The Founding Fathers Guide to the Constitution

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The Founding Fathers Guide to the Constitution Pub. Date: 1/9/2012 Publisher: Regnery Publishing, Inc., An Eagle Publishing Company

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Overview

What Does the Constitution Really Mean?

Are liberals right when they cite the “elastic” clauses of the Constitution to justify big government? Or are conservatives right when they cite the Constitution’s explicit limits on federal power? The answer lies in a more basic question: How did the founding generation intend for us to interpret and apply the Constitution? Professor Brion McClanahan, popular author of The Politically Incorrect Guide™ to the Founding Fathers, finds the answers by going directly to the source — to the Founding Fathers themselves, who debated all the relevant issues in their state constitutional conventions.

In The Founding Fathers’ Guide to the Constitution, you’ll discover:

How the Constitution was designed to protect rather than undermine the rights of States
Why Congress, not the executive branch, was meant to be the dominant branch of government—and why the Founders would have argued for impeaching many modern presidents for violating the Constitution
Why an expansive central government was the Founders’ biggest fear, and how the Constitution—and the Bill of Rights— was designed to guard against it
Why the founding generation would regard most of the current federal budget—including “stimulus packages”—as unconstitutional
Why the Founding Fathers would oppose attempts to “reform” the Electoral College
Why the Founding Fathers would be horrified at the enormous authority of the Supreme Court, and why the Founders intended Congress, not the Court, to interpret federal law

Authoritative, fascinating, and timely, The Founding Fathers’ Guide to the Constitution is the definitive layman’s guide to America’s most important—and often willfully misunderstood—historical document.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

McClanahan (history, Chattahoochee Valley Community Coll.) has written a strict constructionist's guide to the Constitution. Taking the Constitution line by line, from the preamble through the Bill of Rights, he reprints the relevant text then offers snippets from contemporary debates to support his views. The book aims to convince readers that the Constitution's meaning can be derived solely from the writings and speeches of both well- and lesser-known Founding Fathers. What appears to be a more scholarly companion piece to McClanahan's previous Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers, this book correspondingly has more extensive endnotes. Regardless of one's political views, the book has a clear agenda and places those who debated the Constitution in a historical vacuum. In contrast, Ray Raphael's Founders: The People Who Brought You a Nation covers many of the personalities and debates in McClanahan's book but discusses their affiliations and current events. VERDICT While this title can be useful for those wanting a literal introduction to the debates surrounding the Constitution, there is no way to evaluate the sources without knowledge of the accompanying history.—Harry Charles, St. Louis, MO

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781596981935
Publisher: Regnery Publishing, Inc., An Eagle Publishing Company
Publication date: 1/9/2012
Pages: 272
Sales rank: 63,705
Product dimensions: 5.50 (w) x 8.60 (h) x 1.10 (d)

Meet the Author

Brion McClanahan is author of The Politically Incorrect Guide™ to the Founding Fathers and holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in American history from the University of South Carolina. Born in Virginia, he attended high school in Delaware and received a B.A. in history from Salisbury University in Maryland. He lives with his wife and children near Phenix City, Alabama, just across the river from Columbus, Georgia.

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Average Rating 3.5

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Splatterdab

Posted February 2, 2012

Highly Recommended

A must read for those who are questioning today's contemporary interpretation of the Constitution. Regardless of your political persuasion it always helps to get back to the basics. Specifically, what was the intent of our founding fathers? If you believe that they were extremely forward thinking men who cared deeply for future generations then this is a reference that should help in bringing us back on track by practicing critical thought to applying the original intent of the Constitution to today's issues and questions.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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rckrr

Posted April 18, 2012

What would our Founding Fathers think about the United States if

What would our Founding Fathers think about the United States if they could see it now? To help answer this question the book quotes many of the Founders as they were debating the Constitution while it was going through ratification. I found it startling that many of the Founders who opposed certain sections of the Constitution did so for reasons that are evident today. The Founders were visionaries and many of their fears have been realized. A couple examples include the staggering amount of debt that the U.S. has encumbered and the use of presidential executive orders.

I have read the U.S. Constitution, but wanted to get a deeper understanding of what the Founders had envisioned for the country as they were writing and debating it. The book met my expectations.

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Anonymous

Posted April 11, 2012

Very Good Primer

Good starting place for the beginner. Prof Mc covers most of the basics while including his direct refereces. He misses on several important points which predate Marbury vs. Madison, such as how Constitutional questions were not reviewable by the couts, but were jury questions that were put directly to the jury via jury instructions!
If you liked this and want more on govt, try "The Albany Plan Re-Visted", for social issues Thomas Sowell's "Intellectuals and Society", and for the advanced non-lawyer legal student Ed Meese's "Heritage Guide to the US Constitution".
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Jumpingjim1

Posted February 7, 2012

**

I can,t help but say , I am not the most political person to read this book ! I do however love my Country ! Hence the reason to purchase this book ! It is suppose to be a laymans guide to the constitution !! I find that it is just as vauge in most respects to the constitution ,& even mysterious in some places ! I imagine if you spent a great deal of time Delving into the constitution , you might greatly understand what this book is trying to explain ! I on the other end , have not spent that much time ( do to noones fault but my own ) exploring the constitution & therefor have to say it,s a little bit confusing !

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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