The American Language of Rights (Ideas in Context. Cambridge University Press Series Number 54)

Richard A. Primus. Series edited by Quentin Skinner, Lorraine Daston & James Tully

ISBN 10: 0521652502 / ISBN 13: 9780521652506

Published by Cambridge University Press, UK, 1999

About this Item

1999 1st UK printing. Hardback in jacket. 23.5x16cm. xiv+262 pages with index. Clean & tight book. No inscriptions. Flat pages. Jacket is not torn. Jacket is now under clear removable covers. Dispatched Royal Mail First Class with tracking next working day or sooner securely boxed in cardboard. ref SH13. The American Language of Rights by Richard A. Primus. Ideas in Context. Cambridge University Press Series Number 54. Series edited by Quentin Skinner, Lorraine Daston & James Tully. ---------------- From the front flap: Richard A. Primus examines three crucial periods in American history (the late eighteenth century, the civil war and the 1950s and 1960s) in order to demonstrate how the conceptions of rights prevailing at each of these times grew out of reactions to contemporary social and political crises. His innovative approach sees rights language as grounded more in opposition to concrete social and political practices, than in the universalistic paradigms presented by many political philosophers. This study demonstrates the potency of the language of rights throughout American history, and looks for the first time at the impact of modern totalitarianism (in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union) on American conceptions of rights. The American Language of Rights is a major contribution to contemporary political theory, of interest to scholars and students in politics and government, constitutional law, and American history.

Seller Inventory # 046509

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The American Language of Rights (Ideas in Context. Cambridge University Press Series Number 54)
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, UK
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521652502
• ISBN 13: 9780521652506
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st impression
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

Richard A. Primus examines three crucial periods in American history (the late eighteenth century, the Civil War and the 1950s and 1960s) and demonstrates how the conceptions of rights prevailing at each of these times grew out of opposition to concrete political cases. In the first study of its kind, Primus highlights the influence of totalitarianism (in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union) on the language of rights. This book will be a major contribution to contemporary political theory, of interest to scholars and students in politics and government, constitutional law, and American history.

Review

"This book is a major contribution to contemporary political theory, of interest to scholars and students in politics and government, constitutional law, and American history." Yale Law Report

"This book examines three periods in American history - the late eighteenth century, the Civil War, and the 1950s and 1960s - to demonstrate how the conceptions of rights prevailing during these times grew from reactions to social and political crises. Conceptualizing rights langage as grounded in opposition to concrete social and political practices, Primus explores the potency of rights language throughout American history and the impact of modern totalitarianism on American conceptions of rights." Law and Social Inquiry