• Introduction: E pluribus unum
• James Madison, the "federal negative," and the making of the U.S. Constitution (1787)
• Battle over a bank: defining the limits of federal power under a new constitution (1791)
• Democracy, sovereignty, and the struggle over Cherokee removal (1836)
• Banking and politics in antebellum New York (1838)
• Property, suffrage, and the "right of revolution" in Rhode Island (1842)
• Debt and democracy: the New York Constitutional Convention of
• 1846
• The struggle over public education in early America (1851)
• A nation divided: the United States and the challenge of secession (1861)
• Race, justice, and the jury system in postbellum Virginia (1880)
• An Australian ballot for California? (1891)
• Labor, capital, and government: the anthracite coal strike of
• 1902
• The jungle and the debate over federal meat inspection (1906)
• The battle over the initiative and referendum in Massachusetts (1918)
• Regulating radio in the age of broadcasting (1927)
• The Pecora hearings (1932-34)
• Martin Luther King and the struggle for black voting rights (1965)
• Democracy and women's rights in America: the fight over the ERA (1982)
• Leadership and independence at the Federal Reserve (2009)
• Citizens United and corporate speech (2010)
• Conclusion
• Appendix: Follow-ups to cases.

To all who declare that American democracy is broken riven by partisanship, undermined by extremism, and corrupted by wealth history offers hope. In nearly every generation since the nation s founding, critics have made similar declarations, and yet the nation is still standing. When should we believe the doomsayers? In Democracy: A Case Study, historian David Moss adapts the case study method made famous by Harvard Business School to revitalize our conversations about governance and democracy and show how the United States has often thrived on political conflict. Democracy s nineteen case studies were honed in Moss s Harvard course, which is among the institution s most highly rated. Each one presents readers with a pivotal moment in U.S. history and raises questions facing key decision makers at the time: Should delegates to the Constitutional Convention support James Madison s proposal for a congressional veto over state laws? Should President Lincoln resupply Fort Sumter? Should Florida lawmakers approve or reject the Equal Rights Amendment?These vibrant cases ask readers to weigh choices and consequences, wrestle with momentous decisions, and come to their own conclusions. They provoke us to rethink which factors make the difference between constructive and destructive conflict, and they provide an opportunity to reengage the passionate debates that are crucial to a healthy society. Democracy: A Case Study invites us all to experience American history anew and come away with a deeper understanding of our democracy s greatest strengths and vulnerabilities as well as its extraordinary resilience over time.".
(source: Nielsen Book Data) 9780674971455 20170306