Charles Edward Merriam Quotes
It is denied that any limit can be set to governmental activity.
Merriam, Charles Edward. A History of American Political Theories. The Macmillan Company, 1903, p. 321.
His reference was to his experience as an undergraduate at Dartmouth, which he and associates views as a liberal organization, while others viewed it as a conservative bastion of the establishment.
This quotation not only illustrates the typical Southern attitude at the time as the issue of Slavery began to be the subject of Federal governmental debate, but it also illustrates the incredible party flip flops over time. Ritchie was one of the leading Democratic Politicians of his day, and it was the Democrats who were opposed to Government. However, people without a knowledge of early American History might think that this quotation came from right wing Republicans of the early 21st century. By then, it was the Democrats who saw the important role of government. The Democrats were then extreme enemies of the Federal Government and were against freedom for Blacks and their rights, that the Republican Party was created and used government more than most Americans ever thought possible, ended slavery and permitted Negro voting and equality. Almost 200 years later it was the Democrats who were espousing the old Republican Views, and the Republicans holding the old Democratic view of government and adopting a more passive view on racial equality and justice.
Charles Edward Merriam Jr. (1874–1953) was an American professor of political science at the University of Chicago, founder of the behavioral approach to political science, a trainer of many graduate students, a prominent intellectual in the Progressive Movement, and an advisor to several US Presidents. Upon his death, The New York Times called him "one of the outstanding political scientists in the country".
