A Disquisition on Government [Paperback]

John C. Calhoun (Author), H. Lee Cheek Jr. (Editor)

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: St. Augustines Press (September 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587311852
• ISBN-13: 978-1587311857
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #664,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #34 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Political Science > Government
  • #95 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Politics > History & Theory

More About the Author

Dr. H. Lee Cheek, Jr., is Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Professor of Political Science and Religion at Gainesville State College. Dr. Cheek's books include Political Philosophy and Cultural Renewal (Transaction/Rutgers, 2001, with Kathy B. Cheek); Calhoun and Popular Rule, published by the University of Missouri Press (2001; paper edition, 2004); Calhoun: Selected Speeches and Writings (Regnery, 2003); Order and Legitimacy (Transaction/Rutgers, 2004); an edition of Calhoun's A Disquisition on Government (St. Augustine's, 2007); a critical edition of W. H. Mallock's The Limits of Pure Democracy (Transaction/Rutgers, 2007); a monograph on Wesleyan theology (Wesley Studies Society, 2010); and an edition of the classic study, A Theory of Public Opinion (Transaction/Rutgers, 2011). He has also published dozens of scholarly articles in publications like the Journal of Politics, Methodist History, International Social Science Review, Hebraic Political Studies, and is a regular commentator on American politics. Dr. Cheek's current research includes completing an intellectual biography of Francis Graham Wilson (I.S.I. Books), a study of the American Founding (Continuum Publishers), and a book on Patrick Henry's constitutionalism and political theory. He currently serves on the editorial boards of Humanitas, The Political Science Reviewer, and The University Bookman, as a Senior Fellow of the Alexander Hamilton Institute, and as a Fellow of the Academy of Philosophy and Letters (elected). Cheek has been a Fellow of the Wilbur Foundation, the Earhart Foundation, the Center for Judicial Studies, and the Center for International Media Studies. For more information about Dr. Cheek, see www.drleecheek.com.

skype: drleecheek
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Twitter: LeeCheek

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recovering the Concurrent Republic, December 18, 2007

By 

R. Setliff - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Disquisition on Government (Paperback)

~A Disquisition on Government~ deserves a renewed hearing among students of political science. Calhoun's Disquisition was a profoundly reflective parcel of American political thought that typifies what historians characterize as the South Atlantic Republicanism. Calhoun's concept of concurrent majorities and his understanding of the American federal system are deeply reflective. This masterful work was part of a reactionary imperative against the consolidating tendencies of the Jacksonian era. Britain had its Burke. America had its Calhoun.

As Lee Cheek notes, "In articulating the inherited understanding of properly constituted popular rule for his political situation, Calhoun may be called the last of the Founders." Undoubtedly, if we are to ever initiate a meaningful renaissance of federalism and implement needed constitutional reforms within the United States, such a move necessitates the revival of the statesmanship of John Calhoun. So, Dr. Cheek's books are a good place to start.

In the years ahead, as political science advances, and the judgment of history takes hold against the American slip into consolidation, Calhoun will likely receive a renewed hearing. H.L. Cheek, Jr. is to be commended for his scholarship on Calhoun's ideas. Invigorating the body politic entails the rediscovery and subsequent application of Calhoun's statesmanship. Apart from Calhoun's own books, Cheek's scholarship is definitive on the subject.

I highly recommend reading this book in tandem with _Calhoun and Popular Rule: The Political Theory of the Disquisition and Discourse_ by H.L. Cheek, Jr. as well. It is one of the most erudite and illuminating books on the mind of one John C. Calhoun. You can also find his online article, "Calhoun, Sectional Conflict, and Modern America," through the Journal of Libertarian Studies, which is affiliated with the Mises Institute.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ideal Student Edition by a Leading Authority on Calhoun, September 20, 2007

By 

Sean Busick (Athens, Alabama) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Disquisition on Government (Paperback)

Dr. H. Lee Cheek and St. Augustine's Press should be commended for making Calhoun's "Disquisition" available in an inexpensive edition that is ideal for students. The "Disquisition" is one of the most important and original contributions to American political thought. It is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand American history and government. Though there are other editions of Calhoun's treatise, the introduction by Cheek, who established himself as his generation's leading authority on the "Disquisition" with Calhoun and Popular Rule: The Political Theory of the Disquisition and Discourse, sets this one apart.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Iron Man speaks!, December 19, 2008

By 

Jason Carter "President of Aegis Strategies, ... (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Disquisition on Government (Paperback)

John Calhoun, the Iron Man from South Carolina, is often described as the last of the founding fathers, as his contributions to political theory are among the most original in our literature. Calhoun was the anonymous author of nullification writings while sitting as Vice President of the United States!

This essay is a very concise treatment of why American politics will always resolve to the two party system and why another check on Federal power is needed -- what Calhoun terms the "concurrent majority". I consider it essential in understanding the weakness in the checks and balances system and how Consitutional government has devolved over time to popular democracy.