Democracy : a case study / David A. Moss.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: E pluribus unum -- James Madison, the 'federal negative,' and the making of the U.S. Constitution -- Battle over a bank: defining the limits of federal power under a new constitution (1787-1791) -- Democracy, sovereignty, and the struggle over Cherokee removal -- Banking and politics in antebellum New York -- Property, suffrage, and the "right of revolution" in Rhode Island -- Debt and democracy: the New York Constitutional Convention of 1846 -- The struggle over public education in early America -- A nation divided: the United States and the challenge of secession -- Race, justice, and the jury system in postbellum Virginia -- Labor, capital, and government: the anthracite coal strike of 1902 -- An Australian ballot for California? -- The jungle and the debate over federal meat inspection in 1906 -- Direct democracy or directed democracy?: the battle over the initiative and referendum in Massachusetts -- Regulating radio in the age of broadcasting -- The Pecora hearings (1932-34) -- Martin Luther King and the struggle for black voting rights -- Democracy and women's rights in America: the fight over the ERA -- Leadership and independence at the Federal Reserve (2007-2009) -- Citizens United and corporate speech.

Historian David Moss adapts the case study method made famous by Harvard Business School to revitalize our conversations about governance and democracy and show how the United States has often thrived on political conflict. These 19 cases ask us to weigh choices and consequences, wrestle with momentous decisions, and come to our own conclusions.-- Provided by publisher