Orestes Brownson on the Democratic Principle and the Fourteenth Amendment
Publication Title
American Political Thought
ISSN
21611580
E-ISSN
21611599
Document Type
Article
Abstract
In this article we analyze Orestes Brownson’s opposition to the Fourteenth Amendment in light of his opposition to slavery, rejection of Southern secession, and support for the Thirteenth Amendment. We argue that his principled opposition to the Fourteenth Amendment derives from the same logic as the earlier positions he appears to contradict. To explicate his opposition, we place it within his broader understanding of the American constitutional order. Brownson thought that the Fourteenth Amendment would do little for African Americans, only enhancing the entrenched powers of Northern business elites while undermining the American republic. Brownson attributed the push for the amendment to the unfolding of what he called humanitarian democracy and the democratic principle. He argued that the democratic principle, once institutionalized within the legal framework of the American republic, would lead to the leveling of social and political institutions and the centralization of governmental authority to enforce that equality.
First Page
396
Last Page
422
Publication Date
6-1-2020
DOI
10.1086/708733
Recommended Citation
Bartky, Elliot and Clouse, Stephen, "Orestes Brownson on the Democratic Principle and the Fourteenth Amendment" (2020). NIU Bibliography. 580.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/niubib/580
Department
Department of Political Science
