The Creation of U.S. Constitution Book

Keller provided a good, big-picture overview of the history of the American political system. Describing the workings of the three regimes over the course of American history, he marshals a lot of examples to show the distinction between them.

Keller calls the system that came out of the American colonial and revolutionary periods the "deferential-republican" regime, influenced by the colonial social hierarchies and the republican ideals of the American Revolution. As American political culture became more democratic, the "party-democratic" regime arose, in which the political energies of Americans were channeled through the two-party system. Strong parties provided a sense of membership as well as patronage benefits, even while they did not have great ideological consistency. The Great Depression and the presidency of FDR signaled the rise of the "populist-bureaucratic" regime, during which the federal bureaucracy's size and influence has grown immensely. At the same time, the parties' strength has given way to the influence of judges, interest groups, and media coverage claiming to act in the name of the people against the establishment (hence, populist).