Corruption in America: from Benjamin Franklin's snuff box to Citizens United
When Louis XVI presented Benjamin Franklin with a snuff box encrusted with diamonds and inset with the King's portrait, the gift troubled Americans: it threatened to "corrupt" Franklin by clouding his judgment or altering his attitude toward the French in subtle psychological ways. This broad understanding of political corruption--rooted in ideals of civic virtue--was a driving force at the Constitutional Convention.
For two centuries the framers' ideas about corruption flourished in the courts, even in the absence of clear rules governing voters, civil officers, and elected officials. Should a law that was passed by a state legislature be overturned because half of its members were bribed? What kinds of lobbying activity were corrupt, and what kinds were legal? When does an implicit promise count as bribery? In the 1970s the U.S. Supreme Court began to narrow the definition of corruption, and the meaning has since changed dramatically. No case makes that clearer than Citizens United .
In 2010, one of the most consequential Court decisions in American political history gave wealthy corporations the right to spend unlimited money to influence elections. Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority opinion treated corruption as nothing more than explicit bribery, a narrow conception later echoed by Chief Justice Roberts in deciding McCutcheon v. FEC in 2014. With unlimited spending transforming American politics for the worse, warns Zephyr Teachout, Citizens United and McCutcheon were not just bad law but bad history. If the American experiment in self-government is to have a future, then we must revive the traditional meaning of corruption and embrace an old ideal.
Judicial corruption
Judicial corruption -- United States -- History
Moral and ethical aspects
Political corruption
Political corruption -- United States -- History
Political culture
Political culture -- United States
Politics and government
United States -- Politics and government -- Moral and ethical aspects
9781494527945
Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | dbb2ea57-b840-7862-4ace-cb2b0c4743f8 |
---|---|
Grouping Title | corruption in america from benjamin franklins snuff box to citizens united |
Grouping Author | teachout zephyr |
Grouping Category | book |
Last Grouping Update | 2019-02-13 03:57:04AM |
Last Indexed | 2019-02-21 04:29:50AM |
Solr Details
accelerated_reader_interest_level | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
accelerated_reader_point_value | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
accelerated_reader_reading_level | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
auth_author2 | Perrin, Jo Anna, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
author | Teachout, Zephyr, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
author2-role | Perrin, Jo Anna,narrator., hoopla digital. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
author_display | Teachout, Zephyr | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
detailed_location_boulder | Boulder Main Adult NonFiction, Online Hoopla Collection | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
display_description | In 2010, one of the most consequential Court decisions in American political history gave wealthy corporations the right to spend unlimited money to influence elections. Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority opinion treated corruption as nothing more than explicit bribery, a narrow conception later echoed by Chief Justice Roberts in deciding McCutcheon v. FEC in 2014. With unlimited spending transforming American politics for the worse, warns Zephyr Teachout, Citizens United and McCutcheon were not just bad law but bad history. If the American experiment in self-government is to have a future, then we must revive the traditional meaning of corruption and embrace an old ideal. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
format_boulder | Book, eAudiobook | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
format_category_boulder | Audio Books, Books, eBook | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
id | dbb2ea57-b840-7862-4ace-cb2b0c4743f8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
isbn | 9780674050402, 9781494527945 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
item_details | hoopla:MWT11248978||Online Hoopla Collection|Online Hoopla|eAudiobook|Audio Books|1|false|true|Hoopla||https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/11248978||Available Online||||, ils:.b22156148|.i26391661|Boulder Main Adult NonFiction|364.1323 Teac|||1|false|false|||||Due Mar 5, 2019|Nov 03, 2018|bmnfa|| | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
itype_boulder | , hardcover book | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
last_indexed | 2019-02-21T11:29:50.465Z | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
lexile_score | -1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
literary_form | Non Fiction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
literary_form_full | Non Fiction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
local_callnumber_boulder | 364.1323 Teac | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
owning_library_boulder | Boulder Public Library | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
owning_location_boulder | Boulder Main Library | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
primary_isbn | 9780674050402 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
publishDate | 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
record_details | hoopla:MWT11248978|eAudiobook|Audio Books|Unabridged.|English|Tantor Audio ,|2014.|1 online resource (1 audio file (9hr., 35 min.)) : digital., ils:.b22156148|Book|Books||English|Harvard University Press,|2014.|viii, 376 pages ; 22 cm. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
recordtype | grouped_work | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
scoping_details_boulder
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
subject_facet | Judicial corruption -- United States -- History, Political corruption -- United States -- History, Political culture -- United States, United States -- Politics and government -- Moral and ethical aspects | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
title_display | Corruption in America : from Benjamin Franklin's snuff box to Citizens United | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
title_full | Corruption in America : from Benjamin Franklin's snuff box to Citizens United / Zephyr Teachout, Corruption in America : from Benjamin Franklin's snuff box to Citizens United [electronic resource] / Zephyr Teachout | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
title_short | Corruption in America : | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
title_sub | from Benjamin Franklin's snuff box to Citizens United | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
topic_facet | History, Judicial corruption, Moral and ethical aspects, Political corruption, Political culture, Politics and government |