David J Siemers
Biographic Data
| ID | 1186513 |
|---|---|
| NAME | David J Siemers |
| GIVEN NAMES | David J |
| FAMILY NAME | Siemers |
| SIGNATURE | SIEMERS D J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 11 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 14 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1998 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College
Journal Article Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College? Get access Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College? By Alexander Keyssar. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2020. 531 pp. $35.00.) David J Siemers David J Siemers University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of American History, Volume 109, Issue 1, June 2022, Pages 129–130, https://doi.org/10.…
Squire, Peverill. The Rise of the Representative
Squire, Peverill. The Rise of the Representative: Lawmakers and Constituents in Colonial America." Congress & the Presidency, 45(2), pp. 220–221
The American Dream in History, Politics, and Fiction
The thesis at the heart of this learned romp through American history and literature is that the nation’s great authors have never bought what its politicians were selling. On sale has been the “American Dream,” “the promise that...hard work and fair play will almost certainly lead to success” (6). In careful summaries, Jillson shows that America’s great novels doubt the Dream’s attainability for reasons of psychology, culture, gender norms, and …
Imperial from the Beginning
Wouldn't it be nice if we could have an American presidency that was not too strong, not too weak, but just right? Saikrishna Bangalore Prakash argues he has found the formula to achieve this ideal in Imperial from the Beginning. Prakash lays out an understanding of the American executive between “those fearful of executive authority,” who require all presidential action to be justified by “specific grants of authority found in Article II, sectio…
Madison's Metronome
Journal Article Madison's Metronome: The Constitution, Majority Rule, and the Tempo of American Politics Get access Madison's Metronome: The Constitution, Majority Rule, and the Tempo of American Politics. By Greg Weiner. (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2012. xiv, 194 pp. $29.95.) David J. Siemers David J. Siemers University of Wisconsin, OshkoshOshkosh, Wisconsin [email protected] Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic …
Presidential Coequality
The assertion that the presidency is coequal in power to the other branches in the American system of government is often heard, has been suggested by all recent presidents, and has even made its way into political science. But tracing the history of the concept demonstrates that this assertion is an invention of quite recent vintage. Those who wrote and favored the Constitution did not make such claims, nor did early presidents. Even Andrew Jack…
Presidents and political thought
""What did the president know and when did he know it?" takes on a whole new meaning in Presidents and Political Thought. Though political philosophy is sometimes considered to be dry and abstract, many of our presidents have found usable ideas embedded within it. In this first comparative study of presidents and political theory David Siemers examines how some of them have applied this specialized knowledge to their job." "Presidents and Politic…
Theories about Theory
This article examines several claims about how James Madison's acquaintance with political theory affected his performance in office. These “theories about theory” come in two varieties: content‐based and “nature of theory itself” arguments. The content‐based arguments posit that a politician has accepted and used the ideas of a specific political theorist. The nature of theory itself arguments suggest that it is the act of theorizing or applying…
Bill Clinton's Contractarian World view
Bill Clinton's worldview has a serious but still almost wholly unappreciated intellectual provenance, with deep ties to two strands of social contract theory and an informed sensitivity to historical development. Yet Clinton forcefully articulated this worldview to the public only sporadically. The complexity and obscurity of his governing philosophy prevented most observers from understanding it. Inconsistent public articulation kept those who u…
Welfare and the Constitution
Welfare and the Constitution
Principled Pragmatism
Abraham Lincoln's method of political analysis is reminiscent of Niccolo Machiavelli’s. Both Lincoln and Machiavelli continually assessed political context with a goal in mind: to logically order their principles to best achieve them in practice. Lincoln's own words suggest that he faced five distinct political contexts during his lifetime. Each of these contexts led him to reconsider which of his commitments—to universal rights, the law, Union, …
Ratifying in the Republic
Constitutional Dialogues
It is Natural to Care for the Crazy Machine”
The classical problem of any opposition . . . is how much to oppose and by what means.Przeworski quoted in Issues in Democratic Consolidation: The New South American Democracies in Comparative Perspective, e d. Scott Mainwaring, Guillermo O'Donnell and J. Samuel Valenzuela (Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1992), 124.Adam PrzeworskiEven if members of an opposition group could be entirely uniform in their beliefs and goals, there …
Madison's Metronome
Journal Article Madison's Metronome: The Constitution, Majority Rule, and the Tempo of American Politics Get access Madison's Metronome: The Constitution, Majority Rule, and the Tempo of American Politics. By Greg Weiner. (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2012. xiv, 194 pp. $29.95.) David J. Siemers David J. Siemers University of Wisconsin, OshkoshOshkosh, Wisconsin [email protected] Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic …
It is Natural to Care for the Crazy Machine”
The classical problem of any opposition . . . is how much to oppose and by what means.Przeworski quoted in Issues in Democratic Consolidation: The New South American Democracies in Comparative Perspective, e d. Scott Mainwaring, Guillermo O'Donnell and J. Samuel Valenzuela (Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1992), 124.Adam PrzeworskiEven if members of an opposition group could be entirely uniform in their beliefs and goals, there …
Welfare and the Constitution
Welfare and the Constitution
Principled Pragmatism
Abraham Lincoln's method of political analysis is reminiscent of Niccolo Machiavelli’s. Both Lincoln and Machiavelli continually assessed political context with a goal in mind: to logically order their principles to best achieve them in practice. Lincoln's own words suggest that he faced five distinct political contexts during his lifetime. Each of these contexts led him to reconsider which of his commitments—to universal rights, the law, Union, …
Ratifying in the Republic
Constitutional Dialogues
Theories about Theory
This article examines several claims about how James Madison's acquaintance with political theory affected his performance in office. These “theories about theory” come in two varieties: content‐based and “nature of theory itself” arguments. The content‐based arguments posit that a politician has accepted and used the ideas of a specific political theorist. The nature of theory itself arguments suggest that it is the act of theorizing or applying…
Bill Clinton's Contractarian World view
Bill Clinton's worldview has a serious but still almost wholly unappreciated intellectual provenance, with deep ties to two strands of social contract theory and an informed sensitivity to historical development. Yet Clinton forcefully articulated this worldview to the public only sporadically. The complexity and obscurity of his governing philosophy prevented most observers from understanding it. Inconsistent public articulation kept those who u…
Presidents and political thought
""What did the president know and when did he know it?" takes on a whole new meaning in Presidents and Political Thought. Though political philosophy is sometimes considered to be dry and abstract, many of our presidents have found usable ideas embedded within it. In this first comparative study of presidents and political theory David Siemers examines how some of them have applied this specialized knowledge to their job." "Presidents and Politic…
Presidential Coequality
The assertion that the presidency is coequal in power to the other branches in the American system of government is often heard, has been suggested by all recent presidents, and has even made its way into political science. But tracing the history of the concept demonstrates that this assertion is an invention of quite recent vintage. Those who wrote and favored the Constitution did not make such claims, nor did early presidents. Even Andrew Jack…
Madison's Metronome
Journal Article Madison's Metronome: The Constitution, Majority Rule, and the Tempo of American Politics Get access Madison's Metronome: The Constitution, Majority Rule, and the Tempo of American Politics. By Greg Weiner. (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2012. xiv, 194 pp. $29.95.) David J. Siemers David J. Siemers University of Wisconsin, OshkoshOshkosh, Wisconsin [email protected] Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic …
Imperial from the Beginning
Wouldn't it be nice if we could have an American presidency that was not too strong, not too weak, but just right? Saikrishna Bangalore Prakash argues he has found the formula to achieve this ideal in Imperial from the Beginning. Prakash lays out an understanding of the American executive between “those fearful of executive authority,” who require all presidential action to be justified by “specific grants of authority found in Article II, sectio…
The American Dream in History, Politics, and Fiction
The thesis at the heart of this learned romp through American history and literature is that the nation’s great authors have never bought what its politicians were selling. On sale has been the “American Dream,” “the promise that...hard work and fair play will almost certainly lead to success” (6). In careful summaries, Jillson shows that America’s great novels doubt the Dream’s attainability for reasons of psychology, culture, gender norms, and …
Squire, Peverill. The Rise of the Representative
Squire, Peverill. The Rise of the Representative: Lawmakers and Constituents in Colonial America." Congress & the Presidency, 45(2), pp. 220–221
Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College
Journal Article Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College? Get access Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College? By Alexander Keyssar. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2020. 531 pp. $35.00.) David J Siemers David J Siemers University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of American History, Volume 109, Issue 1, June 2022, Pages 129–130, https://doi.org/10.…
Political science (13 works) · Law (12 works) · Law (11 works) · American Constitutional Law and Politics (10 works) · Politics (10 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Law and economics (6 works) · History (5 works) · Philosophy (5 works) · Presidential system (5 works)