ABSTRACT
The ‘imperial Presidency’ episode may have been the most dramatic and conspicuous example of the use of mechanical categories in political appraisal, but it was in no way an exceptional mode of interpretation or an unorthodox method of constitutional construction. On the contrary, it exemplified the depth of public attachment to, and dependence upon, a mechanistic paradigm whose principles and criteria could be extended from the separation of powers to embrace any or all additional loci of perceptible power. It is this intuitive adherence to mechanics, coupled with the inherent capacity of mechanics to reduce everything to its own terms, that has not only given American government its distinctive character, but fostered an association with Newton and Newtonianism that is quite exceptional amongst political systems. Allusions to Newton or to his classical laws of mechanics are looked upon as normal and commonplace in the United States, whereas elsewhere they would be regarded as unfounded, misguided, or quite simply incongruous. In these contexts what would be regarded as significant would be not so much the extent to which Newton and Newtonian mechanics are used in political commentary, but rather the fact that they are used at all. In the American example, on the other hand, significance is afforded to Newtonianism by virtue of the high incidence of mechanical references and by the sheer scale of what Newtonianism is called upon to account for. In no way can Newtonian terminology be lightly dismissed as insubstantial alliteration or colourful rhetoric. In the American political system, the Newtonian connection denotes real meanings and evokes high feelings. It is seen as salient, substantive, and significant. It is alluded to as a central constitutional tradition; it is employed as a mainstream technique of political observation and assessment; and it is instinctively drawn upon to account for political developments and to explain the nature of American government. But, most of all, the Newtonian terminology is a reflection of the belief in the existence of a machine within American government.
