{"product_id":"eminent-victorians-on-american-democracy","title":"Eminent Victorians on American Democracy","description":"\u003cp\u003eEminent Victorians on American Democracy surveys a wide range of British opinion on the United States in the nineteenth century. It highlights the views of John Stuart Mill, Walter Bagehot, Sir Henry Maine, and James Bryce, who wrote extensively on American government and society. America was significant to them not only because it was the world's most advanced democracy, but also because it was a political experiment that was seen to anticipate the future\n\u003cbr\u003eof Britain.The Victorians made a memorable contribution to the continuing debate over the character and origins of democracy through their perceptive examination of issues ranging from the\n\u003cbr\u003eUS Constitution to its practical application, from the Supreme Court to the party system. Their trenchant commentary punctures several popular American assumptions, not least the idea of 'exceptionalism'.What distinguishes the Victorian writers was their willingness to examine the US Constitution dispassionately at a time when Americans treated it as a sacred document. Although the United States has changed dramatically since they wrote, much of their commentary remains\n\u003cbr\u003eremarkably prescient, if only because the American government retains so much of its eighteenth-century character. Today, when rival American priesthoods see the Constitution in the light of their\n\u003cbr\u003eparticular altars, it is worth revisiting what leading Victorians had to say about it.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44156820717806,"sku":"9780199653799","price":60.2,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/9612\/7726\/files\/9780199653799.jpg?v=1706216764","url":"https:\/\/bookland.com.au\/products\/eminent-victorians-on-american-democracy","provider":"Book Land AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}