Tag: American Founding

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Books

Review of Thomas Jefferson as Social Scientist

– Review of Thomas Jefferson as Social Scientist, by C. Randolph Benson, and Thomas Jefferson: A Well-Tempered Mind, by Carl Binger, American Political Science Review, vol. 67 (1973): 982-84.

Defending Liberalism

– "Defending Liberalism," The Alternative, April 1974.
Excerpt: LYNDON JOHNSON’S death on the day before the peace settlement in Vietnam was announced gave Richard Nixon the opportunity, while making the announcement, of vindicating… More

Thomas Jefferson

– "Thomas Jefferson," American Political Thought, M. Frisch and R. Stevens, eds., New York, 1971, pp. 23-50; republished in Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson, H.C. Mansfield, Jr., ed., Crofts Classics, 1978.

Spirit of Liberalism

– Harvard University Press, 1978.
Excerpt: IN THE election of 1972 the coalition of which the Democratic party is composed came unstuck as its voters divided into enthusiasts for McGovern or against Nixon and supporters of… More

The Ambivalence of Executive Power

– "The Ambivalence of Executive Power," The Presidency in the Constitutional Order,  J. Bessette and J. Tulis, eds.,  Baton Rouge, La.: Louisiana State University Press, 1981, pp. 314-334.

A Summer Seminar on the American Experiment

– "A Summer Seminar on the American Experiment," with Delba Winthrop, This Constitution, no. 9 (1985): 34-37.
Excerpt: Because America is so familiar to Americans, we take for granted the experimental nature of our politics. But this is the very theme of the two best books on American politics, The… More

The Teflon Presidency

– “The Teflon Presidency,” The New Federalist Papers, The Claremont Institute, 28 June 1985.

The Forms of Liberty

– "The Forms of Liberty," Democratic Capitalism? Essays in Search of a Concept, Fred E. Baumann, ed., Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia, 1986, pp. 1-21.

Republicanizing the Executive

– "Republicanizing the Executive," Saving the Revolution: The Federalist Papers and the American Founding, Charles R. Kesler, ed., New York: The Free Press, 1987, pp. 168-184.

Constitutional Government: The Soul of Modern Democracy

– "Constitutional Government: The Soul of Modern Democracy," The Public Interest, No. 86 (Winter 1987), pp. 53-64.
Excerpt: ALTHOUGH modern democracy is unhappy with the word “soul,” it has one nonetheless; and its soul is not healthy today. The disease is widely known as “dependeney,” the… More

The Silence of a Mechanism

– "The Silence of a Mechanism," review of The Silence of Constitutions: Laws, Men, and Machines, and American Political Ideas, by Michael Foley, Government and Opposition, vol. 28 (1993): 126-29.

America’s Constitutional Soul

– The Johns Hopkins University Press; Reprint edition (March 1, 1993)
Excerpt: When it comes to American politics, I am an amateur. I love America at its best, or even at its most characteristic: “only in America.” Perhaps this kind of love ought… More

Returning to the Founders

– "Returning to the Founders: the Debate on the Constitution," review of The Debate on the Constitution, Bernard Bailyn, ed., New Criterion, September 1993.
Excerpt: The publication of The Debate on the Constitution, in two new volumes of the Library of America, is an occasion for reflection.[1] Edited by Bernard Bailyn, now the foremost… More

The Unfinished Revolution

– "The Unfinished Revolution," Three Beginnings: Revolution, Rights, and the Liberal State,  Stephen F. Englehart and John Allphin Moore, Jr., eds.,  New York: Peter Lang, 1994, pp. 9-30.  Reprinted in The Legacy of the French Revolution, Ralph C. Hancock and L. Gary Lambert, eds., Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 1996. pp. 19-41.

Friends and Founders

– "Friends and Founders," review of The Republic of Letters: The Correspondence between Thomas Jefferson & James Madison, John Morton Smith, ed., New Criterion, May 1995.
Excerpt: The publication of the Jefferson–Madison correspondence is an event, for all who take a serious interest in American politics, that should have happened a long time ago.  The… More

Was It Really a Myth?

– "Was It Really a Myth?" review of The Myth of American Individualism, by Barry Alan Shain, Times Literary Supplement, 09 February 1996.

Paterfamilias

– "Paterfamilias," New Criterion, March 1996.
Excerpt: Richard Brookhiser remarks, and laments, that George Washington is no longer first in the hearts of his countrymen.  Brookhiser’s aim is to restore him in our hearts by way of… More

Educating the Prince Eds. Blitz/Kristol

– Educating the Prince: Essays in Honor of Harvey Mansfield, Mark Blitz and William Kristol, eds., Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2000.
In this festschrift for Harvey Mansfield, twenty-one former students, themselves distinguished scholars and writers, reflect on the whole gambit of Mansfieldian themes, from Machiavelli… More

The Twofold Meaning of Unum

– “The Twofold Meaning of Unum,” Reinventing the American People, Robert Royal, ed., Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1995, pp. 103-113.  French translation, "E pluribus unum: la double signification du principe d'unité dans la devise des Etats-Unis," Esprits Libres, Politique et Culture, No. 1, Spring 2000, pp. 6-18.

Life and Work of Harvey Mansfield

– "Life and Work of Harvey Mansfield," panel discussion with William Kristol, W. Carey McWilliams, Thomas G. West, and George F. Will, C-SPAN, 1 September 2000.

The Founders’ Honor

– The Founders’ Honor: There's More to American Politics Than Self-Interest or Principle, Weekly Standard, 3 September 2001.
Excerpt: THE WORD “HONOR” is not one we hear much these days. It sounds quaint when we read it of the past and pretentious if applied to the present. We prefer to speak more… More

Uses of Ambition

– "Uses of Ambition," review of Constitutional Self-Government, by Christopher L. Eisgruber, Times Literary Supplement, 19 July 2002, 29.

Jaffa vs. Mansfield

– West, Thomas G., "Jaffa vs. Mansfield," Perspectives on Political Science, Claremont Institute, Fall 2002.
Excerpt: What were the original principles of the American Constitution? Are those principles true? Many historians and political scientists write about the first question. Scholars are… More

Liberty and Virtue in the American Founding

– "Liberty and Virtue in the American Founding," Never a Matter of Indifference: Sustaining Virtue in a Free Republic, Peter Berkowitz, ed., Hoover Institution Press, 2003.
Excerpt: Liberty and virtue are not a likely pair. At first sight they seem to be contraries, for liberty appears to mean living as you please and virtue appears to mean living not as you… More

The People and Their Power

– "The People and Their Power," review of The Rise of American Democracy, by Sean Wilentz, Wall Street Journal, 13 October 2005.

What’s So Special about Democracy?

– "What’s So Special about Democracy?," review of Democracy: A History, by John Dunn, New York Sun, 26 July 2006.
Excerpt: Why is it that democracy is now the sole legitimate form of government throughout the world? Democracy had been deplored, even despised, from Plato to “The Federalist”… More

The Case for the Strong Executive

– "The Case for the Strong Executive," Claremont Review of Books, Spring 2007, pp. 21-24, reprinted in the Wall Street Journal, 2 May 2007.
Excerpt: Complaints against the “imperial presidency” are back in vogue. With a view to President Bush, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., has expanded and reissued the book of the… More

Man of Courage: Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 1918-2008

– "Man of Courage: Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 1918-2008," Weekly Standard, 25 August 2008.
Excerpt: Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a hero with the hero’s virtue of courage. He displayed courage, he reflected on it. The display was for all to see, the reflection was deep,… More

Tocqueville: A Very Short Introduction

– Oxford University Press, 2010.
Excerpt: In view of Tocqueville’s criticisms of philosophy, it may seem paradoxical and presumptuous to call him a philosopher. But he calls himself a “new kind of liberal,” and he… More

Washington Square

– "Washington Square," review of Washington Square, by Henry James, Claremont Review of Books, 18 October 2010.
Excerpt: Henry James’s short novel Washington Square is about Dr. Austin Sloper, a resident of that Square in New York City, who cannot persuade his daughter Cath­erine not to marry… More

The Wisdom of the Federalist

– "The Wisdom of the Federalist," New Criterion, February 2011.
Excerpt: The wisdom of the American Founders does not come to us in authoritative phrases such as “Confucius says” or in what we have unfortunately come to call our “values,” but… More

To the Heart of American Exceptionalism

– "To the Heart of American Exceptionalism," Wall Street Journal, 5 February 2011.
Excerpt: Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America” is a book that every American who reads should read. There’s no better book on democracy and none better on America,… More

Is the Imperial Presidency Inevitable

– "Is the Imperial Presidency Inevitable," review of The Executive Unbound, by Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule, New York Times, 13 March 2011.
Excerpt: In “The Executive Unbound,” Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule, law professors at Chicago and Harvard, respectively, offer with somewhat alarming confidence the “Weimar and… More

On the Road with Alexis

– "On the Road with Alexis," Hoover Digest, 13 July 2011.
Excerpt: Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America is a book that every American who reads should read. There’s no better book on democracy and none better on America, first home of… More

Harvey Mansfield 80th Birthday Conference Panel 3: Executive Power

– Harvey Mansfield on his 80th Birthday: A Review of His Works.  This event is sponsored by the Program on Constitutional Government in the Department of Government, and in affiliation with the Center for American Political Studies, Harvard University.  30 March 2012.

Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?

– "Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?", Defining Ideas, 30 August 2012.
Excerpt: Here are some thoughts and some readings for freshmen (or first-years) excited about our election and heading for college. They also apply to the rest of us long-time voters who… More

Essays

Review of Thomas Jefferson as Social Scientist

– Review of Thomas Jefferson as Social Scientist, by C. Randolph Benson, and Thomas Jefferson: A Well-Tempered Mind, by Carl Binger, American Political Science Review, vol. 67 (1973): 982-84.

Defending Liberalism

– "Defending Liberalism," The Alternative, April 1974.
Excerpt: LYNDON JOHNSON’S death on the day before the peace settlement in Vietnam was announced gave Richard Nixon the opportunity, while making the announcement, of vindicating… More

Thomas Jefferson

– "Thomas Jefferson," American Political Thought, M. Frisch and R. Stevens, eds., New York, 1971, pp. 23-50; republished in Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson, H.C. Mansfield, Jr., ed., Crofts Classics, 1978.

Spirit of Liberalism

– Harvard University Press, 1978.
Excerpt: IN THE election of 1972 the coalition of which the Democratic party is composed came unstuck as its voters divided into enthusiasts for McGovern or against Nixon and supporters of… More

The Ambivalence of Executive Power

– "The Ambivalence of Executive Power," The Presidency in the Constitutional Order,  J. Bessette and J. Tulis, eds.,  Baton Rouge, La.: Louisiana State University Press, 1981, pp. 314-334.

A Summer Seminar on the American Experiment

– "A Summer Seminar on the American Experiment," with Delba Winthrop, This Constitution, no. 9 (1985): 34-37.
Excerpt: Because America is so familiar to Americans, we take for granted the experimental nature of our politics. But this is the very theme of the two best books on American politics, The… More

The Teflon Presidency

– “The Teflon Presidency,” The New Federalist Papers, The Claremont Institute, 28 June 1985.

The Forms of Liberty

– "The Forms of Liberty," Democratic Capitalism? Essays in Search of a Concept, Fred E. Baumann, ed., Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia, 1986, pp. 1-21.

Republicanizing the Executive

– "Republicanizing the Executive," Saving the Revolution: The Federalist Papers and the American Founding, Charles R. Kesler, ed., New York: The Free Press, 1987, pp. 168-184.

Constitutional Government: The Soul of Modern Democracy

– "Constitutional Government: The Soul of Modern Democracy," The Public Interest, No. 86 (Winter 1987), pp. 53-64.
Excerpt: ALTHOUGH modern democracy is unhappy with the word “soul,” it has one nonetheless; and its soul is not healthy today. The disease is widely known as “dependeney,” the… More

The Silence of a Mechanism

– "The Silence of a Mechanism," review of The Silence of Constitutions: Laws, Men, and Machines, and American Political Ideas, by Michael Foley, Government and Opposition, vol. 28 (1993): 126-29.

America’s Constitutional Soul

– The Johns Hopkins University Press; Reprint edition (March 1, 1993)
Excerpt: When it comes to American politics, I am an amateur. I love America at its best, or even at its most characteristic: “only in America.” Perhaps this kind of love ought… More

Returning to the Founders

– "Returning to the Founders: the Debate on the Constitution," review of The Debate on the Constitution, Bernard Bailyn, ed., New Criterion, September 1993.
Excerpt: The publication of The Debate on the Constitution, in two new volumes of the Library of America, is an occasion for reflection.[1] Edited by Bernard Bailyn, now the foremost… More

The Unfinished Revolution

– "The Unfinished Revolution," Three Beginnings: Revolution, Rights, and the Liberal State,  Stephen F. Englehart and John Allphin Moore, Jr., eds.,  New York: Peter Lang, 1994, pp. 9-30.  Reprinted in The Legacy of the French Revolution, Ralph C. Hancock and L. Gary Lambert, eds., Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 1996. pp. 19-41.

Friends and Founders

– "Friends and Founders," review of The Republic of Letters: The Correspondence between Thomas Jefferson & James Madison, John Morton Smith, ed., New Criterion, May 1995.
Excerpt: The publication of the Jefferson–Madison correspondence is an event, for all who take a serious interest in American politics, that should have happened a long time ago.  The… More

Was It Really a Myth?

– "Was It Really a Myth?" review of The Myth of American Individualism, by Barry Alan Shain, Times Literary Supplement, 09 February 1996.

Paterfamilias

– "Paterfamilias," New Criterion, March 1996.
Excerpt: Richard Brookhiser remarks, and laments, that George Washington is no longer first in the hearts of his countrymen.  Brookhiser’s aim is to restore him in our hearts by way of… More

Educating the Prince Eds. Blitz/Kristol

– Educating the Prince: Essays in Honor of Harvey Mansfield, Mark Blitz and William Kristol, eds., Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2000.
In this festschrift for Harvey Mansfield, twenty-one former students, themselves distinguished scholars and writers, reflect on the whole gambit of Mansfieldian themes, from Machiavelli… More

The Twofold Meaning of Unum

– “The Twofold Meaning of Unum,” Reinventing the American People, Robert Royal, ed., Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1995, pp. 103-113.  French translation, "E pluribus unum: la double signification du principe d'unité dans la devise des Etats-Unis," Esprits Libres, Politique et Culture, No. 1, Spring 2000, pp. 6-18.

Life and Work of Harvey Mansfield

– "Life and Work of Harvey Mansfield," panel discussion with William Kristol, W. Carey McWilliams, Thomas G. West, and George F. Will, C-SPAN, 1 September 2000.

The Founders’ Honor

– The Founders’ Honor: There's More to American Politics Than Self-Interest or Principle, Weekly Standard, 3 September 2001.
Excerpt: THE WORD “HONOR” is not one we hear much these days. It sounds quaint when we read it of the past and pretentious if applied to the present. We prefer to speak more… More

Uses of Ambition

– "Uses of Ambition," review of Constitutional Self-Government, by Christopher L. Eisgruber, Times Literary Supplement, 19 July 2002, 29.

Jaffa vs. Mansfield

– West, Thomas G., "Jaffa vs. Mansfield," Perspectives on Political Science, Claremont Institute, Fall 2002.
Excerpt: What were the original principles of the American Constitution? Are those principles true? Many historians and political scientists write about the first question. Scholars are… More

Liberty and Virtue in the American Founding

– "Liberty and Virtue in the American Founding," Never a Matter of Indifference: Sustaining Virtue in a Free Republic, Peter Berkowitz, ed., Hoover Institution Press, 2003.
Excerpt: Liberty and virtue are not a likely pair. At first sight they seem to be contraries, for liberty appears to mean living as you please and virtue appears to mean living not as you… More

The People and Their Power

– "The People and Their Power," review of The Rise of American Democracy, by Sean Wilentz, Wall Street Journal, 13 October 2005.

What’s So Special about Democracy?

– "What’s So Special about Democracy?," review of Democracy: A History, by John Dunn, New York Sun, 26 July 2006.
Excerpt: Why is it that democracy is now the sole legitimate form of government throughout the world? Democracy had been deplored, even despised, from Plato to “The Federalist”… More

The Case for the Strong Executive

– "The Case for the Strong Executive," Claremont Review of Books, Spring 2007, pp. 21-24, reprinted in the Wall Street Journal, 2 May 2007.
Excerpt: Complaints against the “imperial presidency” are back in vogue. With a view to President Bush, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., has expanded and reissued the book of the… More

Man of Courage: Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 1918-2008

– "Man of Courage: Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 1918-2008," Weekly Standard, 25 August 2008.
Excerpt: Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a hero with the hero’s virtue of courage. He displayed courage, he reflected on it. The display was for all to see, the reflection was deep,… More

Tocqueville: A Very Short Introduction

– Oxford University Press, 2010.
Excerpt: In view of Tocqueville’s criticisms of philosophy, it may seem paradoxical and presumptuous to call him a philosopher. But he calls himself a “new kind of liberal,” and he… More

Washington Square

– "Washington Square," review of Washington Square, by Henry James, Claremont Review of Books, 18 October 2010.
Excerpt: Henry James’s short novel Washington Square is about Dr. Austin Sloper, a resident of that Square in New York City, who cannot persuade his daughter Cath­erine not to marry… More

The Wisdom of the Federalist

– "The Wisdom of the Federalist," New Criterion, February 2011.
Excerpt: The wisdom of the American Founders does not come to us in authoritative phrases such as “Confucius says” or in what we have unfortunately come to call our “values,” but… More

To the Heart of American Exceptionalism

– "To the Heart of American Exceptionalism," Wall Street Journal, 5 February 2011.
Excerpt: Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America” is a book that every American who reads should read. There’s no better book on democracy and none better on America,… More

Is the Imperial Presidency Inevitable

– "Is the Imperial Presidency Inevitable," review of The Executive Unbound, by Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule, New York Times, 13 March 2011.
Excerpt: In “The Executive Unbound,” Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule, law professors at Chicago and Harvard, respectively, offer with somewhat alarming confidence the “Weimar and… More

On the Road with Alexis

– "On the Road with Alexis," Hoover Digest, 13 July 2011.
Excerpt: Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America is a book that every American who reads should read. There’s no better book on democracy and none better on America, first home of… More

Harvey Mansfield 80th Birthday Conference Panel 3: Executive Power

– Harvey Mansfield on his 80th Birthday: A Review of His Works.  This event is sponsored by the Program on Constitutional Government in the Department of Government, and in affiliation with the Center for American Political Studies, Harvard University.  30 March 2012.

Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?

– "Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?", Defining Ideas, 30 August 2012.
Excerpt: Here are some thoughts and some readings for freshmen (or first-years) excited about our election and heading for college. They also apply to the rest of us long-time voters who… More

Commentary

Review of Thomas Jefferson as Social Scientist

– Review of Thomas Jefferson as Social Scientist, by C. Randolph Benson, and Thomas Jefferson: A Well-Tempered Mind, by Carl Binger, American Political Science Review, vol. 67 (1973): 982-84.

Defending Liberalism

– "Defending Liberalism," The Alternative, April 1974.
Excerpt: LYNDON JOHNSON’S death on the day before the peace settlement in Vietnam was announced gave Richard Nixon the opportunity, while making the announcement, of vindicating… More

Thomas Jefferson

– "Thomas Jefferson," American Political Thought, M. Frisch and R. Stevens, eds., New York, 1971, pp. 23-50; republished in Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson, H.C. Mansfield, Jr., ed., Crofts Classics, 1978.

Spirit of Liberalism

– Harvard University Press, 1978.
Excerpt: IN THE election of 1972 the coalition of which the Democratic party is composed came unstuck as its voters divided into enthusiasts for McGovern or against Nixon and supporters of… More

The Ambivalence of Executive Power

– "The Ambivalence of Executive Power," The Presidency in the Constitutional Order,  J. Bessette and J. Tulis, eds.,  Baton Rouge, La.: Louisiana State University Press, 1981, pp. 314-334.

A Summer Seminar on the American Experiment

– "A Summer Seminar on the American Experiment," with Delba Winthrop, This Constitution, no. 9 (1985): 34-37.
Excerpt: Because America is so familiar to Americans, we take for granted the experimental nature of our politics. But this is the very theme of the two best books on American politics, The… More

The Teflon Presidency

– “The Teflon Presidency,” The New Federalist Papers, The Claremont Institute, 28 June 1985.

The Forms of Liberty

– "The Forms of Liberty," Democratic Capitalism? Essays in Search of a Concept, Fred E. Baumann, ed., Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia, 1986, pp. 1-21.

Republicanizing the Executive

– "Republicanizing the Executive," Saving the Revolution: The Federalist Papers and the American Founding, Charles R. Kesler, ed., New York: The Free Press, 1987, pp. 168-184.

Constitutional Government: The Soul of Modern Democracy

– "Constitutional Government: The Soul of Modern Democracy," The Public Interest, No. 86 (Winter 1987), pp. 53-64.
Excerpt: ALTHOUGH modern democracy is unhappy with the word “soul,” it has one nonetheless; and its soul is not healthy today. The disease is widely known as “dependeney,” the… More

The Silence of a Mechanism

– "The Silence of a Mechanism," review of The Silence of Constitutions: Laws, Men, and Machines, and American Political Ideas, by Michael Foley, Government and Opposition, vol. 28 (1993): 126-29.

America’s Constitutional Soul

– The Johns Hopkins University Press; Reprint edition (March 1, 1993)
Excerpt: When it comes to American politics, I am an amateur. I love America at its best, or even at its most characteristic: “only in America.” Perhaps this kind of love ought… More

Returning to the Founders

– "Returning to the Founders: the Debate on the Constitution," review of The Debate on the Constitution, Bernard Bailyn, ed., New Criterion, September 1993.
Excerpt: The publication of The Debate on the Constitution, in two new volumes of the Library of America, is an occasion for reflection.[1] Edited by Bernard Bailyn, now the foremost… More

The Unfinished Revolution

– "The Unfinished Revolution," Three Beginnings: Revolution, Rights, and the Liberal State,  Stephen F. Englehart and John Allphin Moore, Jr., eds.,  New York: Peter Lang, 1994, pp. 9-30.  Reprinted in The Legacy of the French Revolution, Ralph C. Hancock and L. Gary Lambert, eds., Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 1996. pp. 19-41.

Friends and Founders

– "Friends and Founders," review of The Republic of Letters: The Correspondence between Thomas Jefferson & James Madison, John Morton Smith, ed., New Criterion, May 1995.
Excerpt: The publication of the Jefferson–Madison correspondence is an event, for all who take a serious interest in American politics, that should have happened a long time ago.  The… More

Was It Really a Myth?

– "Was It Really a Myth?" review of The Myth of American Individualism, by Barry Alan Shain, Times Literary Supplement, 09 February 1996.

Paterfamilias

– "Paterfamilias," New Criterion, March 1996.
Excerpt: Richard Brookhiser remarks, and laments, that George Washington is no longer first in the hearts of his countrymen.  Brookhiser’s aim is to restore him in our hearts by way of… More

Educating the Prince Eds. Blitz/Kristol

– Educating the Prince: Essays in Honor of Harvey Mansfield, Mark Blitz and William Kristol, eds., Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2000.
In this festschrift for Harvey Mansfield, twenty-one former students, themselves distinguished scholars and writers, reflect on the whole gambit of Mansfieldian themes, from Machiavelli… More

The Twofold Meaning of Unum

– “The Twofold Meaning of Unum,” Reinventing the American People, Robert Royal, ed., Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1995, pp. 103-113.  French translation, "E pluribus unum: la double signification du principe d'unité dans la devise des Etats-Unis," Esprits Libres, Politique et Culture, No. 1, Spring 2000, pp. 6-18.

Life and Work of Harvey Mansfield

– "Life and Work of Harvey Mansfield," panel discussion with William Kristol, W. Carey McWilliams, Thomas G. West, and George F. Will, C-SPAN, 1 September 2000.

The Founders’ Honor

– The Founders’ Honor: There's More to American Politics Than Self-Interest or Principle, Weekly Standard, 3 September 2001.
Excerpt: THE WORD “HONOR” is not one we hear much these days. It sounds quaint when we read it of the past and pretentious if applied to the present. We prefer to speak more… More

Uses of Ambition

– "Uses of Ambition," review of Constitutional Self-Government, by Christopher L. Eisgruber, Times Literary Supplement, 19 July 2002, 29.

Jaffa vs. Mansfield

– West, Thomas G., "Jaffa vs. Mansfield," Perspectives on Political Science, Claremont Institute, Fall 2002.
Excerpt: What were the original principles of the American Constitution? Are those principles true? Many historians and political scientists write about the first question. Scholars are… More

Liberty and Virtue in the American Founding

– "Liberty and Virtue in the American Founding," Never a Matter of Indifference: Sustaining Virtue in a Free Republic, Peter Berkowitz, ed., Hoover Institution Press, 2003.
Excerpt: Liberty and virtue are not a likely pair. At first sight they seem to be contraries, for liberty appears to mean living as you please and virtue appears to mean living not as you… More

The People and Their Power

– "The People and Their Power," review of The Rise of American Democracy, by Sean Wilentz, Wall Street Journal, 13 October 2005.

What’s So Special about Democracy?

– "What’s So Special about Democracy?," review of Democracy: A History, by John Dunn, New York Sun, 26 July 2006.
Excerpt: Why is it that democracy is now the sole legitimate form of government throughout the world? Democracy had been deplored, even despised, from Plato to “The Federalist”… More

The Case for the Strong Executive

– "The Case for the Strong Executive," Claremont Review of Books, Spring 2007, pp. 21-24, reprinted in the Wall Street Journal, 2 May 2007.
Excerpt: Complaints against the “imperial presidency” are back in vogue. With a view to President Bush, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., has expanded and reissued the book of the… More

Man of Courage: Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 1918-2008

– "Man of Courage: Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 1918-2008," Weekly Standard, 25 August 2008.
Excerpt: Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a hero with the hero’s virtue of courage. He displayed courage, he reflected on it. The display was for all to see, the reflection was deep,… More

Tocqueville: A Very Short Introduction

– Oxford University Press, 2010.
Excerpt: In view of Tocqueville’s criticisms of philosophy, it may seem paradoxical and presumptuous to call him a philosopher. But he calls himself a “new kind of liberal,” and he… More

Washington Square

– "Washington Square," review of Washington Square, by Henry James, Claremont Review of Books, 18 October 2010.
Excerpt: Henry James’s short novel Washington Square is about Dr. Austin Sloper, a resident of that Square in New York City, who cannot persuade his daughter Cath­erine not to marry… More

The Wisdom of the Federalist

– "The Wisdom of the Federalist," New Criterion, February 2011.
Excerpt: The wisdom of the American Founders does not come to us in authoritative phrases such as “Confucius says” or in what we have unfortunately come to call our “values,” but… More

To the Heart of American Exceptionalism

– "To the Heart of American Exceptionalism," Wall Street Journal, 5 February 2011.
Excerpt: Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America” is a book that every American who reads should read. There’s no better book on democracy and none better on America,… More

Is the Imperial Presidency Inevitable

– "Is the Imperial Presidency Inevitable," review of The Executive Unbound, by Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule, New York Times, 13 March 2011.
Excerpt: In “The Executive Unbound,” Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule, law professors at Chicago and Harvard, respectively, offer with somewhat alarming confidence the “Weimar and… More

On the Road with Alexis

– "On the Road with Alexis," Hoover Digest, 13 July 2011.
Excerpt: Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America is a book that every American who reads should read. There’s no better book on democracy and none better on America, first home of… More

Harvey Mansfield 80th Birthday Conference Panel 3: Executive Power

– Harvey Mansfield on his 80th Birthday: A Review of His Works.  This event is sponsored by the Program on Constitutional Government in the Department of Government, and in affiliation with the Center for American Political Studies, Harvard University.  30 March 2012.

Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?

– "Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?", Defining Ideas, 30 August 2012.
Excerpt: Here are some thoughts and some readings for freshmen (or first-years) excited about our election and heading for college. They also apply to the rest of us long-time voters who… More

Multimedia

Review of Thomas Jefferson as Social Scientist

– Review of Thomas Jefferson as Social Scientist, by C. Randolph Benson, and Thomas Jefferson: A Well-Tempered Mind, by Carl Binger, American Political Science Review, vol. 67 (1973): 982-84.

Defending Liberalism

– "Defending Liberalism," The Alternative, April 1974.
Excerpt: LYNDON JOHNSON’S death on the day before the peace settlement in Vietnam was announced gave Richard Nixon the opportunity, while making the announcement, of vindicating… More

Thomas Jefferson

– "Thomas Jefferson," American Political Thought, M. Frisch and R. Stevens, eds., New York, 1971, pp. 23-50; republished in Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson, H.C. Mansfield, Jr., ed., Crofts Classics, 1978.

Spirit of Liberalism

– Harvard University Press, 1978.
Excerpt: IN THE election of 1972 the coalition of which the Democratic party is composed came unstuck as its voters divided into enthusiasts for McGovern or against Nixon and supporters of… More

The Ambivalence of Executive Power

– "The Ambivalence of Executive Power," The Presidency in the Constitutional Order,  J. Bessette and J. Tulis, eds.,  Baton Rouge, La.: Louisiana State University Press, 1981, pp. 314-334.

A Summer Seminar on the American Experiment

– "A Summer Seminar on the American Experiment," with Delba Winthrop, This Constitution, no. 9 (1985): 34-37.
Excerpt: Because America is so familiar to Americans, we take for granted the experimental nature of our politics. But this is the very theme of the two best books on American politics, The… More

The Teflon Presidency

– “The Teflon Presidency,” The New Federalist Papers, The Claremont Institute, 28 June 1985.

The Forms of Liberty

– "The Forms of Liberty," Democratic Capitalism? Essays in Search of a Concept, Fred E. Baumann, ed., Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia, 1986, pp. 1-21.

Republicanizing the Executive

– "Republicanizing the Executive," Saving the Revolution: The Federalist Papers and the American Founding, Charles R. Kesler, ed., New York: The Free Press, 1987, pp. 168-184.

Constitutional Government: The Soul of Modern Democracy

– "Constitutional Government: The Soul of Modern Democracy," The Public Interest, No. 86 (Winter 1987), pp. 53-64.
Excerpt: ALTHOUGH modern democracy is unhappy with the word “soul,” it has one nonetheless; and its soul is not healthy today. The disease is widely known as “dependeney,” the… More

The Silence of a Mechanism

– "The Silence of a Mechanism," review of The Silence of Constitutions: Laws, Men, and Machines, and American Political Ideas, by Michael Foley, Government and Opposition, vol. 28 (1993): 126-29.

America’s Constitutional Soul

– The Johns Hopkins University Press; Reprint edition (March 1, 1993)
Excerpt: When it comes to American politics, I am an amateur. I love America at its best, or even at its most characteristic: “only in America.” Perhaps this kind of love ought… More

Returning to the Founders

– "Returning to the Founders: the Debate on the Constitution," review of The Debate on the Constitution, Bernard Bailyn, ed., New Criterion, September 1993.
Excerpt: The publication of The Debate on the Constitution, in two new volumes of the Library of America, is an occasion for reflection.[1] Edited by Bernard Bailyn, now the foremost… More

The Unfinished Revolution

– "The Unfinished Revolution," Three Beginnings: Revolution, Rights, and the Liberal State,  Stephen F. Englehart and John Allphin Moore, Jr., eds.,  New York: Peter Lang, 1994, pp. 9-30.  Reprinted in The Legacy of the French Revolution, Ralph C. Hancock and L. Gary Lambert, eds., Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 1996. pp. 19-41.

Friends and Founders

– "Friends and Founders," review of The Republic of Letters: The Correspondence between Thomas Jefferson & James Madison, John Morton Smith, ed., New Criterion, May 1995.
Excerpt: The publication of the Jefferson–Madison correspondence is an event, for all who take a serious interest in American politics, that should have happened a long time ago.  The… More

Was It Really a Myth?

– "Was It Really a Myth?" review of The Myth of American Individualism, by Barry Alan Shain, Times Literary Supplement, 09 February 1996.

Paterfamilias

– "Paterfamilias," New Criterion, March 1996.
Excerpt: Richard Brookhiser remarks, and laments, that George Washington is no longer first in the hearts of his countrymen.  Brookhiser’s aim is to restore him in our hearts by way of… More

Educating the Prince Eds. Blitz/Kristol

– Educating the Prince: Essays in Honor of Harvey Mansfield, Mark Blitz and William Kristol, eds., Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2000.
In this festschrift for Harvey Mansfield, twenty-one former students, themselves distinguished scholars and writers, reflect on the whole gambit of Mansfieldian themes, from Machiavelli… More

The Twofold Meaning of Unum

– “The Twofold Meaning of Unum,” Reinventing the American People, Robert Royal, ed., Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1995, pp. 103-113.  French translation, "E pluribus unum: la double signification du principe d'unité dans la devise des Etats-Unis," Esprits Libres, Politique et Culture, No. 1, Spring 2000, pp. 6-18.

Life and Work of Harvey Mansfield

– "Life and Work of Harvey Mansfield," panel discussion with William Kristol, W. Carey McWilliams, Thomas G. West, and George F. Will, C-SPAN, 1 September 2000.

The Founders’ Honor

– The Founders’ Honor: There's More to American Politics Than Self-Interest or Principle, Weekly Standard, 3 September 2001.
Excerpt: THE WORD “HONOR” is not one we hear much these days. It sounds quaint when we read it of the past and pretentious if applied to the present. We prefer to speak more… More

Uses of Ambition

– "Uses of Ambition," review of Constitutional Self-Government, by Christopher L. Eisgruber, Times Literary Supplement, 19 July 2002, 29.

Jaffa vs. Mansfield

– West, Thomas G., "Jaffa vs. Mansfield," Perspectives on Political Science, Claremont Institute, Fall 2002.
Excerpt: What were the original principles of the American Constitution? Are those principles true? Many historians and political scientists write about the first question. Scholars are… More

Liberty and Virtue in the American Founding

– "Liberty and Virtue in the American Founding," Never a Matter of Indifference: Sustaining Virtue in a Free Republic, Peter Berkowitz, ed., Hoover Institution Press, 2003.
Excerpt: Liberty and virtue are not a likely pair. At first sight they seem to be contraries, for liberty appears to mean living as you please and virtue appears to mean living not as you… More

The People and Their Power

– "The People and Their Power," review of The Rise of American Democracy, by Sean Wilentz, Wall Street Journal, 13 October 2005.

What’s So Special about Democracy?

– "What’s So Special about Democracy?," review of Democracy: A History, by John Dunn, New York Sun, 26 July 2006.
Excerpt: Why is it that democracy is now the sole legitimate form of government throughout the world? Democracy had been deplored, even despised, from Plato to “The Federalist”… More

The Case for the Strong Executive

– "The Case for the Strong Executive," Claremont Review of Books, Spring 2007, pp. 21-24, reprinted in the Wall Street Journal, 2 May 2007.
Excerpt: Complaints against the “imperial presidency” are back in vogue. With a view to President Bush, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., has expanded and reissued the book of the… More

Man of Courage: Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 1918-2008

– "Man of Courage: Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 1918-2008," Weekly Standard, 25 August 2008.
Excerpt: Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a hero with the hero’s virtue of courage. He displayed courage, he reflected on it. The display was for all to see, the reflection was deep,… More

Tocqueville: A Very Short Introduction

– Oxford University Press, 2010.
Excerpt: In view of Tocqueville’s criticisms of philosophy, it may seem paradoxical and presumptuous to call him a philosopher. But he calls himself a “new kind of liberal,” and he… More

Washington Square

– "Washington Square," review of Washington Square, by Henry James, Claremont Review of Books, 18 October 2010.
Excerpt: Henry James’s short novel Washington Square is about Dr. Austin Sloper, a resident of that Square in New York City, who cannot persuade his daughter Cath­erine not to marry… More

The Wisdom of the Federalist

– "The Wisdom of the Federalist," New Criterion, February 2011.
Excerpt: The wisdom of the American Founders does not come to us in authoritative phrases such as “Confucius says” or in what we have unfortunately come to call our “values,” but… More

To the Heart of American Exceptionalism

– "To the Heart of American Exceptionalism," Wall Street Journal, 5 February 2011.
Excerpt: Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America” is a book that every American who reads should read. There’s no better book on democracy and none better on America,… More

Is the Imperial Presidency Inevitable

– "Is the Imperial Presidency Inevitable," review of The Executive Unbound, by Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule, New York Times, 13 March 2011.
Excerpt: In “The Executive Unbound,” Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule, law professors at Chicago and Harvard, respectively, offer with somewhat alarming confidence the “Weimar and… More

On the Road with Alexis

– "On the Road with Alexis," Hoover Digest, 13 July 2011.
Excerpt: Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America is a book that every American who reads should read. There’s no better book on democracy and none better on America, first home of… More

Harvey Mansfield 80th Birthday Conference Panel 3: Executive Power

– Harvey Mansfield on his 80th Birthday: A Review of His Works.  This event is sponsored by the Program on Constitutional Government in the Department of Government, and in affiliation with the Center for American Political Studies, Harvard University.  30 March 2012.

Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?

– "Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?", Defining Ideas, 30 August 2012.
Excerpt: Here are some thoughts and some readings for freshmen (or first-years) excited about our election and heading for college. They also apply to the rest of us long-time voters who… More

Teaching

Review of Thomas Jefferson as Social Scientist

– Review of Thomas Jefferson as Social Scientist, by C. Randolph Benson, and Thomas Jefferson: A Well-Tempered Mind, by Carl Binger, American Political Science Review, vol. 67 (1973): 982-84.

Defending Liberalism

– "Defending Liberalism," The Alternative, April 1974.
Excerpt: LYNDON JOHNSON’S death on the day before the peace settlement in Vietnam was announced gave Richard Nixon the opportunity, while making the announcement, of vindicating… More

Thomas Jefferson

– "Thomas Jefferson," American Political Thought, M. Frisch and R. Stevens, eds., New York, 1971, pp. 23-50; republished in Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson, H.C. Mansfield, Jr., ed., Crofts Classics, 1978.

Spirit of Liberalism

– Harvard University Press, 1978.
Excerpt: IN THE election of 1972 the coalition of which the Democratic party is composed came unstuck as its voters divided into enthusiasts for McGovern or against Nixon and supporters of… More

The Ambivalence of Executive Power

– "The Ambivalence of Executive Power," The Presidency in the Constitutional Order,  J. Bessette and J. Tulis, eds.,  Baton Rouge, La.: Louisiana State University Press, 1981, pp. 314-334.

A Summer Seminar on the American Experiment

– "A Summer Seminar on the American Experiment," with Delba Winthrop, This Constitution, no. 9 (1985): 34-37.
Excerpt: Because America is so familiar to Americans, we take for granted the experimental nature of our politics. But this is the very theme of the two best books on American politics, The… More

The Teflon Presidency

– “The Teflon Presidency,” The New Federalist Papers, The Claremont Institute, 28 June 1985.

The Forms of Liberty

– "The Forms of Liberty," Democratic Capitalism? Essays in Search of a Concept, Fred E. Baumann, ed., Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia, 1986, pp. 1-21.

Republicanizing the Executive

– "Republicanizing the Executive," Saving the Revolution: The Federalist Papers and the American Founding, Charles R. Kesler, ed., New York: The Free Press, 1987, pp. 168-184.

Constitutional Government: The Soul of Modern Democracy

– "Constitutional Government: The Soul of Modern Democracy," The Public Interest, No. 86 (Winter 1987), pp. 53-64.
Excerpt: ALTHOUGH modern democracy is unhappy with the word “soul,” it has one nonetheless; and its soul is not healthy today. The disease is widely known as “dependeney,” the… More

The Silence of a Mechanism

– "The Silence of a Mechanism," review of The Silence of Constitutions: Laws, Men, and Machines, and American Political Ideas, by Michael Foley, Government and Opposition, vol. 28 (1993): 126-29.

America’s Constitutional Soul

– The Johns Hopkins University Press; Reprint edition (March 1, 1993)
Excerpt: When it comes to American politics, I am an amateur. I love America at its best, or even at its most characteristic: “only in America.” Perhaps this kind of love ought… More

Returning to the Founders

– "Returning to the Founders: the Debate on the Constitution," review of The Debate on the Constitution, Bernard Bailyn, ed., New Criterion, September 1993.
Excerpt: The publication of The Debate on the Constitution, in two new volumes of the Library of America, is an occasion for reflection.[1] Edited by Bernard Bailyn, now the foremost… More

The Unfinished Revolution

– "The Unfinished Revolution," Three Beginnings: Revolution, Rights, and the Liberal State,  Stephen F. Englehart and John Allphin Moore, Jr., eds.,  New York: Peter Lang, 1994, pp. 9-30.  Reprinted in The Legacy of the French Revolution, Ralph C. Hancock and L. Gary Lambert, eds., Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 1996. pp. 19-41.

Friends and Founders

– "Friends and Founders," review of The Republic of Letters: The Correspondence between Thomas Jefferson & James Madison, John Morton Smith, ed., New Criterion, May 1995.
Excerpt: The publication of the Jefferson–Madison correspondence is an event, for all who take a serious interest in American politics, that should have happened a long time ago.  The… More

Was It Really a Myth?

– "Was It Really a Myth?" review of The Myth of American Individualism, by Barry Alan Shain, Times Literary Supplement, 09 February 1996.

Paterfamilias

– "Paterfamilias," New Criterion, March 1996.
Excerpt: Richard Brookhiser remarks, and laments, that George Washington is no longer first in the hearts of his countrymen.  Brookhiser’s aim is to restore him in our hearts by way of… More

Educating the Prince Eds. Blitz/Kristol

– Educating the Prince: Essays in Honor of Harvey Mansfield, Mark Blitz and William Kristol, eds., Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2000.
In this festschrift for Harvey Mansfield, twenty-one former students, themselves distinguished scholars and writers, reflect on the whole gambit of Mansfieldian themes, from Machiavelli… More

The Twofold Meaning of Unum

– “The Twofold Meaning of Unum,” Reinventing the American People, Robert Royal, ed., Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1995, pp. 103-113.  French translation, "E pluribus unum: la double signification du principe d'unité dans la devise des Etats-Unis," Esprits Libres, Politique et Culture, No. 1, Spring 2000, pp. 6-18.

Life and Work of Harvey Mansfield

– "Life and Work of Harvey Mansfield," panel discussion with William Kristol, W. Carey McWilliams, Thomas G. West, and George F. Will, C-SPAN, 1 September 2000.

The Founders’ Honor

– The Founders’ Honor: There's More to American Politics Than Self-Interest or Principle, Weekly Standard, 3 September 2001.
Excerpt: THE WORD “HONOR” is not one we hear much these days. It sounds quaint when we read it of the past and pretentious if applied to the present. We prefer to speak more… More

Uses of Ambition

– "Uses of Ambition," review of Constitutional Self-Government, by Christopher L. Eisgruber, Times Literary Supplement, 19 July 2002, 29.

Jaffa vs. Mansfield

– West, Thomas G., "Jaffa vs. Mansfield," Perspectives on Political Science, Claremont Institute, Fall 2002.
Excerpt: What were the original principles of the American Constitution? Are those principles true? Many historians and political scientists write about the first question. Scholars are… More

Liberty and Virtue in the American Founding

– "Liberty and Virtue in the American Founding," Never a Matter of Indifference: Sustaining Virtue in a Free Republic, Peter Berkowitz, ed., Hoover Institution Press, 2003.
Excerpt: Liberty and virtue are not a likely pair. At first sight they seem to be contraries, for liberty appears to mean living as you please and virtue appears to mean living not as you… More

The People and Their Power

– "The People and Their Power," review of The Rise of American Democracy, by Sean Wilentz, Wall Street Journal, 13 October 2005.

What’s So Special about Democracy?

– "What’s So Special about Democracy?," review of Democracy: A History, by John Dunn, New York Sun, 26 July 2006.
Excerpt: Why is it that democracy is now the sole legitimate form of government throughout the world? Democracy had been deplored, even despised, from Plato to “The Federalist”… More

The Case for the Strong Executive

– "The Case for the Strong Executive," Claremont Review of Books, Spring 2007, pp. 21-24, reprinted in the Wall Street Journal, 2 May 2007.
Excerpt: Complaints against the “imperial presidency” are back in vogue. With a view to President Bush, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., has expanded and reissued the book of the… More

Man of Courage: Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 1918-2008

– "Man of Courage: Alexander Solzhenitsyn, 1918-2008," Weekly Standard, 25 August 2008.
Excerpt: Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a hero with the hero’s virtue of courage. He displayed courage, he reflected on it. The display was for all to see, the reflection was deep,… More

Tocqueville: A Very Short Introduction

– Oxford University Press, 2010.
Excerpt: In view of Tocqueville’s criticisms of philosophy, it may seem paradoxical and presumptuous to call him a philosopher. But he calls himself a “new kind of liberal,” and he… More

Washington Square

– "Washington Square," review of Washington Square, by Henry James, Claremont Review of Books, 18 October 2010.
Excerpt: Henry James’s short novel Washington Square is about Dr. Austin Sloper, a resident of that Square in New York City, who cannot persuade his daughter Cath­erine not to marry… More

The Wisdom of the Federalist

– "The Wisdom of the Federalist," New Criterion, February 2011.
Excerpt: The wisdom of the American Founders does not come to us in authoritative phrases such as “Confucius says” or in what we have unfortunately come to call our “values,” but… More

To the Heart of American Exceptionalism

– "To the Heart of American Exceptionalism," Wall Street Journal, 5 February 2011.
Excerpt: Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America” is a book that every American who reads should read. There’s no better book on democracy and none better on America,… More

Is the Imperial Presidency Inevitable

– "Is the Imperial Presidency Inevitable," review of The Executive Unbound, by Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule, New York Times, 13 March 2011.
Excerpt: In “The Executive Unbound,” Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule, law professors at Chicago and Harvard, respectively, offer with somewhat alarming confidence the “Weimar and… More

On the Road with Alexis

– "On the Road with Alexis," Hoover Digest, 13 July 2011.
Excerpt: Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America is a book that every American who reads should read. There’s no better book on democracy and none better on America, first home of… More

Harvey Mansfield 80th Birthday Conference Panel 3: Executive Power

– Harvey Mansfield on his 80th Birthday: A Review of His Works.  This event is sponsored by the Program on Constitutional Government in the Department of Government, and in affiliation with the Center for American Political Studies, Harvard University.  30 March 2012.

Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?

– "Are You Smarter Than a Freshman?", Defining Ideas, 30 August 2012.
Excerpt: Here are some thoughts and some readings for freshmen (or first-years) excited about our election and heading for college. They also apply to the rest of us long-time voters who… More