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  • The Right of the People to Rule

     |  Progressive Rejection of the Founding

    The Right of the People to Rule The Right of the People to Rule 1 Theodore Roosevelt Roosevelt relinquished the presidency in 1908, believing that his Progressive legacy lay safely in the hands of his handpicked successor, William Howard Taft. Although Taft expanded many of Roosevelt's policies and succeeded in passing through Congress the Sixteenth Amendment, permitting a national income tax, Roosevelt challenged Taft in the 1912 Republican primary. Losing the nomination, he announced an independent candidacy under the banner of the Progressive or "Bull Moose" Party. In this campaign speech, he urges more direct power to the people through recall elections, referenda and initiatives, and direct primaries. March 20, 1912 The great fundamental issue now before ...
  • What Good's a Constitution?

     |  New Deal and Great Society

    What Good's a Constitution What Good's a Constitution? 1 Winston Churchill (1874-1965) Written soon after Franklin Roosevelt's Democratic Convention Address of 1936, this article by British statesman Winston Churchill points to the wide gulf between Churchill's and Roosevelt's economic views, even if five years later they would forge a close wartime alliance. Beyond their differences on economics, Churchill sees the American Constitution as an enduring source of strength for the American republic, not an obstacle to be overcome. August 22, 1936 No one can think clearly or sensibly about this vast and burning topic without in the first instance making up his mind upon the fundamental issue. Does he value the State above the citizen, or the citizen above the State ...
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