A new collection of essays edited by Assistant Professor Jordan Cash offers a tribute to a renowned scholar of American political institutions.
In “Constitutionalism and Liberty,” Cash and co-editor Anthony Bartl honor the work of David K. Nichols. Both were students of Nichols during different periods at Baylor University.
Bartl, a professor of political science and philosophy at Angelo State University, was among the first generation of students in Baylor’s political science graduate program. Cash followed several years later, but they share a strong connection to Nichols and a commitment to the broad intellectual approach that characterized his work.
The collection of essays emerged from an unexpected source: a retirement conference that colleagues and former students organized to celebrate Nichols’s career. Discussions at the event helped spark the initial inspiration for the book.
“With this book, we hope to honor, in our own small way, the many ways David Nichols has supported us over the years, and in doing so, highlight his immense contributions to the study of American politics, constitutionalism, and political theory,” Cash and Bartl wrote in the book’s introduction.
Contributors to the volume explore the complexities of American constitutional governance, including essays that examine the separation of powers, aspects of legal practice and jurisprudence, and broader questions of political philosophy, including innovative explorations of politics through literature and art.
The book reflects Nichols’s wide-ranging intellectual interests, featuring chapters that explore topics as diverse as the American flag’s constitutional connections, Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Michelangelo’s famous statue of David.
“The idea was that between all of us, we could span the breadth of David’s interests and show his influence across different fields,” said Cash.
One of the book’s key themes is what Cash calls “constitutional logic,” or how the attributes, structure, duties and powers of an institution interrelate to orient an officeholder’s behavior.
“As much as we talk about separation of powers, we’re really talking about separation of functions,” Cash explained.
“Congress is meant to do something that’s fundamentally different from what the president is meant to do and fundamentally different from what the Supreme Court is meant to do. Because they have different types of power, we institutionalize them in different ways to bring out certain functions or certain attributes that are necessary for a well-functioning government.”
Cash’s own chapter examines President John Adams and the tension between Adams’s personal theory of executive power and the constitutional expectations of the presidency. Cash traces how Adams gradually adapted to constitutional logic.
“One of the interesting aspects of Adams’ presidency,” he noted, “is how he shifts from his theoretical conception of executive power to a more constitutionally oriented approach.”
The volume is part of an impressive recent publishing streak for Cash. In the past 16 months, he has published four books through a combination of careful research and academic serendipity.
His first book, The Isolated Presidency, studies presidents who came into office without being elected and how the Constitution shapes the presidency. Adding the Lone Star, which compares American President John Tyler and Texian President Sam Houston during the Texas annexation, originated while Cash was waiting on the scholarly review process for his first book.
Congressional Deliberation is a collection of original sources on Congress co-edited with Kevin J. Burns, an associate professor of politics and government at Benedictine College and another former student of Nichols. Cash and Burns collaborated on the project following encouragement from Nichols to pursue the idea.
Reflecting on his most recent book’s tribute to Nichols, Cash said, “it’s a way to recognize a great scholar, great teacher, great friend and demonstrate his wide-reaching impact as he now settles into retirement.”