This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1918 Excerpt: ...the book under review. Half a page is all the author requires in which to say what he thinks necessary in regard to the Constitution of the United States and those of the several States. American Government And MajorIty Rule. A Study in American Political Development. By Edward Elliott, Ph. D. Princeton University ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1918 Excerpt: ...the book under review. Half a page is all the author requires in which to say what he thinks necessary in regard to the Constitution of the United States and those of the several States. American Government And MajorIty Rule. A Study in American Political Development. By Edward Elliott, Ph. D. Princeton University Press. Princeton, N. J., 1916. Pp. 175. $1.25 net. It is the belief of the author of this interesting work that "the people of the United States have been hindered in the attainment of democracy, or the rule of the majority, bv the form of government through which they have been compelled to act. The framers of the Constitution of the United States and of the States sought to prevent the immediate and direct rule of the numerical majority upon the theory that all government was by nature evil and that the people might become as tyrannical as any king." The republican form of government has been popular and has been universally accepted as the ideal system, but this fact has prevented us from realizing the true condition. Many attempts, all unsuccessful, have been made to restore the government to the people. Nor is this all. Far from regarding government as a necessary evil, "we are eager to have it undertake a wide field of activity in behalf of the social well being," but find that "government is neither equipped with the necessary authority nor fashioned for efficiency in performing these new tasks." It is Professor Elliott's task to develop this thesis by an historical and critical study of the development of American political institutions, and then offer suggestions for the solution of the problem of efficient and beneficent government by the people. In late years "new agencies for the expression of the pop...
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