The Pendulum of Politics: Today's Politics from Yesterday's History (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781456719197)

Random Contents: Common Sense, Manifest Destiny, Pig War, Newberg Conspiracy, Nullification Theory, Patrick Henry, Palin's Future, Global Economy, Isolationism, Alexis de Tocqueville, Line Item Veto, Laissez Faire, Manifest Destiny, Baseball, Petticoat Affair, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Electoral College, Haymarket Riot, Term Limits, Uncle Sam Alexander Hamilton, Ground Zero, John C. Calhoun, Pledge to America, Martin Van Buren, KKK, John Dickinson, Thomas Nast, Parliament, Teddy Bear, James Otis, Immigration, Silent Cal, Gulf of Tonkin, Nathan Hale, Corrupt Bargain, Recall, Ben Franklin, Slavery, Watergate, Paul Revere, Muslims, Emancipation Proclamation, John Marshall, Nisei, Tea Party, Domino Theory, Aaron Burr, Prayer in School, Robert E. Lee, Robber Barons, Checks and Balances, Great Society, Outsourcing, Know Nothing Party, Thomas Paine, Tariff of Abominations, Frances Perkins, Bleeding Kansas, Tippecanoe, Dixiecrats, Andrew Carnegie, Reaganomics, Little Rock, John Brown, Bracero Program, Victory Gardens, Eli Whitney, al-Qaeda, SAC, Isolationism, Jefferson Davis, Square Deal, Herbert Hoover, Patriot Act, Confederation, Federalism.

After reading the random contents one can see the variety of the topics covered. I conclude the book with 5 major recommendations for the improvement of American politics. Read these and decide if they would also be yours. Read the rankings of the Presidents as for their beliefs and actions in Federalism or Confederation.

What do you think was the biggest waste of time, the invention that most changed mankind, the worst vote in History, the worst legislation, the most important message, the most patriotic American, the biggest question in History, the simplest invention that caused the biggest change, the biggest question in American history and the biggest mistake that turned out to be the greatest fortune for the United States and who was the first to use the phrase the United States of America.

Alexis de Tocqueville said," The will of the nation is one of those phrases which have been most largely abused by the wily and the despotic of every age."

So do we govern by elections or by opinion polls? Read the book to find out.