(Annotated: Contains detailed biographical information and historical context, as well as scholarly analysis of the work, its origins, and its impact, not found in the original book.)
Woodrow Wilson's classic 1885 study of U.S. government and its management through Congress, committees, and cabinet-members, including a comparison to strong parliamentary systems in France and, especially, England. Features a 2011 Foreword and modern compilation by Steven Alan Childress, J.D., Ph.D., a law professor at Tulane, as well as the insightful introductory analysis that Walter Lippmann wrote for later editions.
Quality ebook formatting, active Contents, fully-linked footnotes, and careful proofreading of the text against two original sources. Not just scanned and dumped into an ebook bucket, this work was compiled with pride and attention to detail and usable links.
'Congressional Government' was originally Wilson's dissertation written for the Ph.D. degree, and his first book. In it, he analyzes the difficulties arising from the separation of the legislative and executive powers in the U.S. Constitution, during an era in which — as seen clearly on hindsight — the country was experiencing an atypical series of weak executives. Many of the observations proved ironic in light of his own later presidency. The book is considered to be an excellent work of political and constitutional scholarship. It is still widely read today and assigned to courses in politics and history.
All Legal Legends Series contributions from Quid Pro Books feature true ebook formatting, active links, and care in rendering the author's text, unlike most such digital republications today. And their introductory materials provide context and perspective as to these great works.
On proposing fundamental changes to the system of government: "The Constitution is not honored by blind worship."
On the Vice-President: "His chief dignity, next to presiding over the Senate, lies in the circumstance that he is awaiting the death or disability of the President. And the chief embarrassment in discussing his office is, that in explaining how little there is to be said about it one has evidently said all there is to say."
Woodrow Wilson was destined to be professor and president of Princeton, Governor of New Jersey, President of the U.S., and the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize recipient.
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