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NEWS RELEASE
Contact: David West (west@nsula.edu
)
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
9/06/2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATCHITOCHES - Northwestern State University Professor of Political Science Dr. Alex Aichinger has published three essays in a new volume on American history written for middle school and high school students.
Aichinger contributed to the volume, "Exploring American History: Colonial Times to 1877," with essays on the Declaration of Independence, Jacksonian Democracy and the Wilmot Proviso.
In his essay on the Declaration of Independence, Aichinger discusses how the document is actually a compliment to the U.S. Constitution.
"The Declaration of Independence is often portrayed as being in conflict with the Constitution this is often done for ideological and partisan reasons," said Aichinger. "When put into proper historical and intellectual context, the Declaration simply announces our break with the King of England and establishes the principle of both a limited government and a mistrust of government. The Constitution, however, outlines the institutions and procedures to accomplish what is set forth in the Declaration."
His second essay explores the phenomenon of Jacksonian Democracy in general and President Andrew Jackson's attempts to expand the powers of the presidency.
"Jackson asserted what is now known as the unitary theory of the presidency, saying in effect that the president is the ultimate and only true representative for all the people of the United States," Aichinger points out. "Jackson believed that he could not only veto laws, but that he could also change them through Presidential Signings. In addition, Jackson thought he had the right to determine the constitutionality of laws without relying on the Supreme Court. Although the unitary theory of the presidency has been used by presidents since the 1800s, currently President George W. Bush is pushing it more aggressively than any other president."
Aichinger said the American Bar Association recently published
a study on the unitary theory of the presidency and indicated
a very real possibility that it conflicts with the constitutional
principle of separation of powers.
The Wilmot Proviso was presented in 1846 by Congressman David Wilmot at a time when new states were forming and declaring their stand on the question of slavery. The Proviso was Wilmot's legal attempt to stop slavery by restricting it to only those states where it already existed.
"The legislation never passed, but it sharpened the divide between supporters and opponents of slavery, making secession inevitable," said Aichinger. "As terrible as slavery was, it was an issue on which neither side was willing to compromise. In a political system such as ours which is ultimately based on compromise, the unintended consequences of the Wilmot Proviso illustrate the dangers of injecting personal beliefs and righteous morality into lawmaking on issues for which no consensus can be formed."