Synopsis
A New Statesman Book of the Year
“America’s greatest historian of democracy now offers an extraordinary history of the most bizarre aspect of our representative democracy―the electoral college…A brilliant contribution to a critical current debate.”
―Lawrence Lessig, author of They Don’t Represent Us
Every four years, millions of Americans wonder why they choose their presidents through an arcane institution that permits the loser of the popular vote to become president and narrows campaigns to swing states. Congress has tried on many occasions to alter or scuttle the Electoral College, and in this master class in American political history, a renowned Harvard professor explains its confounding persistence.
After tracing the tangled origins of the Electoral College back to the Constitutional Convention, Alexander Keyssar outlines the constant stream of efforts since then to abolish or reform it. Why have they all failed? The complexity of the design and partisan one-upmanship have a lot to do with it, as do the difficulty of passing constitutional amendments and the South’s long history of restrictive voting laws. By revealing the reasons for past failures and showing how close we’ve come to abolishing the Electoral College, Keyssar offers encouragement to those hoping for change.
“Conclusively demonstrates the absurdity of preserving an institution that has been so contentious throughout U.S. history and has not infrequently produced results that defied the popular will.”
―Michael Kazin, The Nation
“Rigorous and highly readable…shows how the electoral college has endured despite being reviled by statesmen from James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson to Edward Kennedy, Bob Dole, and Gerald Ford.”
―Lawrence Douglas, Times Literary Supplement
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About the Author
Alexander Keyssar is the author of numerous books including The Right to Vote, which was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and won the Beveridge Award from the American Historical Association. He is Matthew W. Stirling, Jr., Professor of History and Social Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
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Paperback. Condition: New. A New Statesman Book of the Year"America's greatest historian of democracy now offers an extraordinary history of the most bizarre aspect of our representative democracy-the electoral college.A brilliant contribution to a critical current debate."-Lawrence Lessig, author of They Don't Represent UsEvery four years, millions of Americans wonder why they choose their presidents through an arcane institution that permits the loser of the popular vote to become president and narrows campaigns to swing states. Congress has tried on many occasions to alter or scuttle the Electoral College, and in this master class in American political history, a renowned Harvard professor explains its confounding persistence.After tracing the tangled origins of the Electoral College back to the Constitutional Convention, Alexander Keyssar outlines the constant stream of efforts since then to abolish or reform it. Why have they all failed? The complexity of the design and partisan one-upmanship have a lot to do with it, as do the difficulty of passing constitutional amendments and the South's long history of restrictive voting laws. By revealing the reasons for past failures and showing how close we've come to abolishing the Electoral College, Keyssar offers encouragement to those hoping for change."Conclusively demonstrates the absurdity of preserving an institution that has been so contentious throughout U.S. history and has not infrequently produced results that defied the popular will."-Michael Kazin, The Nation"Rigorous and highly readable.shows how the electoral college has endured despite being reviled by statesmen from James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson to Edward Kennedy, Bob Dole, and Gerald Ford."-Lawrence Douglas, Times Literary Supplement. Seller Inventory # LU-9780674278592
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Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. A New Statesman Book of the Year"America's greatest historian of democracy now offers an extraordinary history of the most bizarre aspect of our representative democracy-the electoral college This is a brilliant contribution to a critical current debate, just in time to help guide effective reform."-Lawrence Lessig, author of They Don't Represent Us"Conclusively demonstrates the absurdity of preserving an institution that has been so contentious throughout U.S. history and has not infrequently produced results that defied the popular will."-Michael Kazin, The Nation"Rigorous and highly readable shows how the electoral college has endured despite being reviled by statesmen from James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson to Edward Kennedy, Bob Dole, and Gerald Ford."-Lawrence Douglas, Times Literary SupplementEvery four years, millions of Americans wonder why they choose their presidents through an arcane institution that permits the loser of the popular vote to become president and narrows campaigns to swing states. Congress has tried on many occasions to alter or scuttle the Electoral College, and in this masterclass in American political history, a renowned Harvard professor explains its confounding persistence.After tracing the tangled origins of the Electoral College back to the Constitutional Convention, Alexander Keyssar reveals the constant stream of efforts since then to abolish or reform it. Why have they all failed? The complexity of the design and partisan one-upmanship have a lot to do with it, as do the difficulty of passing constitutional amendments and the South's long history of restrictive voting laws. By outlining the reasons for past failures and showing how close we've come to abolishing the institution, Keyssar offers encouragement to those hoping for change. The Electoral College has always been controversial. A compromise measure from day one, it has been a target of reformers in Congress since the early 1800s. Why has it persisted? Alexander Keyssar catalogs the many serious efforts to change the system, explains why they failed, and surveys the options for achieving a more democratic national vote. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780674278592
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