In the book Blooming Democracy, these are the Online Sources / Endnotes:
1 James McHenry, a Maryland delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, recorded in his diary this exchange between Benjamin Franklin and Mrs. Elizabeth Willing Powell of Philadelphia, outside Independence Hall as the delegates departed after signing the Constitution: “ Well Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” “A republic,” replied the Doctor, “if you can keep it.” Citation: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/constitutionalconvention-september17.htm
2 Just Google “Do Americans prefer a democracy or an autocracy” to see myriad examples of surveys and research studies that demonstrate our collective preference for democracy.
3 Thomas Paine’s Common Sense: https://www.amazon.com/Common-Sense-Thomas-Paine/dp/1774263203.
4 Abraham Lincoln, “Gettysburg Address.”
5 The lengthy article in Wikipedia entitled “Age of Enlightenment” provides a good summary of the dominant currents of philosophical, political, sociological, and theological thought which informed the Framers.
6 See the Wikipedia article on “Christian Nationalism” for a useful primer on this topic, its roots, and its modern influence on 21st century American politics.
7 See the “Federalist Papers” article in Wikipedia for a good summary and extensive bibliography. The Federalist Papers themselves are still available in a two-volume set.
8 “A Deep Dive into Australia’s Mandatory Voting”. Harvard International Review, Oct 2, 2023.
9 Acton, John Emerich Edword Dalberg (1834-1902). "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely," said the historian and moralist Lord Acton in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887.
10 “The Supreme Court’s Presidential Immunity Ruling Undermines Democracy”. Brennan Center for Justice, October 1, 2024: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/supreme-courts-presidential-immunity-ruling-undermines-democracy.
11 The term "imperial presidency" describes a US presidency that has more power than the Constitution allows. The term became popular in the 1960s and was coined by historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. in his 1973 book of the same name. See “The Imperial Presidency Unleashed: How the Supreme Court Eliminated the Last Remaining Checks on Executive Power”. Foreign Affairs”, July 18, 2024.
12 “Separation of Church and State History”. National Park Service, October 31, 2023. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/church_state_historical.htm#:~:text=What%20does%20%E2%80%9Cthe%20separation%20of,of%20the%20affairs%20of%20religion.
13 “Poll: A strong majority of Americans endorse democracy, but some – especially among younger generations – are skeptical.” American Public Media Research Lab, January 18, 2023. https://www.apmresearchlab.org/motn/poll-americans-belief-in-democracy.
14 For all references to specific clauses in the Constitution, see “Constitution of the United States (1787)”. Downloaded from https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CDOC-110hdoc50/pdf/CDOC-110hdoc50.pdf.
15 “A Little Rebellion…(Quotation}”, Thomas Jefferson in a letter to James Madison, January 30, 1787. https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/a-little-rebellionquotation/.
16 “Constitutional Amendments/Initiatives.” Florida Division of Elections. https://dos.fl.gov/elections/laws-rules/constitutional-amendmentsinitiatives/
17 The leading advocate for Ranked Choice Voting is FairVote.org. https://fairvote.org/our-reforms/ranked-choice-voting/.
18 “State Primary Election Types”. National Conference of State Legislatures. This webpage provides a good summary of the different kinds of primaries occurring in each state. https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/state-primary-election-types.
19 “Automatic Voter Registration”, Brennan Center for Justice: https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote/voting-reform/automatic-voter-registration
20 Encyclopedia Britannica provides a detailed article on “Electronic Voting”: https://www.britannica.com/topic/election-political-science
21 “DC and Puerto Rico Statehood”, Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/procon/DC-and-Puerto-Rico-statehood-debate
22 https://endcitizensunited.org/ is a grassroots, non-partisan organization dedicated to overturning the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision which has unleashed essentially unlimited corporate contributions to partisan political campaigns.
23 “The case for a single-day national primary”, The Week, January 13, 2020: https://theweek.com/articles/888515/case-singleday-national-primary
24 https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/ is the website for the organization pushing the NPVIC proposal. In addition, extraordinarily detailed research supporting the direct election of the president appears in Every Vote Equal (Fifth Edition, October 2024) by John Koza et al., downloadable for free from https://www.every-vote-equal.com/
25 “Why James Madison Wanted to Change the Way We Vote for President”, fairvote.org: https://fairvote.org/why-james-madison-wanted-to-change-the-way-we-vote-for-President/.
26 All of the population figures in this book are taken from the US Census Bureau: https://www.census.gov/
27 Part IV: Alternative Proposals for House Enlargement”, American Academy of Arts and Sciences: https://www.amacad.org/ourcommonpurpose/enlarging-the-house/section/5
28 Here is one of many articles that elaborate on this topic: “Power of the Purse”, Tutor2U: https://www.tutor2u.net/politics/reference/power-of-the-purse.