Ratifying the Republic

Ratifying the Republic PDF Author: David J. Siemers
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 9780804751032
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
This book explains how the United States Constitution made the transition from a very divisive proposal to a consensually legitimate framework for governing. The Federalists' proposal had been bitterly opposed, and constitutional legitimation required a major transformation. The story of that transformation is the substance of this book.

Ratifying the Republic

Ratifying the Republic PDF Author: David J. Siemers
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 9780804751032
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
This book explains how the United States Constitution made the transition from a very divisive proposal to a consensually legitimate framework for governing. The Federalists' proposal had been bitterly opposed, and constitutional legitimation required a major transformation. The story of that transformation is the substance of this book.

What the Anti-Federalists Were For

What the Anti-Federalists Were For PDF Author: Herbert J. Storing
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226775801
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 121

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Book Description
The Anti-Federalists, in Herbert J. Storing's view, are somewhat paradoxically entitled to be counted among the Founding Fathers and to share in the honor and study devoted to the founding. "If the foundations of the American polity was laid by the Federalists," he writes, "the Anti-Federalist reservations echo through American history; and it is in the dialogue, not merely in the Federalist victory, that the country's principles are to be discovered." It was largely through their efforts, he reminds us, that the Constitution was so quickly amended to include a bill of rights. Storing here offers a brilliant introduction to the thought and principles of the Anti-Federalists as they were understood by themselves and by other men and women of their time. His comprehensive exposition restores to our understanding the Anti-Federalist share in the founding its effect on some of the enduring themes and tensions of American political life. The concern with big government and infringement of personal liberty one finds in the writings of these neglected Founders strikes a remarkably timely note.

Federalists and Anti-Federalists

Federalists and Anti-Federalists PDF Author: Nathan Miloszewski
Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc
ISBN: 1538344076
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 34

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Book Description
The differences between the Federalists and Antifederalists revolved around the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. It was an argument that started in the late 1780s and in some ways, it's a debate that's still being had today; the power of the federal government versus states' rights, the interpretation of individual liberties, and urban versus rural areas. This book examines the issues from both sides, profiles the key Founding Fathers who were involved, and discusses the impact of the Antifederalists' most important victory, forcing the Constitutional Convention to adopt a bill of rights. Readers will learn how the disagreement between the Federalists and Antifederalists caused the creation of the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution, which protect U.S. citizens' freedoms to this day.

Empire of Liberty

Empire of Liberty PDF Author: Gordon S. Wood
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199738335
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 801

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Book Description
The Oxford History of the United States is by far the most respected multi-volume history of our nation. The series includes three Pulitzer Prize winners, two New York Times bestsellers, and winners of the Bancroft and Parkman Prizes. Now, in the newest volume in the series, one of America's most esteemed historians, Gordon S. Wood, offers a brilliant account of the early American Republic, ranging from 1789 and the beginning of the national government to the end of the War of 1812. As Wood reveals, the period was marked by tumultuous change in all aspects of American life--in politics, society, economy, and culture. The men who founded the new government had high hopes for the future, but few of their hopes and dreams worked out quite as they expected. They hated political parties but parties nonetheless emerged. Some wanted the United States to become a great fiscal-military state like those of Britain and France; others wanted the country to remain a rural agricultural state very different from the European states. Instead, by 1815 the United States became something neither group anticipated. Many leaders expected American culture to flourish and surpass that of Europe; instead it became popularized and vulgarized. The leaders also hope to see the end of slavery; instead, despite the release of many slaves and the end of slavery in the North, slavery was stronger in 1815 than it had been in 1789. Many wanted to avoid entanglements with Europe, but instead the country became involved in Europe's wars and ended up waging another war with the former mother country. Still, with a new generation emerging by 1815, most Americans were confident and optimistic about the future of their country. Named a New York Times Notable Book, Empire of Liberty offers a marvelous account of this pivotal era when America took its first unsteady steps as a new and rapidly expanding nation.

The Federalist Papers

The Federalist Papers PDF Author: Alexander Hamilton
Publisher: Read Books Ltd
ISBN: 1528785878
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
Classic Books Library presents this brand new edition of “The Federalist Papers”, a collection of separate essays and articles compiled in 1788 by Alexander Hamilton. Following the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776, the governing doctrines and policies of the States lacked cohesion. “The Federalist”, as it was previously known, was constructed by American statesman Alexander Hamilton, and was intended to catalyse the ratification of the United States Constitution. Hamilton recruited fellow statesmen James Madison Jr., and John Jay to write papers for the compendium, and the three are known as some of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Alexander Hamilton (c. 1755–1804) was an American lawyer, journalist and highly influential government official. He also served as a Senior Officer in the Army between 1799-1800 and founded the Federalist Party, the system that governed the nation’s finances. His contributions to the Constitution and leadership made a significant and lasting impact on the early development of the nation of the United States.

The Other Founders

The Other Founders PDF Author: Saul Cornell
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 0807839213
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
Fear of centralized authority is deeply rooted in American history. The struggle over the U.S. Constitution in 1788 pitted the Federalists, supporters of a stronger central government, against the Anti-Federalists, the champions of a more localist vision of politics. But, argues Saul Cornell, while the Federalists may have won the battle over ratification, it is the ideas of the Anti-Federalists that continue to define the soul of American politics. While no Anti-Federalist party emerged after ratification, Anti-Federalism continued to help define the limits of legitimate dissent within the American constitutional tradition for decades. Anti-Federalist ideas also exerted an important influence on Jeffersonianism and Jacksonianism. Exploring the full range of Anti-Federalist thought, Cornell illustrates its continuing relevance in the politics of the early Republic. A new look at the Anti-Federalists is particularly timely given the recent revival of interest in this once neglected group, notes Cornell. Now widely reprinted, Anti-Federalist writings are increasingly quoted by legal scholars and cited in Supreme Court decisions--clear proof that their authors are now counted among the ranks of America's founders.

Federalists and Antifederalists

Federalists and Antifederalists PDF Author: John P. Kaminski
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780945612582
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
For a quarter of a century between 1763 and 1788, Americans intensely debated the nature of government and the need to protect individual liberties. The debate climaxed in the arguments over the ratification of the Constitution. Through a selection of essential documents from 1787 and 1788, this new edition gives readers the flavor and immediacy of the great debate in all its fire, brilliance, and political intensity. Organized by topic, this is a convenient reference and teaching tool. This updated edition contains an entirely new section on the debate over class structure, property rights, and the economy under the proposed Constitution--an ideal introduction to a debate meaningful today.

The Antifederalists

The Antifederalists PDF Author: Jackson Turner Main
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 9780807855447
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
Antifederalists: Critics of the Constitution, 1781-1788

An Anti-Federalist Constitution

An Anti-Federalist Constitution PDF Author: Michael J. Faber
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
ISBN: 0700634177
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 504

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Book Description
What would an Anti-Federalist Constitution look like? Because we view the Constitution through the lens of the Federalists who came to control the narrative, we tend to forget those who opposed its ratification. And yet the Anti-Federalist arguments, so critical to an understanding of the Constitution’s origins and meaning, resonate throughout American history. By reconstructing these arguments and tracing their development through the ratification debates, Michael J. Faber presents an alternative perspective on constitutional history. Telling, in a sense, the other side of the story of the Constitution, his book offers key insights into the ideas that helped to form the nation’s founding document and that continue to inform American politics and public life. Faber identifies three distinct strands of political thought that eventually came together in a clear and coherent Anti-Federalism position: (1) the individual and the potential for governmental tyranny; (2) power, specifically the states as defenders of the people; and (3) democratic principles and popular sovereignty. After clarifying and elaborating these separate strands of thought and analyzing a well-known proponent of each, Faber goes on to tell the story of the resistance to the Constitution, focusing on ideas but also following and explaining events and strategies. Finally, he produces a “counterfactual” Anti-Federalist Constitution, summing up the Anti-Federalist position as it might have emerged had the opposition drafted the document. How would such a constitution have worked in practice? A close consideration reveals the legacy of the Anti-Federalists in early American history, in the US Constitution and its role in the nation’s political life.

A Better Guide Than Reason

A Better Guide Than Reason PDF Author: M.E. Bradford
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351273663
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
In this seminal volume, M. E. Bradford defines the Old Whig political tradition in American thought, showing that the inheritance of the prescriptive anti-federalists still lives. For Bradford, important elements in our heritage from the American Revolution have been systematically hidden from our view by anachronistic and partisan scholarship. He believes that other, more ideological components have been emphasized at the expense of the rest. Here he attempts to return us to our heritage.