Gretchen Ritter - Böcker

In the late-nineteenth century, there was a popular and heated debate over what sort of financial system America should have. Behind the discussions over gold versus silver and state versus national banks was a broader dialogue about sectionalism, class relations, and the future course of the American economy and democracy. Professor Ritter contends that there was a distinctive and neglected political tradition in the United States - the antimonopoly tradition - which was championed by nearly every major agricultural and labor group during the period from the Civil War until 1900. The book explains why the antimonopolists (including the National Labor Union, the Greenbackers, the Knights of Labor, and the Populists) saw the financial system as the key to maintaining economic opportunity and democratic control for all classes and regions.

In the late-nineteenth century, there was a popular and heated debate over what sort of financial system America should have. Behind the discussions over gold versus silver and state versus national banks was a broader dialogue about sectionalism, class relations, and the future course of the American economy and democracy. Professor Ritter contends that there was a distinctive and neglected political tradition in the United States - the antimonopoly tradition - which was championed by nearly every major agricultural and labor group during the period from the Civil War until 1900. The book explains why the antimonopolists (including the National Labor Union, the Greenbackers, the Knights of Labor, and the Populists) saw the financial system as the key to maintaining economic opportunity and democratic control for all classes and regions.

The essays in this volume examine democracy's development in the United States, demonstrating how that process has shaped-and continues to shape-the American political system. Scholars of American politics commonly describe the political development of the United States as exceptional and distinct from that of other advanced industrial democracies. They point to the United States as the longest-lived and most stable liberal democracy in history. What they often fail to mention, though, is that it took considerable time to extend democracy throughout the country. The contributors to this volume suggest that it is intellectually fruitful to consider the U.S. case in comparison to other countries. They argue that the development of democracy is ongoing in America; that even with a written constitution grounded in liberal democracy, the meaning and significance of U.S. democracy are still evolving.This volume shows that democratization and the pursuit of democracy are processes affected by multiple and continuing challenges-including such issues as citizenship, race, institution building, and political movements-as patterns and practices of politics and governance continue to change. This innovative approach contributes significantly to comparative democratization studies, a field normally confined to Latin America and former communist countries. The U.S. case is a unique reference point for students of American political development and comparative democratization.

The essays in this volume examine democracy's development in the United States, demonstrating how that process has shaped-and continues to shape-the American political system. Scholars of American politics commonly describe the political development of the United States as exceptional and distinct from that of other advanced industrial democracies. They point to the United States as the longest-lived and most stable liberal democracy in history. What they often fail to mention, though, is that it took considerable time to extend democracy throughout the country. The contributors to this volume suggest that it is intellectually fruitful to consider the U.S. case in comparison to other countries. They argue that the development of democracy is ongoing in America; that even with a written constitution grounded in liberal democracy, the meaning and significance of U.S. democracy are still evolving.This volume shows that democratization and the pursuit of democracy are processes affected by multiple and continuing challenges-including such issues as citizenship, race, institution building, and political movements-as patterns and practices of politics and governance continue to change. This innovative approach contributes significantly to comparative democratization studies, a field normally confined to Latin America and former communist countries. The U.S. case is a unique reference point for students of American political development and comparative democratization.

This book focuses on gender and civic membership in American constitutional politics from the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment through Second Wave Feminism. It examines how American civic membership is gendered, and how the terms of civic membership available to men and women shape their political identities, aspirations, and behavior. The book also explores the dynamics of American constitutional development through a focus on civic membership—a legal and political construct at the heart of the constitutional order.This is a book about gender politics and constitutional development, and about what each of these can tell us about the other. It considers the options and choices faced by women's rights activists in the United States as they voiced their claims for civic inclusion from Reconstruction through Second Wave Feminism, and it makes evident the limits of liberal citizenship for women.