The Failure of the Founding Fathers

Jefferson, Marshall, and the Rise of Presidential Democracy

Bruce Ackerman

    Part One: The People's President

    Introduction: America on the Brink

    1. The Original Misunderstanding

    2. John Marshall for President

    3. Jefferson Counts Himself In

    4. On the Brink

    5. What Went Right?

    Part Two: The People and the Court

    Introduction: Constitutional Brinksmanship

    6. Federalist Counterattack

    7. Republican Triumph

    8. Marbury v. Stuart

    9. Presidential Purge

    10. Synthesis

    11. Reverberations

    Documents

    Horatius's Presidential Knot

    Judge Bassett's Protest

    Notes

    Acknowledgments

    Index

  • Cover: The Failure of the Founding Fathers
  • A photo of the author

Photo by Harold Shapirox

Bruce Ackerman is Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University.