Essays

“The Federalist”

– "The Federalist." History of Political Philosophy. Eds. Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey. 3d Ed. ed. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1987. 659-679.
This essay explores the central themes of The Federalist such as the manner in which a decent but nonetheless democratic political order might be established, employing separation of powers, and the notion of the large, commercial republic, along with other… More

The Separation of Powers and the Mixed Regime

– "The Separation of Powers and the Mixed Regime." Publius 8.3 (Summer 1978): 33-44.
Martin Diamond insisted that an accurate understanding of the founder’s intentions required a firm grasp of the distinction between their scheme of separation of powers and the traditional idea of the mixed regime. In this lecture to the Woodrow Wilson… More

“The Federalist” on Federalism: “Neither a National Nor a Federal Constitution, but a Composition of Both”

– "The Federalist on Federalism: 'Neither a National Nor a Federal Constitution, but a Composition of Both'" Yale Law Review 86.6 (May 1977): 1273-285.
In his essays on American federalism, Diamond argued that we would benefit from a more precise understanding of the nature of federalism as the founders bequeathed it to us—or, more accurately, of their intended constitutional “composition” of… More

Teaching about Politics as a Vocation

– "Teaching about Politics as a Vocation." Eds. Sidney Hook et al. The Ethics of Teaching and Scientific Research. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus, 1977.
How may a teacher of politics explore with his students the fundamental commitments, or “values,” of the regime, while remaining faithful to his obligation to be “scientific” and objective? Diamond examines that question and other… More

Ethics and Politics: The American Way

– "Ethics and Politics: The American Way." The Moral Foundations of the American Republic. Ed. Robert H. Horwitz. Charlottesville: University of Virginia, 1977. 39-72.
This essay, published in 1977 in The Moral Foundations of the American Republic, edited by Robert H. Horwitz, is a fitting summary of Diamond’s understanding of the American regime—both its “low but solid” foundation in the large,… More

The Forgotten Doctrine of Enumerated Powers

– "The Forgotten Doctrine of Enumerated Powers." Publius 6.4 (1976): 187-93.
The editors of Publius: Journal of Federalism composed the following introductory note to accompany this essay’s publication in 1976: Professor Diamond’s essay is an elaboration of his remarks at a Woodrow Wilson Center evening dialogue on the… More

The American Idea of Equality: The View from the Founding

– "The American Idea of Equality: The View from the Founding." Review of Politics 38.3 (July 1976): 313-31.
Although the founders embraced the idea of human equality, Diamond argues in this essay from a 1976 issue of The Review of Politics, it was a limited, moderate, sober understanding of equality, the recovery of which would be a vital counterweight to… More

The American Idea of Man: The View from the Founding

– "The American Idea of Man: The View from the Founding." The Americans, 1976: An Inquiry into Fundamental Concepts of Man Underlying Various U.S. Institutions. Ed. Irving Kristol and Paul Weaver. Lexington: Lexington, 1976. 1-23.

The Declaration and the Constitution: Liberty, Democracy, and the Founders

– "The Declaration and the Constitution: Liberty, Democracy, and the Founders." The Public Interest 41 (Fall 1975): 39-55. Also included in The American Commonwealth—1976. Eds. Nathan Glazer and Irving Kristol. New York: Basic, 1976. 39-55.
To understand the relationship between the Constitution’s commitment to democratic government and the Declaration of Independence’s affirmation of equal individual rights is in fact to understand the nature of the American regime, according to… More

What the Framers Meant by Federalism

– "What the Framers Meant By Federalism." A Nation of States: Essays on the American Federal System. Ed. Robert A. Goldwin. Chicago: Rand McNally College Pub., 1974. 25-41.
Whether the United States would remain a loose confederation of proudly sovereign states or would adopt instead a strong, centralized national government was one of the foremost issues before the Federal Convention of 1787. In this essay, which was prepared… More

The Ends of Federalism

– "The Ends of Federalism." Publius 3.2 (1973): 129-52.
However ambiguous may have been the founders’ view of the federal elements in their Constitution, other prominent commentators on American government subsequently came to appreciate the utility of those elements for sustaining a decent, democratic… More

On the Study of Politics

– "On the Study of Politics." Paper read at the Small College Conference. American Political Science Association, 1973. Mimeographed.

The Utopian Grounds for Pessimism and the Reasonable Grounds for Optimism

– "The Utopian Grounds for Pessimism and the Reasonable Grounds for Optimism." Causes for Optimism. Ed. John A. Howard. Rockford, Ill.: Rockford College, 1973. 40-50.
In this presentation to a Rockford College colloquium exploring “Causes for Optimism,” Diamond suggests that the pervasive pessimism of the late 1960s and early 1970s followed inevitably from the exaggerated, utopian expectations that certain… More

The Dependence of Fact upon ‘Value’

– "The Dependence of Fact upon 'Value.'" Interpretation 2.3 (1972): 226-35.
At the heart of modern behavioral political science is the rigid distinction between “fact” and “value”—a distinction, Diamond argues in this article published in Interpretation in 1972, that makes utterly impossible the genuine… More

On the Study of Politics in a Liberal Education

– "On the Study of Politics in a Liberal Education." The College (December 1971): 6-10.
In this paper prepared for the 275th Anniversary Colloquium at St. John’s College in Annapolis and published in College in 1971, Diamond maintains that the liberal study of politics must be grounded in a respectful treatment of the regime’s… More

The Problem of Reading in an Age of Mass Democracy

– "The Problem of Reading in an Age of Mass Democracy." The 34th Yearbook of the Claremont Reading Conference. Claremont, Calif.: Claremont Men's College, 1970.
In this presentation to a group of teachers (published in the proceedings of the 1970 Claremont Reading Conference), Diamond draws upon Tocqueville’s analysis of the new age of democratic equality to describe the problem it creates for enterprises like… More

Conservatives, Liberals, and the Constitution

– "Conservatives, Liberals, and the Constitution." Left, Right, and Center: Essays on Conservatism and Liberalism in the United States. Ed. Robert A. Goldwin. 2d. Ed. ed. Chicago: Rand-McNally, 1967. 60-86.
Written as a discussion paper for a conference exploring aspects of liberalism and conservatism in America and published in Left, Right, and Center, edited by Robert A. Goldwin, this essay suggests that neither left nor right has an accurate understanding of… More

Challenge to the Court

– "Challenge to the Court." Rev. of The Warren Revolution: Reflections on the Consensus Society, by L. Brent Bozell. National Review (13 June 1967): 642-44.

Rev. of “Six Crises”

– Rev. of Six Crises, by Richard Nixon. The Individualist, a Newsletter for the Alumni and Friends of Claremont Men's College (November 1962)

Reading the American Heritage

– "Reading the American Heritage." Claremont Reading Conference Yearbook. Claremont: Claremont Men's College, 1962. 57-63.

The Federalist’s View of Federalism

– "The Federalist's View of Federalism." Essays in Federalism. George C. S. Benson, et al., Claremont: Institute for Studies in Federalism, 1961. 21--64.
A careful reading of The Federalist, Diamond argues in this essay published in 1961 by the Claremont Institute for Studies in Federalism, reveals that—beneath an acknowledgement and dutiful defense of the new Constitution’s federal elements—Publius… More

Lincoln’s Greatness

– "An Excerpt from Lincoln's Greatness." Interpretation 8.2,3 (May 1980): 22-25. Also in "With Firmness in the Right...: Two Addresses on Abraham Lincoln" Claremont: Claremont Men's College, 1960. 15-21.
In this portion of a speech originally published by Claremont Men’s College in 1960 and reprinted in an issue of Interpretation in 1980, Diamond suggests that the greatness we attribute to Abraham Lincoln was not so much produced by the American regime… More

Democracy and The Federalist: A Reconsideration of the Framers’ Intent

– "Democracy and The Federalist: A Reconsideration of the Framers' Intent." American Political Science Review 53.1 (1959): 52-68.
In this essay, which appeared in the American Political Science Review in 1959, Diamond introduces his claim that the Constitution’s framers intended a democratic form of government for the United States, in the face of decades of scholarship that… More

American Political Thought and the Study of Politics: Comment on McCloskey

– "American Political Thought and the Study of Politics:  Comment on McCloskey." American Political Science Review 51.1 (March 1957): 130-34.
Excerpt: McCloskey’s essay offers a justification for and an approach to the study of American political thought. Justification is needed, as he puts it bluntly and persuasively, because American political thought is second-rate. His proposed approach… More