Overview
Provides new insight into and challenges conventional wisdom regarding the drafting of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights
Appeals to scholars of American history, students, and academics interested in the Federalist Revolution
Examines Madison’s crucial role in the adoption of a bill of rights that would confirm the implied powers doctrine for the federal government
Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
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Keywords
- James Madison
- U.S. Supreme Court
- adoption of the Constitution
- Articles of Confederation
- early American government
- implied powers doctrine
- Bill of Rights
- Tenth Amendment
- reserved powers clause
- judicial review
- constitutional interpretation
- Dual Federalism
- New Federalism
- legislative veto
- states' rights
- us politics
Table of contents (11 chapters)
Reviews
“A valuable and illuminating study of the US Constitution, particularly with regard to what may be its most important and perplexing aspect—federalism. Slonim is particularly insightful concerning the twists and turns in the thought of James Madison (and therefore, the key controversies in American political and constitutional thought).” (Sanford Levinson, Garwood Professor of Law, University of Texas Law School and author of An Argument Open to All: Reading The Federalist in the 21st Century, 2016)
“This study forces us to take a fresh look at the old story of America's constitutional beginnings.” (Peter Onuf, Thomas Jefferson Professor of History, Emeritus, University of Virginia, USA)
“One might think that there are not many new things to be said about the creation and ratification of the U.S. Constitution, but Shlomo Slonim’s account of this process sparkles and bristles with original and provocative insights. It combines vivid intellectual portraits of the leading participants with masterful accounts of the underlying forces that shaped their views and determined the effectiveness of their arguments. The book is filled with incisive ideas at every stage of its account. Professor Slonim demonstrates that the Constitutional Convention was motivated by a radically nationalist vision, that the federalism of the resulting document (with its balance between state and national power) sprang largely from Southern efforts to protect slavery, that the drafters’ success in resolving the debate between state and national power blinded them to the demand for a bill of rights, that this demand formed the basis of the antifederalist opposition to ratification, and that Madison introduced and championed the Bill of Rights in the First Congress to forestall antifederalist efforts to call a second constitutional convention or enact amendments that would hobble the new national government. Because it combines a wealth of information with true depth of analysis, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of the U.S. Constitution or in its current interpretation.” (Edward L. Rubin, University Professor of Law and Political Science, Vanderbilt University, USA)
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Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Forging the American Nation, 1787-1791
Book Subtitle: James Madison and the Federalist Revolution
Authors: Shlomo Slonim
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95163-5
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan New York
eBook Packages: History, History (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-349-95747-7Published: 27 May 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-1-349-95163-5Published: 30 November 2017
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XX, 273
Topics: US History, US Politics