American Dialogue: The Founders and Us, by Joseph J. Ellis. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2018. 283 pp. Reviewed by Edward Spannaus , November 29, 2018 This is both an ambitious and a provocative book. Joseph Ellis, who taught college-level American history for decades, takes the major debates among the […]
The sixth and final article in the series “The Supreme Court Affirms the American System.” Sept. 17, 2018–We publish this article today to commemorate Constitution Day, the 231st anniversary of the signing of the founding document of the United States of America. It was Supreme Court Justice John Marshall who […]
By Edward Spannaus July 25, 2018–Zack Carter’s attack on the doctrine of free trade as colonialism (HuffPost, July 22) might strike many contemporary readers as radical and over-the-top. But if it does, this is only due to Americans’ ignorance of their own history, as pointed out in a posting on […]
by Edward Spannaus Fifth of a series. The first four parts of this series, devoted to “John Marshall and the American System” can be found here. July 23, 2018–With the help of American System champion Henry Clay and his supporters, John Quincy Adams was elected President in early 1825, after […]
By Edward Spannaus June 15, 2018–Much ink has been spilt over President Donald Trump’s use of his pardoning power. Yet his use of that power is entirely consistent with the powers granted to the President by the U.S. Constitution, and with the intent of its Framers. It is refreshing to […]
By Edward Spannaus Part One- Marshall’s Supreme Court Affirms American System Part Two- Creating Legal Infrastructure for a National Economy Part Three- Virginia’s Assault on the Marshall Court Part Four- Steamboat Case Clears Way for the American System Part Five – Marshall Defends the American System against Jacksonian Populism. […]
by Edward Spannaus Fourth in a series on The Supreme Court Affirms the American System It is not immoderate to say that no other judicial pronouncement in history was so wedded to the inventive genius of man and so interwoven with the economic and social evolution of a nation and […]
by Edward Spannaus Third in the series “The Supreme Court Affirms the American System” May 3, 2018–Six weeks after his March 1819 monumental opinion in McCullough vs. Maryland, Chief Justice John Marshall, having returned to Richmond, wrote to Associate Justice Joseph Story: “Our opinion in the Bank case has aroused […]
Part II of The Supreme Court Affirms the American System by Edward Spannaus April 17, 2018–As we discussed in the first article in this series, John Marshall’s monumental ruling in McCullough vs. Maryland not only upheld the constitutionality of the National Bank, but it established in American law the principle that […]
April 10, 2019—The following press release was issued by Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) yesterday. It puts back on the Congressional agenda one of the urgent actions required to curb Wall Street speculation, and put the United States back on the path of the American System. The Bill number is HR […]
By Nancy Spannaus April 7, 2019—This afternoon I had my first book-signing event, which was held at the historical museum in my home town of Lovettsville, Virginia (population 1600). I am pleased to report that it was a success. Ten people came, and I sold and signed 11 copies of […]
Is Taxing the Rich Really “un-American?”
By Edward Spannaus Feb. 3, 2019–In the current climate of attacks on any proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy – labelling such proposals as “radical,” “socialist” if not communistic, a slippery slope leading inevitably to Venezuela, and so forth – it would be difficult to overstate the appalling ignorance […]