Background
Charles E. Merriam was born on November 15, 1874 in Hopkinton, lowa, the son of a postmaster and merchant.
(Excerpt from New Aspects of Politics All of these lead t...)
Excerpt from New Aspects of Politics All of these lead to lowered productivity and lowered good feeling, each of which affects the oth er in making up the sum of human well-being. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(Excerpt from American Political Ideas: Studies in the Dev...)
Excerpt from American Political Ideas: Studies in the Development of American Political Thought, 1865-1917 In 1903, the writer presented "A History of American Political Theories." That study, with the exception of one chapter on "Recent Tendencies," dealt with the development of political thought down to the Civil War. The present volume is an attempt to outline some of the chief tendencies in our fundamental political thinking from the close of the Civil War to the beginning of the American participation in the recent war. The purpose of the writer is to trace the broad currents of American political thought in their relation to the social, economic and political tendencies of the time. Sometimes these ideas have been best expressed in political institutions; sometimes in laws, judicial decisions, administration, or customs; again, in the utterances of statesmen and publicists or leaders of various causes; sometimes by the formal statements of the systematic philosophers. This study traces the main lines, the typical forms of political ideas, in their relation to each other and to the conditions out of which they grew. Some of these doctrines are thinly disguised pleas for group interests; others are parts of the great process by which the experience and counsel of the leaders, statesmen and sages are woven into the web of social and political control; others are relatively impartial and technical studies of social or political science. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
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(A History of American Political Theories is a comprehensi...)
A History of American Political Theories is a comprehensive attempt to understand the full sweep of American political thought since the founding. Working within the liberal-progressive tradition, Merriam reviewed American political history in its entirety, from the founding down to his own day. He was not out to reduce political thought to a single element such as economics alone; his aim was to encompass the whole of modern social science. The political science of the liberal-progressive tradition has roots and assumptions that were born in this period and nurtured by scholars such as Merriam. The progressive tradition in general and Merriam in particular interpreted the rise of a new science of politics that would be required for the liberal-progressive world view he represented. His work stands at a momentous fork in the road; two great traditions of how American democracy should be understood, interpreted, and analyzed parted company and afterward each went their separate ways. These traditions are represented, respectively, by the founders and the liberal-progressives. There was much at stake in these academic debates, though the consequences were not entirely foreseen at the time. An overview of the authors, works, and general source material covered in History of American Political Theories is impressive. Merriam viewed the study of American democracy as an eclectic activity embracing the broadest definition of the social sciences, with particular emphasis on psychology. Such a transformation required that the social sciences be grouped as a whole rather than fragmented into separate and distinct academic departments.
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(This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)
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(Merriam, C.E., Jr. History of the Theory of Sovereignty S...)
Merriam, C.E., Jr. History of the Theory of Sovereignty Since Rousseau. New York: Columbia University Press, 1900. x, 11-233 pp. Reprinted 1999 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. LCCN 98-32385. ISBN 1-886363-76-5. Cloth. $65. Reprint of the Columbia University Press edition of 1900, from the Studies in History, Economics and Public Law series published by Columbia University. "... a full and useful account of the chief doctrines put forward on the subject, not stating a theory of his own, but adding pertinent criticisms on the views which he summarizes." Marke, A Catalogue of the Law Collection of New York University (1953) 948. Chapters include The Kantian Theory, The Patrimonial Theory, Sovereignty and the American Union, Federalism and Continental Theory, Popular and State Sovereignty. With bibliographical notes. Catalogue of the Library of the Law School of Harvard University (1909) II:105.
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Charles E. Merriam was born on November 15, 1874 in Hopkinton, lowa, the son of a postmaster and merchant.
He attended Lenox College and began the study of law at lowa State University. Disillusioned with the legal profession, he studied social science at Columbia College, New York City.
After studying in Germany, he returned to teach political science at the University of Chicago, where he remained until his death-a total of 51 years. Public Office Despite Merriam's prolific and illuminating writings, his scholarship was overshadowed by his public career. Not without some misgivings on the part of his superiors, Merriam heeded his conviction that political scientists should apply their learning by way of participation in political affairs. In 1905 he made a successful official study of the Chicago tax structure and 2 years later was appointed secretary of that city's Harbor Commission. Since the commission was involved in studying some of the most complex and bothersome problems of Chicago politics, Merriam gained not only invaluable experience but wide political exposure that led to his election to the city council in 1909. He immediately tackled the problem of fraud and graft in the city. The council reacted by cutting off funds for his investigation, but he secured the necessary funds from a private donor and with almost flagrant disregard for his political life completed the investigation. Ironically this action contributed to his lack of success in his campaign for mayor of Chicago (on the Republican ticket). After an abortive effort to breathe life into the Progressive party, he was again elected to the city council (1913 - 1917). In World War I Merriam served as the American high commissioner of public information in Italy, after which he made a futile attempt to reenter Chicago politics. The next 25 years were devoted to his professional interests. He served on presidential commissions for Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, and Harry Truman, and he wrote and lectured extensively. Charles Merriam retired from the University of Chicago in 1940, at the age of 66. He was the last director of the Lucy Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Fund, acting in that capacity from 1940 until its merger with the Rockefeller Foundation in 1949. Charles Merriam died on January 8, 1953, at Hilltop Hospital in Rockville, Maryland, after a long illness. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
(Excerpt from New Aspects of Politics All of these lead t...)
(Excerpt from American Political Ideas: Studies in the Dev...)
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(An important book.)
(Merriam, C.E., Jr. History of the Theory of Sovereignty S...)
A Better Democracy Merriam was preoccupied with two goals: critically examining and perfecting democracy and bridging the gap in political science between theory and practice. Democracy, he believed, was "not merely a form . .. but a means, through which the highest ideals of mankind may be achieved. " In countering any attack upon democracy, he joined those who sought the cure for the ills of democracy in more democracy. He countered the argument that democracy was inefficient by holding that it did not have to be efficient, that "freedom and inefficiency are not opposites. " Through scientific management, a strengthening of the executive by way of the item veto, centralized budget, and expertise, a democratically directed science could rid man of all his problems-not by creating a Marxian universal proletariat but by eliminating the oppressed proletariat if not indeed the proletariat as a class. The stronger, more efficient executive would be democratically controlled by way of initiative, referendum, and recall.
Quotations:
"Rights are considered to have their source not in nature, but in law. "
"From the standpoint of modern political science the slave holders were right in declaring that liberty can be given only to those who have political capacity enough to use it, and they were also right in maintaining that two greatly unequal races cannot exist side by side on terms of perfect equality. "
"Chicago is unique. It is the only completely corrupt city in America. "
"The influence of the German school is most obvious in relation to the contract theory of the origin of the state and the idea of the function of the state. The theory that the state originates in an agreement between men was assailed by the German thinkers and the historical, organic, evolutionary idea substituted for it. "
"Rights do not belong to men simply as men, but because of the superior qualities, physical, intellectual, moral or political, which are characteristic of certain individuals or races. "
"In speaking of natural rights, therefore, it is essential to remember that these alleged rights have no political force whatsoever, unless recognized and enforced by the state. "
"It is denied that any limit can be set to governmental activity. "
"It not infrequently happens that persons without any other special qualification than the drama of their lives are precipitated into important political positions. "
Largely because of Merriam's efforts to bring political science into touch with the real world, he is sometimes identified as the father of behavioral political science, believing that one could learn about politics only through the observation of "real" government and political behavior. He was, however, suspicious of quantification and was not, in fact, committed to the methods and techniques of what is now generally called behavioral science.
He married Elizabeth Hilda Doyle in 1900. He had a daughter and three sons.