Inventing the people
Subtitle: the rise of popular sovereignty in England and America
By: Edmund S. Morgan.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Norton
Published: 1988
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 318
Subjects: Representative government and representation -- Great Britain -- History; Representative government and representation -- United States -- History; Sovereignty -- History
Description: Morgan argues, in effect, that representative democracy is a tool to bolster rule by the powerful few over the many; the majority are thus led to believe they control their own destiny. In this quietly subversive rereading of our history, American colonists perfected the fiction of popular rule by involving voters in extravagant electoral campaigns and by insisting that elected representatives derived their power from their constituents. Meanwhile, elitist colonial rulers who owned considerable property pulled strings to get their way. --from vendor description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.