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This is the first major interpretation of the framing of the Constitution to appear in more than two decades. Forrest McDonald, widely considered one of the foremost historians of the Constitution and of the early national period, reconstructs the intellectual world of the Founding Fathers--including their understanding of law, history political philosophy, and political economy, and their firsthand experience in public affairs--and then analyzes their behavior in the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in light of that world. No one has attempted to do so on such a scale before. McDonald's principal conclusion is that, though the Framers brought a variety of ideological and philosophical positions to bear upon their task of building a "new order of the ages," they were guided primarily by theiy own experience, their wisdom, and their common sense.
- Sales Rank: #693647 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Univ Pr of Kansas
- Published on: 1985-11
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.75" h x 5.75" w x 1.25" l,
- Binding: Hardcover
- 376 pages
- Used Book in Good Condition
Review
"A witty and energetic study of the ideas and passions of the Framers." -- New York Times Book Review
"As provocative as it is difficult to put down." -- Georgia Historical Quarterly
"Bristles with wit and intellectual energy." -- Christian Science Monitor
"The best single volume on the origins of the Constitution." -- Choice
From the Back Cover
'A witty and energetic study of the ideas and passions of the Framers.' - New York Times Book Review'An important, comprehensive statement about the most fundamental period in American history. It deals authoritatively with topics no student of American can afford to ignore.' - Harvey Mansfield, author of the Spirit of Liberalism
About the Author
Forrest McDonald is Distinguished Research Professor of History at the University of Alabama and author of sixteen books, including States' Rights and the Union: Imperium in Imperio, 1776-1876; The American Presidency; The Presidency of George Washington; and The Presidency of Thomas Jefferson. He was named by the NEH as the sixteenth Jefferson Lecturer, the nation's highest honor in the humanities.
Most helpful customer reviews
90 of 91 people found the following review helpful.
Interesting and Insightful !
By Cooper
Just what sorts of ideas were going on in the Framers' minds when the drafted the federal constitution? This book provides great insight into the ideas, concepts and intellectual history and framework that the Framers were operating upon.
An extremely capable historian and writer, McDonald starts out by noting some important considerations facing the Framers: protecting the life, liberty and property of citizens; their commitment to republican government (although there was disagreement and uncertainty as to what that precisely meant); history (in the sense of convention, legacy and their place in its continuing flow); and political theory.
The chapter on the Rights of Englishmen begins with the Framers understandings of freedom, liberty, and property-as inherited through English common law, refined by Blackstone, and developed independently in the New World. Blackstone considered property a third "absolute right," following life and liberty. Of course, he used the word property in the more narrow sense of dominion (rather than the sense of proper as something proper or particular to an individual person). In any case, McDonald discusses Blackstone's qualifications and exceptions to this absolute right, which allowed for the regulation of property (through sumptuary laws, eminent domain, taxation, and the granting of monopoly privileges). McDonald then relates America's experience in light of the English understandings and tradition. The emphasis on property is particular important because, until the Revolution, Americans' general views about liberty were grounded in the same kinds of historical, philosophical and legal foundations as their views of property.
McDonald's chapter on political theory is particularly enjoyable, as he traces the tensions existing amongst the different theories of rights held by the Framers, as well as some of their respective implications. He discusses the appeals made by Americans to natural law as transcending the general norms of English law. A succinct discussion of John Locke's natural law views, which McDonald insists has been "astonishingly misinterpreted." McDonald then proceeds to an interesting comparison and contrast of the two predominant strands of republicanism in America: puritan and agrarian. He proceeds to analyze the "country party" oppositionists as a third influential group and delves into Montesquieu. Many readers will be struck with the differences McDonald describes between the notion of "separation of powers" and a system of "checks and balances"-since most people today describe them as one in the same.
Also interesting is the political economy chapter. McDonald has written more extensively on this subject elsewhere, and it is also the subject of much attention in his stellar biography of Alexander Hamilton. Indeed, the latter part of the chapter is devoted to Hamilton's sophisticated ideas about commerce and finance. The earlier part of the chapter discusses the influence of the French physiocrats, Adam Smith and other early political economists, and continues with an overview of England's experience with public debt.
One chapter is devoted to principles and interests-both those that motivated Framers and (relatedly) how the Framers understood the role and effects of those concepts. Here one finds an interesting discussion of Madison's understanding of factions-made famous in Federalist No. 10. McDonald traces the intellectual roots of this idea, discussing the views of Hume on factions and contrasting them with the Bolingbrokean understandings of republicanism. "[I]t is meaningless to say the Framers intended this or that the Framers intended that," notes McDonald, "their positions were diverse and, in many particulars, incompatible." His survey certainly affirms this understanding (which is also adequately covered in Jack Rakove's "Original Meanings").
A succinct chapter describing the Constitutional Convention follows, in which McDonald catalogues how different groups at the Convention employed the arguments of different political theorists in order to advance their respective viewpoints as to how the federal government was to be constituted, what powers were to be entrusted to it, and to which respective branch they would be entrusted. Much to my delight, McDonald contrasts the understanding of the separation of powers as embodied in the Constitutional document with pre-existing understandings of the separation of powers and the duties commonly thought proper to the respective branches.
Finally, the concluding chapter discusses the powers given to the federal government in the Constitution, and how they operate.
All in all, this is an excellent volume that anyone appreciating political theory, American history and our nation's Constitution should enjoy.
35 of 35 people found the following review helpful.
The debates, politics and legacy of the 1787 Constitution
By R. Setliff
~Novus Ordo Seclorum~ by conservative historian Forrest McDonald is an astute and poignant political history of the fledgling American republic. The framers of the Constitution sought introduce a new concept into the political discourse, namely federalism. They, of course, were all nationalist in the sense that they hoped to strengthen and stabilize a general government. The 1787 Convention hardly started from scratch and was built on the polity existing under the Articles of Confederation. McDonald perceptively captures efforts to balance out the powers amongst the republican institutions through corporate liberty. Each institution jealously guarded their prerogatives as Madison and Jefferson was essentially the prop for the federal regime created in 1787.
The first introductory chapter boldly proclaims that framers had a problem following their independence: that problem succinctly stated was the nature and form of their republic was to take. The framers were unanimous in the belief that the proper end of government was protecting life, liberty, and property. Prior to 1787, they had yet to resolve the scope and role to be played by the general government and it was agreed that that government under the Confederation was scarcely functioning effectively as it was too weak. The second chapter entitled The Rights of the Englishman brilliantly gives a history of the Anglo-American common law tradition that was so cherished by the colonials. It was their go to fortify, uphold and secure the cherished Rights of the Englishman for citizens of the American polity. The third chapter entitled Systems of Political Theory is an exploration of political debates common amongst the framers. They were well schooled in the classics from Cicero to Lycurgus. Likewise, they were familiar with Montesquieu, but opted for prudence and temperance in their statecraft. They eschewed the Jacobin radicalism being fomented across the Atlantic in France by Rousseau and Robespierre. The fourth chapter entitled Systems of Political Economy deals with explorations into political economy. The body of thought delineated as Political economy is simply those "ideas about the policies governments should or should not pursue regarding property relations to promote the general welfare." The bulk of this chapter deals with the influence of Adam Smith on the colonials and the cunning Hamiltonian economic proposals like protective tariffs, bounties for manufacturers and the Bank of the United States. McDonald captures the political struggles that ensued in Washington's cabinet as Randolph and Jefferson fought Hamilton tooth and nail to thwart his machinations. The remaining three chapters essentially chronicle the political developments, debates and theorizing during the Confederation and especially during those pivotal moments in 1787 when the Constitution was being framed.
The breadth and scope of this book is amazing. McDonald gives a great deal of insight on the framing of the American Republic. He does so with a remarkable deal of conservative sobriety and is not afraid to convey his admiration for the American experiment in republican self-government. McDonald gives enormous insight into the debates on jurisprudence, history, political philosophy, and political economy that took place in the pivotal years during and after the 1787 Convention.
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful.
Engaging intellectual history!
By EJR
I bought this book based on the favorable reviews below and I was not disappointed. Specifically, I was interested in understanding the original intent(s) of the authors of the US Constitution in hopes of getting a historical context in which to locate contemporary debate regarding methods for interpreting the Constitution. This book gave me much, much more, and in engrossing and elegant prose to boot.
McDonald is erudite and his knowledge has both breadth and depth. As reviewer Nisala A. Rodrigo pointed out, reading McDonald requires some work due to the level of sophistication he uses to explore the 18th century intellectual context. However, I found this text to be a useful and not overwhelming introduction to constitutional history. This is the first book I've read on the origins of the Constitution and I felt I comprehended the bulk of what McDonald was discussing. As Rodrigo suggested, the chapter on the actual making of the Constitution was a bit tedious. However, McDonald was tremendously helpful in providing a sense of the mental horizons and preoccupations of the founding fathers. For instance, I came away with the impression that the founding fathers did not have strong opinions about how original intent should be factored into future decisions involving the interpretation of the Constitution. The founding fathers were focused on substantive issues and the nitty-gritty compromises necessary to get the document ratified rather than worried by questions of hermeneutical methodologies. In fact, I believe McDonald suggests that a question regarding the appropriate role that original intent plays in judicial decisions would not have even been available to the founding fathers given that such issues did not exist at the time of ratification. This insight really helped me to see a bit of irony in contemporary debate regarding original intent - namely that questions of 'original intent' may not have been among the original intentions of the founding fathers.
On a broader scope, I found the first four chapters (pp. 1-142) the most interesting. McDonald sketches the development of political, economic and legal thought in the 17th and 18th centuries in Britain and America. Although he uses some technical jargon he is careful to provide clear definitions so that non-specialists can understand his scholarship. His explanation of the views of Hume, Smith, Steuart and Mandeville regarding laissez faire and the usefulness of self-interest for achieving the public good are simply brilliant. McDonald's elucidation of the political theories of Locke, Montesquieu, Bolingbroke and Harrington, the effects that these theories had on the Constiutional milieu, and the pervasive suspicion of financial institutions and instruments helps to identify the tensions between creditors and debtors, between speculators in land and in securities, between agrarians and bankers, and, in England, between Crown and country. And understanding the competing interests brings into sharp relief the 18th century Constitutional context by defining what was at stake for whom.
In short, a terrific read. Do not be intimidated by McDonald's scholarship - it is manageable and even engaging.
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