Privilege and Democracy in America (1910)

Howe, Frederic Clemson

Published by Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1910

About this Item

PRIVILEGE AND DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA, Frederic Clemson Howe, hardcover, probable first edition per publisher?s custom, 1910. BOOK CONDITION: Fair (but is actually very good but for three gouged areas on top edge, but not deep enough to affect the text. The text block is in fine condition with no dogears, tears, or marks. There is no book plate nor signature of prior owner. Not a remainder or library book. The maroon cloth boards are in good condition (bumped spine, edge wear). 8 x 5 ½, 315 pages, 24 ounces XX [From the preface] Down to the beginning of the 19th century government was merely the will of a class. Politics mirrored the wish of the privileged orders. And the motive which inspired the governing classes was primarily an economic one. This interpretation of politics has only begun to influence the writing of history. Yet in this motive is to be found the cause of wars and of peace, of intrigue and diplomacy, of force and of fraud, of practically all legislation relating to religion, taxation, industry, and the relation of classes. The struggles of kings and parliaments, of burgers and peasants, of cities and overlords had their origin in the desire to use the agencies of government for the advantage of one or the other of the contending orders. We have only to study the parliamentary struggle which has just closed in Great Britain, to see a confirmation of this fact. In this instance the conflict was carried on by peaceful means. But the motive of the struggle was the same. It was a warfare of classes, organized through parties instead of with armed retainers, but bent on the control of the government for economic advantage. [From Wikipedia] Frederic Clemson Howe (November 21, 1867 ? August 3, 1940) was a member of the Ohio Senate, a Georgist (advocate of a single tax), Commissioner of Immigration of the Port of New York, and published author. He was also founder and president of the League of Small and Subject Nationalities. He received a bachelor's degree from Allegheny College in 1889 and a Ph.D from Johns Hopkins University in 1892. In 1901, he was elected to Cleveland City Council, Ohio as a Republican. During his tenure, he became a key advisor to Tom L. Johnson, mayor of Cleveland at that time. He ran for reelection as an independent but lost. He studied law at Miami University in Ohio. In 1905, he published The City: The Hope of Democracy, which the Oxford English Dictionary cites as the first use of the term big business. In 1919, Howe was targeted during a bombing spree but was unharmed. On 27 July 1933, George N. Peek, head of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, appointed Howe as the head of the Consumers' Counsel. Howe was associated with other left-wing members of the Roosevelt administration. Rexford Tugwell claimed that Howe was the subject of vitriolic attacks by the business interests and was pictured as a Red.

Seller Inventory # 001978

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Privilege and Democracy in America (1910)
• Publisher: Charles Scribner?s Sons, New York
• Publication Date: 1910
• Language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fair
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
• Weight: 24 ounces
• Seller catalogs:
  • Oligarchy
  • Poverty
  • Democracy
  • Labor
  • Wealthy
  • Farming
  • Land