the american revolution state sovereignty and the american constitutional settlement 1765 1800

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This book examines the ideological, political, and constitutional contexts of the Founding era from the drafting of the Articles of Confederation to the ratification of the Constitution and the Federalist–Jeffersonian political conflict. The author highlights the constitutional and theoretical importance of state sovereignty during the Revolutionary period.

Liberty and Order is an ambitious anthology of primary source writings: letters, circulars, debate transcriptions, House proceedings, and newspaper articles that document the years during which America's founding generation divided over the sort of country the United States was to become. With this significant collection, the reader receives a deeper understanding of the complex issues, struggles, and personalities that made up the first great party battle and that continue to shape our representative government today.

With essays from leading and emerging scholars of Haitian and U.S. history, literature, and cultural studies, The Haitian Revolution and the Early United States traces the rich terrain of Haitian-U.S. culture and history in the long nineteenth century.

In James Madison and the Making of America, historian Kevin Gutzman looks beyond the way James Madison is traditionally seen -- as "The Father of the Constitution" -- to find a more complex and sometimes contradictory portrait of this influential Founding Father and the ways in which he influenced the spirit of today's United States. Instead of an idealized portrait of Madison, Gutzman treats readers to the flesh-and-blood story of a man who often performed his founding deeds in spite of himself: Madison's fame rests on his participation in the writing of The Federalist Papers and his role in drafting the Bill of Rights and Constitution. Today, his contribution to those documents is largely misunderstood. He thought that the Bill of Rights was unnecessary and insisted that it not be included in the Constitution, a document he found entirely inadequate and predicted would soon fail. Madison helped to create the first American political party, the first party to call itself "Republican", but only after he had argued that political parties, in general, were harmful. Madison served as Secretary of State and then as President during the early years of the United States and the War of 1812; however, the American foreign policy he implemented in 1801-1817 ultimately resulted in the British burning down the Capitol and the White House. In so many ways, the contradictions both in Madison's thinking and in the way he governed foreshadowed the conflicted state of our Union now. His greatest legacy—the disestablishment of Virginia's state church and adoption of the libertarian Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom—is often omitted from discussion of his career. Yet, understanding the way in which Madison saw the relationship between the church and state is key to understanding the real man. Kevin Gutzman's James Madison and the Making of America promises to become the standard biography of our fourth President.

In the aftermath of the American Revolution, the friendship between Virginians Thomas Jefferson and James Madison became one of the most important political collaborations in American history. This study examines the origins and evolution of their partnership, placing it within the context of US–British relations following the Revolution and analyzing how their relationship affected early republican politics.

The genesis of the United States Constitution was built upon centuries of tyranny inflicted by treacherous kings and highly centralized government. In many cases, this authority had to be challenged directly in order for liberty to thrive. As a result, the Constitution was born from a laborious and exhaustive understanding of the British experience that the founders lived under and observed. In Compact of the Republic, David Benner aims to prove that the Constitution did not impose a nationalist, powerful central government, and was not ratified by "one people." Instead, the Constitution was a multi-party compact set up by the states, where the states were the masters of their own creation. The states built the federal government, and did not intend for their creation to rule over them. Compact of the Republic promises to become the standard argument for the compact view of the union, and throws a wrench into the wheel of contemporary legal thought. In Compact of the Republic, historian David Benner: *Contends that representatives were made aware that power could be resumed by the states after acts of federal overreach and usurpation *Explores the historical foundation behind the Bill of Rights, and traces the limitations on government to malevolent actions of kings *Proves the Constitution acknowledges the states in the plural, as a collection of societies with varied interests *Reveals that the "elastic clauses" were clearly explained and leave no room for modern reinterpretation *Explains how the federal judiciary now overturns state laws that they have no discretion over, to the contrary of its original scope of power *Describes how Thomas Jefferson and James Madison believed that unconstitutional federal laws had to be opposed, nullified, and obstructed by the states *Illustrates that ratification was only secured by convincing opponents of the Constitution that the document would produce a weak general government with limited, enumerated powers

Closer examination of foundational, revolutionary documents, and of the colonial legislation enacted on the basis of those foundational documents, reveals an American tradition of constitutionalism that the Revolutionaries were able to draw upon when fashioning their constitutions for the newly independent states and for the federal government.

This book goes beyond slogans and catchphrases to engage one of the most contested concepts in contemporary international politics: the sovereign rights of nation-states.

In America's Revolution, Patrick Griffin offers a new interpretation, narrative, and historical synthesis of America's most formative period. Exploring the American Revolution from global, Atlantic, and continental perspectives, Griffin focuses on how men and women in local contexts struggled to imagine new ideas of sovereignty as British authority collapsed. He examines the relationship between ideas and social tensions, the War of Independence, the roles of the founders, and the struggles and triumphs of those on the margins. Griffin illustrates how, between 1763 and 1800, Americans moved from one mythic conception of who they were to a very different one, a change that was evident in word and in image. America's Revolution captures these dynamics by exploring origins and outcomes--as well as the violent, uncertain, and liberating process of revolution--that bridged the two.

In The Origins of American Constitutionalism, Donald S. Lutz challenges the prevailing notion that the United States Constitution was either essentially inherited from the British or simply invented by the Federalists in the summer of 1787. His political theory of constitutionalism acknowledges the contributions of the British and the Federalists. Lutz also asserts, however, that the U.S. Constitution derives in form and content from a tradition of American colonial characters and documents of political foundation that began a century and a half prior to 1787. Lutz builds his argument around a close textual analysis of such documents as the Mayflower Compact, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, the Rode Island Charter of 1663, the first state constitutions, the Declaration of Independence, and the Articles of Confederation. He shows that American Constitutionalism developed to a considerable degree from radical Protestant interpretations of the Judeo-Christian tradition that were first secularized into political compacts and then incorporated into constitutions and bills of rights. Over time, appropriations that enriched this tradition included aspects of English common law and English Whig theory. Lutz also looks at the influence of Montesquieu, Locke, Blackstone, and Hume. In addition, he details the importance of Americans' experiences and history to the political theory that produced the Constitution. By placing the Constitution within this broader constitutional system, Lutz demonstrates that the document is the culmination of a long process and must be understood within this context. His argument also offers a fresh view of current controversies over the Framers' intentions, the place of religion in American politics, and citizens' continuing role in the development of the constitutional tradition.

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