by Clarence B. Carson
591pp. hardcover
Dr. Clarence Carson (1925-2003) was the son of an Alabama tenant farmer who worked diligently to educate himself, eventually earning a Ph.D. in history from Vanderbilt University and pursuing a career as a college teacher. He also wrote quite a bit, producing twelve books and hundreds of articles. He was a staunch champion of liberty, and taught both how the idea of liberty was central to the founding of the United States, and how the idea has eroded over the years.
Carson wrote a civics textbook, Basic American Government, that is excellent. Like us, Carson thinks that the Constitution has been a dead letter since the War Between the States. And, like us, Carson thinks that it is a magnificent document, laying out a form of government that needs to be studied and understood, not just for its own sake but to better understand how far we have drifted from its ideal.
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Table of Contents
Preface
Section I: Introduction and Examination of American Government
1. Introduction: the Political Crisis
2. American Government: Sum and Substance
a. A Constitutional Government
(1) Significance of Written Constitution
(2) The Powers of Congress
(3) The Powers of the President
(4) The Authority of the Courts
(5) A Mixed Government
(a) The Monarchial Principle
(b) The Aristocratical Principle
(c) The Democratical Principle
b. A Republic
c. A Federal System of Government
d. A Limited Government
e. The Bill of Rights
Section II: Background of Political Thought and Practice
3. The Heritage of Political Thought
a. Judeo-Christian Background
b. Greek Rationalism
(1) Socrates
(2) Plato
(3) Aristotle
c. Roman
(1) Cicero
(2) The Philosopher Kings
d. The Middle Ages
4. The Development of Modern Political Thought
a. The Renaissance
b. The Reformation
c. The Age of Reason
5. The English Heritage
a. Political Changes of the 17th Century
b. British Political Thought
(1) Richard Hooker
(2) Thomas Hobbes
(3) John Milton
(4) John Locke
(5) Trenchard and Gordon
(6) Sir William Blackstone
(7) Adam Smith
6. American Colonial Experience
a. Practical Political Experience
b. Development of Ideas on Liberty
7. A Season of Constitution Making
a. Declaration of Independence
b. The State Constitutions
c. The Articles of Confederation
d. The Constitution of 1787
Section III: American Government in the 19th Century
8. Introduction
9. Establishing a General Government
a. Putting the Government in Operation
b. Setting an Economic Course
c. Foreign Affairs
d. Washington's Farewell Address
10. The Rise of Political Parties
11. Limited Constitutional Government: The Jeffersonian and Jacksonian
Way
a. The Jeffersonians
(1) Economy in Government
(2) Checks and Balances in Practice
b. The Jacksonians
12. The Constituion as Higher Law: The Establishment of the Supreme
Court
a. Major Decisions of the Marshall Court
b. The Taney Court
13. Government in the States
a. Government at the State Level
(1) The Executive
(2) The Legislature
(3) State Courts
b. County Governments
c. Municipal Governments
d. Other Local Governments
14. Civil War and Reconstruction: Constitutional Disruption and Restoration
a. Republicans in Power
b. Conduct of the War and Presidential Reconstruction
c. Congressional Reconstruction
d. Constitutional Reconstruction
e. Constitutional Restoration
Section IV: Leviathan: American Government in the 20th Century
15. Introduction
16. Preparation for Leviathan
a. Cutting Away the Foundation
b. The Rise of Socialism
c. Major Reforms of Progressives
(1) Presidential Leadership
(2) The 16th Amendment
(3) The 17th Amendment
(4) The Federal Reserve System
17. Breaking the Constitutional Dam
a. Emergency Used to Justify Action
b. Overwhelming Congress
c. Bringing the Courts to Heel
d. Buying the People
18. Overwhelming the State Governments
a. Buying and Controlling the States
b. States Reduced to Minions by the Warren Court
(1) The Segregation Decisions
(2) Reapportionment Decisions
(3) Federal Courts Intervene in Criminal Prosecutions
(4) Driving Religion and Morality out of Public Life
(5) Pornography, Vulgarity, and Obscenity
(6) Abortion
19. Government Out of Control
a. Fiscal Policy and Spending
(1) The Welfare State
(2) Foreign Aid
(3) The Credit Expansion System
b. Bureaucracy
(1) The Ubiquitous Bureaucracy
(2) Bureaucratic Barriers
(3) Oppressions Large and Small
c. Crime, Punishment, and Litigation
d. Potpourri
20. In Conclusion
Notes
Glossary
Documents
Declaration of Independence
Virginia Bill of Rights
Articles of Confederation
The Federalist No. X
The Constitution
Washington's Farewell Address
Jefferson's First Inaugural Address
Index
