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Lädt ... Federalist: A Commentary on the Constitution of the United States from the Original Text of Alexander Hamilton, John Jay (1788)von Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Hacker, John Jay, James Madison, Publius
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Melde dich bei LibraryThing an um herauszufinden, ob du dieses Buch mögen würdest. Keine aktuelle Diskussion zu diesem Buch. Just reread the arguments for adopting the new Constitution. I think every American citizen should read these essays -- along with the Anti-Federalist essays and the notes on the debates over the Constitution -- every now and again to remind ourselves of the genius of our system of government. ( ) Quoting from the preface of this book: "It is supposed that a collection of the papers which have made their appearance in the gazettes of this city, under the Title of the FEDERALIST, may not be without effect in assisting the public judgment on the momentous question of the constitution of the United States, now under consideration by the people of America. . ." I just finished this book after a long hiatus. It took me awhile to figure out a strategy for reading it, which for me turned out to be reading one chapter a day. Once I approached it that way, I found it to be fascinating, inspiring and eye-opening. Reading it now in the midst of so many debates about the proper role of each of the branches of government as they address domestic and international issues has been very interesting. The thoroughness of the analysis is very impressive. Madison, Jay and Hamilton had such a wealth of historical knowledge that they brought into their discussions, not just about the forms of various governments (ancient and contemporary), but how those forms played out in particular circumstances. One curious aspect of it though is a strange sort of naivete about the honesty and integrity of individuals who would be filling positions in government. Each of the authors goes to great lengths to describe the checks on less than admirable behavior, but at the same time argues that anyone called to any of these positions would have a certain nobility of character that would ensure acting in the best interests of all the people. Time has shown us over and over again that this is not the case. Even with that small contradictory element, I can't recommend this work more highly--I wish I had read it long ago, and would be interested in a reread of it with other folks. As you might have heard in a certain musical, The Federalist Papers represented a series of essays published in New York newspapers in 1788 by “Publius” as an attempt to defend the structure and substance of the Constitution proposed for the creation of the government of the United States as we now know it. “Publius” was a consortium of John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison; Jay only wrote two or three, Madison a few, especially about the legislature, and most of it comes from Hamilton. The Federalist Papers has become part of the American hagiography, seen by far too many as the Wisdom from the Founders from On High, as if their understanding should thus inform how we interpret the Constitution to this day. In reading The Federalist Papers two striking themes kept re-appearing and came to mind. The first involves some of the effective basis of that hagiography: in many respects we today take for granted a lot of the ways in which the government of the United States is organized and run which were laid out in the Constitution and defended in The Federalist Papers, and we do not imagine how it could be otherwise. But many of these principles needed defending. There were alternate ways of imagining how the United States might organize itself, and many of those views were enshrined in the Articles of Confederarion and were being strongly supported by other factions. It would have been disastrous if the military functions or the ability to make treaties had devolved onto the states individually or in regional blocs. We don’t think twice about how we have become fifty states, but do we think how much power the original thirteen was willing to give up in order for that to become a reality? The second theme, however, involves a recognition of the thin gruel which represented the bases on which the authors were setting forth their propositions. I have never heard more references to various Greek leagues of city-states than I have in The Federalist Papers, and I was a Classics major. It is a reminder of just how radical the idea of democratic-republican governance with a separation of powers within the federal government and between the federal and state governments really was. Sometimes appeals were made to British common law, but most appeals, if there were any basis in historical experience, would involve those Greek city-state leagues, the Roman Republic, or previous experience under the Articles of Confederation or the kinds of governments already in place in the various states. Hamilton’s final points about the imperfections of the Constitution and the striving to form a more perfect union remain as apt as ever: the Constitution, and The Federalist Papers which defend it, are important historical documents. They well navigated and negotiated a lot of difficulties. The United States also enjoyed a lot of benefits, some natural, some policy related, and some by chance or good fortune. Yet even its authors recognized the importance of allowing the government to adapt based upon learned experience and socio-cultural changes. The Bill of Rights was good. The later amendments enshrining civil rights and the end of chattel slavery as previously practiced were good. Suffrage for women and non-propertied persons was good. No doubt many of the changes which have been wrought in the past two hundred plus years would horrify Hamilton, Madison, et al, for even though they did not want to build a European-style aristocracy, they still maintained a lot of aristocratic airs. But I do have to wonder how they would feel in looking at the contrast between the changes and developments in Europe versus the stagnation in governance now prevalent in the United States of America. Yet it seems fairly certain none of them would have been interested in the level of hagiography which currently exists in relation to the forms of government they encouraged. They were the Founders, not the Finishers, of our system of governance. (Technical concerns about the particular edition of The Federalist Papers linked above: a lot of OCR scanning errors; year numbers left as unknown characters; and especially in the Madison section, too many spacing issues. It’s $1 for a reason. A cleaner version would enhance reading.) keine Rezensionen | Rezension hinzufügen
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The Federalist represents one side of one of the most momentous political debates ever conducted: whether to ratify, or to reject, the newly-drafted American constitution. To understand the debate properly requires attention to opposing Antifederalist arguments against the Constitution, and this new and authoritative student-friendly edition presents in full all eighty-five Federalist papers written by the pseudonymous 'Publius' (Hamilton, Madison, and Jay), along with the sixteen letters of 'Brutus', the prominent but still unknown New York Antifederalist who was Publius's most formidable foe. Each is systematically cross-referenced to the other, and both to the appended Articles of Confederation and US Constitution, making the reader acutely aware of the cut-and-thrust of debate in progress. The distinguished political theorist Terence Ball provides all of the standard series editorial features, including brief biographies and notes for further reading, making this the most accessible rendition ever of a classic of political thought in action. Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)342.73029Social sciences Law Constitutional and administrative law North America Constitutional law--United States Basic instruments of Government, the US constitution Constitutional historyKlassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
Liberty Fund, Inc2 Ausgaben dieses Buches wurden von Liberty Fund, Inc veröffentlicht. Ausgaben: 0865972893, 0865972885 Penguin AustraliaEine Ausgabe dieses Buches wurde Penguin Australia herausgegeben. Tantor MediaEine Ausgabe dieses Buches wurde Tantor Media herausgegeben. |