Knowingo
Try 7 days free
The cover of Inventing the People: The Rise of Popular Sovereignty in England and America

Inventing the People: The Rise of Popular Sovereignty in England and America

Edmund S. Morgan

Governments of every kind rest on useful fictions, so how did the idea that the people are sovereign come to be invented in England and America?

Get the app Read on the web

At a glance

Author
Edmund S. Morgan

Why read it

  • You will see that even free governments depend on shared stories that do not quite match the facts
  • You will understand why those who govern the many must keep winning their opinion, not only use force
  • You will learn how an idea used to challenge a king can grow into something its first users never imagined

Who it is for

  • A citizen curious where the idea of government by the people began
  • Someone skeptical of political slogans who wants to see how they work
  • A student of politics asking why the many obey the few

Contents

  1. Part One • Origins
  2. 1 The Divine Right of Kings
  3. 2 The Enigma of Representation
  4. 3 Inventing the Sovereign People
  5. 4 The People’s Two Bodies
  6. 5 The Cautious Revolution
  7. 6 Colonial Peoples
  8. Part Two • Useful Ambiguities
  9. 7 The People in Arms: The Invincible Yeoman
  10. 8 The People’s Choice: Elections and Electioneering
  11. 9 The People’s Voice: Instructions, Petitions, Associations
  12. Part Three • The American Way
  13. 10 The Incautious Revolution
  14. 11 Inventing an American People
  15. Epilogue: From Deference to Leadership

More books like this