for reflection. Let us examine into the causes which have made our pecuniary embar rassments so frequent. Let us coolly and dispassion ately trace the stream which has so nearly overwhelmed us to its sources, and apply those remedies which common sense may suggest to prevent the overflows which occur with almost periodical regularity. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Download or read book Constitutional Reform and Effective Government written by James Sundquist and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For years the public has become increasingly disillusioned and cynical about its governmental institutions. In the face of alarming problems-most notably the $400 billion budget deficit-the government seems deadlocked, reduced to partisan posturing and bickering, with the president and Congress blaming each other for failure. And neither party can be held accountable. The public tendency is to blame individual leaders- or politicians as a class-but an insistent and growing number of experienced statesmen and political scientists believe that much of the difficulty can be traced to the governmental structure itself, designed in the eighteenth century and essentially unchanged since then. Is that inherited constitutional system adequate to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century, or has the time come for fundamental change? Should we adopt an electoral system that encourages unified control of the presidency, the Senate and the House? Lengthen terms of office? Limit congressional terms? Abolish or modify the electoral college? Introduce a mechanism for calling special elections? Permit legislators to hold executive offices? Redistribute the balance of powers within the governmental system? In this revised edition of his highly acclaimed 1986 volume, James Sundquist reviews the origins and rationale of the constitutional structure and the current debate about whether reform is needed, then raises practical questions about what changes might work best if a consensus should emerge that the national government is too prone to stalemate to meet its responsibilities. Analyzing the main proposals advanced to adapt the Constitution to current conditions, he attempts to separate the workable ideas from the unworkable, the effective from the ineffective, the possibly feasible from the wholly infeasible, and finally arrives at a set of recommendations of his own.

Download or read book The Peoples Agenda for a New Century written by William Sheridan and published by . This book was released on 1997-12-01 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Peoples Agenda for a New Century" is a book for those voters who, like the character in the movie "Network", are mad as hell and can't take it anymore. Our government, won with the price of blood from all our wars from the Revolution to the Persian Gulf, has been bought by the special interests who pay for the elections of our congressmen and president. This is the root of the many problems facing our nation today. These problems are discussed together with general principals for their solution. The proposed remedy is for the state governors to be empowered by the constitution to bring about election reforms. These reforms are: public financing of elections, strict monitoring of expenditures, control of federal officials' salaries and perks, establishing of election laws to replace the absurd electoral college, giving the people the right to make laws by the initiative and referendum process as is done in many states and other nations, giving the people a voice to advise the president on foreign policy issues, regulating political advertising for truth and integrity, establishing term limits for congressmen, forcing congress to vote on issues and not kill them in committees, and controlling the debt and deficit by the votes of the electorate on budget issues. Implementing reform will be a gigantic task, but could be accomplished by a powerful president, the governors, but most likely by a constitutional convention. Details of a constitutional convention are discussed. In addition to election reform and a national initiative-referendum, a constitutional convention should consider the office of vice-president, the power to declare war, terms limit for supreme court judges, gun control, jury reform, the environment, corporate tax laws, and modifying various supreme court decisions which favor criminals. After a national initiative-referendum is established, the book discusses what the people can do once they can by-pass a congress controlled by special interests. The people can by their vote cut wasteful defense and CIA budgets, enact measures to fight crime, eliminate all corporate welfare, increase corporate taxes, encourage job creation within the country, create a citizen identification data base, control interest rates on credit cards, make judgements on entitlement programs, cut government expenditures, improve education, privatize the Federal Aviation Administration, and restrict tobacco use. All these controversial proposals would be fought against by corporate and other special interests which also controls the publishing industry. Any editor publishing this book would be fired by his corporate bosses. Fortunately you can obtain this powerful book through the internet. It contains a reform agenda, which if enacted, would transform America.

Download or read book Plan of the New Constitution for the United States of America Agreed Upon in a Convention of the States with a Preface by the Editor written by United States and published by . This book was released on 1787 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The People s Constitution written by John F. Kowal and published by The New Press. This book was released on 2021-09-21 with total page 493 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 233-year story of how the American people have taken an imperfect constitution—the product of compromises and an artifact of its time—and made it more democratic Who wrote the Constitution? That’s obvious, we think: fifty-five men in Philadelphia in 1787. But much of the Constitution was actually written later, in a series of twenty-seven amendments enacted over the course of two centuries. The real history of the Constitution is the astonishing story of how subsequent generations have reshaped our founding document amid some of the most colorful, contested, and controversial battles in American political life. It’s a story of how We the People have improved our government’s structure and expanded the scope of our democracy during eras of transformational social change. The People’s Constitution is an elegant, sobering, and masterly account of the evolution of American democracy. From the addition of the Bill of Rights, a promise made to save the Constitution from near certain defeat, to the post–Civil War battle over the Fourteenth Amendment, from the rise and fall of the “noble experiment” of Prohibition to the defeat and resurgence of an Equal Rights Amendment a century in the making, The People’s Constitution is the first book of its kind: a vital guide to America’s national charter, and an alternative history of the continuing struggle to realize the Framers’ promise of a more perfect union.

Download or read book Electoral College Reform written by Thomas H. Neale and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2010-11 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contents: (1) Intro.; (2) Competing Approaches: Direct Popular Election v. Electoral College Reform; (3) Direct Popular Election: Pro and Con; (4) Electoral College Reform: Pro and Con; (5) Electoral College Amendments Proposed in the 111th Congress; (6) Contemporary Activity in the States; (7) 2004: Colorado Amendment 36; (8) 2007-2008: The Presidential Reform Act (California Counts); (9) 2006-Present: National Popular Vote -- Direct Popular Election Through an Interstate Compact; Origins; The Plan; National Popular Vote, Inc.; Action in the State Legislatures; States That Have Approved NPV; National Popular Vote; (10) Prospects for Change -- An Analysis; (11) State Action -- A Viable Reform Alternative?; (12) Concluding Observations.

Download or read book The Federalist Papers written by Alexander Hamilton and published by Read Books Ltd. This book was released on 2018-08-20 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Classic Books Library presents this brand new edition of “The Federalist Papers”, a collection of separate essays and articles compiled in 1788 by Alexander Hamilton. Following the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776, the governing doctrines and policies of the States lacked cohesion. “The Federalist”, as it was previously known, was constructed by American statesman Alexander Hamilton, and was intended to catalyse the ratification of the United States Constitution. Hamilton recruited fellow statesmen James Madison Jr., and John Jay to write papers for the compendium, and the three are known as some of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Alexander Hamilton (c. 1755–1804) was an American lawyer, journalist and highly influential government official. He also served as a Senior Officer in the Army between 1799-1800 and founded the Federalist Party, the system that governed the nation’s finances. His contributions to the Constitution and leadership made a significant and lasting impact on the early development of the nation of the United States.

Download or read book A Practical Guide to Constitution Building written by Winluck Wahiu and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A Practical Guide to Constitution Building provides an essential foundation for understanding constitutions and constitution building. Full of world examples of ground-breaking agreements and innovative provisions adopted during processes of constitutional change, the Guide offers a wide range of examples of how constitutions develop and how their development can establish and entrench democratic values. Beyond comparative examples, the Guide contains in-depth analysis of key components of constitutions and the forces of change that shape them. The Guide analyzes the adoption of the substantive elements of a new constitution by looking at forces for the aggregation or dissemination of governmental power, and forces for greater legalization or politicization of governmental power, and examining how these forces influence the content of the constitution. It urges practitioners to look carefully at the forces at play within their individual contexts in order to better understand constitutional dynamics and play a role in shaping a constitution that will put into place a functioning democratic government and foster lasting peace."--

Download or read book Reclaim Liberty written by Robert J. Thorpe and published by Robert Thorpe. This book was released on 2010-07-30 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WASHINGTON IS BROKEN! Its out-of-control spending and debts have set new, unimaginable records: - FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: spent over 1/3 of a TRILLION DOLLARS in just 28 days during February 2010 ($9 million per minute) - NATION: pays over $1.1 BILLION per day on the national debt interest payments (3/4 million per minute), over $4 billion per day by 2020 - TAXPAYERS: each owes $1.1 MILLION of the federal government debt (not including $10 TRILLION of new borrowing and debt through 2020) RECLAIM LIBERTY contains common sense solutions for repairing and restoring our Constitutional government and reclaiming our personal liberties and religious freedoms. 15 new citizen / State-sponsored Constitutional amendments and how to ratify them, including: a balanced budget, end to national debt, income tax and congressional reforms, protections for individual and State's rights. Out-of-control federal spending and national debt is exposed; we will soon face a "Greece-like" demise if we don't rein-in Washington. Learn how to reform congressional members and curb ever-growing federal debt, spending, federal salaries and waste. Learn how to choose, elect and support quality candidates and effectively communicate with and influence your representatives. Includes over 600 'day-planner' style entries where the reader can keep track of important information, dates and communications. Resources include 14 recommended books, 6 news-based websites, 20 resource websites and a terrific FREE news gathering organizational tool. Includes the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Constitution of the United States and all the amendments, and a new 2010 version of The Declaration of Independence. Also 50 memorable quotes from our Founding Fathers and describes what our "moral and virtuous" Founders believed and how "political correctness" and our "progressive" governments have strayed from our Founder's visions. LEARN MORE: www.ReclaimLiberty.us

Download or read book Oregon Blue Book written by Oregon. Office of the Secretary of State and published by . This book was released on 1895 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Phantoms of a Beleaguered Republic written by Stephen Skowronek and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-03-01 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A powerful dissection of one of the fundamental problems in American governance today: the clash between presidents determined to redirect the nation through ever-tighter control of administration and an executive branch still organized to promote shared interests in steady hands, due deliberation, and expertise. President Trump pitted himself repeatedly against the institutions and personnel of the executive branch. In the process, two once-obscure concepts came center stage in an eerie faceoff. On one side was the specter of a "Deep State" conspiracyadministrators threatening to thwart the will of the people and undercut the constitutional authority of the president they elected to lead them. On the other side was a raw personalization of presidential power, one that a theory of "the unitary executive" gussied up and allowed to run roughshod over reason and the rule of law. The Deep State and the unitary executive framed every major contest of the Trump presidency. Like phantom twins, they drew each other out. These conflicts are not new. Stephen Skowronek, John A. Dearborn, and Desmond King trace the tensions between presidential power and the depth of the American state back through the decades and forward through the various settlements arrived at in previous eras. Phantoms of a Beleaguered Republic is about the breakdown of settlements and the abiding vulnerabilities of a Constitution that gave scant attention to administrative power. Rather than simply dump on Trump, the authors provide a richly historical perspective on the conflicts that rocked his presidency, and they explain why, if left untamed, the phantom twins will continue to pull the American government apart.

Download or read book Our Undemocratic Constitution written by Sanford Levinson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Levinson here argues that too many of our Constitution's provisions promote either unjust or ineffective government. Under the existing blueprint, we can neither rid ourselves of incompetent presidents nor assure continuity of government following catastrophic attacks. Worse, our Constitution is the most difficult to amend or update in the world. Levinson boldly challenges the Americans to undertake a long overdue public discussion on how they might best reform this most hallowed document and construct a constitution adequate to our democratic values.

Download or read book Social Reform and the Constitution Classic Reprint written by Frank J. Goodnow and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2017-11-15 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Social Reform and the Constitution IN Social Reform and Me Constitution the attempt has been to ascertain, from an examination of the decisions of our courts, and particularly those of the United States Supreme Court, to what extent the Constitution of the United States in its present form is a bar to the adoption of the most important social reform measures which have been made parts of the reform program of the most progressive peoples of the present day. This purpose has neces sarily involved a discussion of political reform as well, since social is inextricably bound up with politi cal reform in the present conditions of the United States. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Download or read book The United Party s Plan for Constitutional Reform written by United Party. Division of Information and published by . This book was released on 1957 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: