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Daniel Carpenter

Daniel Carpenter is Allie S. Freed Professor of Government at Harvard University. His latest book will be Democracy by Petition: Popular Politics in Transformation, 1790-1870, forthcoming from Harvard University Press in 2021.

Articles

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The Menthol Cigarette Ban Shows There Is No Democracy Without Petitions

The menthol cigarette citizen’s petition recalls the lost political tradition of petition democracy, when not only could the complaints of any citizen get a hearing, but that hearing would occur publicly—in Congress.
Daniel Carpenter
Portland Main Post Office / USPS Trucks

American Democracy Is in the Mail

U.S. democracy and the U.S. postal service share a long, entangled history. An attack against one signals an attack against the other.
Daniel Carpenter

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