Progressive Challenges to the American Constitution : A New Republic

This book details the origins and implications of American progressivism, the movement that has thoroughly rejected the Founders' Constitution of limited government. The arguments of the book are vital for understanding central problems of American politics in the twenty-first century - including the reasons behind the incredible expansion of government powers.

In this volume, Bradley C. S. Watson brings together the leading scholars who have sparked one of the most important intellectual and political movements of our times: the criticism of the progressive intellectual synthesis that has dominated American thought and politics over much of the last century, and has provided the framework in which the administrative state has expanded and flourished. The contributors address the most important questions raised by this movement: what is the meaning of progressivism? What is the nature of the Founders' Constitution and the progressive challenges to it? What is the significance of recent scholarship and public opinion that have arisen in opposition to the progressive vision? What are the implications of American progressivism for twenty-first century politics and policy? Progressive Challenges to the American Constitution addresses the growing doubt about the scope and sustainability of expanded government power.