Congress and the American Tradition

by James Burnham

The central place of Congress in the American political tradition, the decline of its power and prestige during the 20th century, and the possibilities of restoring its influence constitute the themes of this brilliant book.

Part I of Congress and the American Tradition provides a classic exposition of the original principles of American government. Part II is a reasoned, dispassionate assessment of the present position of Congress. Part III is a realistic evaluation of the future of Congress.

Steering a middle road between wishful thinking and prophecies of doom, Burnham presents his subject with clear-eyed calmness. "The choice of liberty, made for us at the nation's beginning by the Founding Fathers, is now up for review." Refusing to harangue or cajole, he leaves us free to choose as we wish.

Genres: Politics, History, American

Paperback

First published January 15, 1959

About the author

James Burnham was an American popular political theorist, best known for his influential work The Managerial Revolution, published in 1941. Burnham was a radical activist in the 1930s and an important factional leader of the American Trotskyist movement. In later years, as his thinking developed, he left Marxism and produced his seminal work The Managerial Revolution. He later turned to conservatism and served as a public intellectual of the conservative movement. He also wrote regularly for the conservative publication National Review on a variety of topics.


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Reviews

[John W. Redelfs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book while still in high school in 1962. It left a deep impact on me to this day. It outlines in the history of Supreme Court decisions the steady transfer of congressional power to the executive branch of government long ago frustrating the checks and balances designed into the Constitution by the Founders. Today the balance of power is so lopsided in favor of the executive branch that the separation of powers is no longer able to maintain that balance and we are nearing the end of representative self-government because of it. When that happens, the Republic is dead and we will be no better or more free than any of the other nations of the world. The American dream is coming to an end. It makes me really sad.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Burnham makes a great historical argument that the legislature and not the executive is the key to liberty and constitutional government. At the time this book was written congress was being weakened by an increasingly powerful executive. The last few decades congress seems to be getting some of its power back, but definitely not the norm that was seen before the 1930s. All in all a great read that helped me to think more about the roles of the various branhes of government, especially in light of the cult of the American presidency supported by both major political parties.

[The American Conservative · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A very good critique of executive power, defense of legislative government, and explanation of the difference between mass-based politics and an ordered constitutional system."
- Daniel McCarthy