The Failure of the Founding Fathers - Jefferson, Marshall, and the Rise of Presidential Democracy

Ackerman, Bruce

ISBN 10: 0674018664 / ISBN 13: 9780674018662

Published by First edition, published by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2005., 2005

About this Item

Very good with very good dust jacket. Dust jacket is lightly bumped along top and bottom edges with two light scratches on back panel. 384 pages with index.

Seller Inventory # 20166

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Failure of the Founding Fathers - Jefferson, Marshall, and the Rise of Presidential Democracy
• Publisher: First edition, published by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2005.
• Publication Date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674018664
• ISBN 13: 9780674018662
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Americana

About this title

Synopsis

The ink was barely dry on the Constitution when it was almost destroyed by the rise of political parties in the United States. The Framers had not anticipated the two-party system, and when Republicans battled Federalists for the presidency in 1800, the rules laid down by the Constitution exacerbated the crisis. With Republican militias preparing to march on Washington, the House of Representatives deadlocked between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. Based on seven years of archival research, the book describes previously unknown aspects of the electoral college crisis. Ackerman shows how Thomas Jefferson counted his Federalist rivals out of the House runoff, and how the Federalists threatened to place John Marshall in the presidential chair. Nevertheless, the Constitution managed to survive through acts of statesmanship and luck.

About the Author

Bruce Ackerman is Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University.