The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates (Signet Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Ralph Ketcham (Author, Introduction) "For anyone interested in political thought in action, the United States during the 1770s and 1780s is perhaps the most exciting period in the country's..." (more)
Key Phrases: state equality, executive magistrate, one consolidated government, United States, National Legislature, House of Representatives (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The dissenting opinions of Patrick Henry and others who saw the Constitution as a threat to our hard-won rights and liberties.

Edited and introduced by Ralph Ketcham.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Signet Classics (May 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451528840
• ISBN-13: 978-0451528841
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,843 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The political background of the birth of our Constitution, June 22, 2003

By	Maria Beilke (Glendora, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates (Mentor) (Paperback)

I highly recommend "The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates" along with the companion volume "The Federalist Papers." Reading these two books will give you both sides of the arguments that revolved around the creation and adoption of our Constitutional government. "The Anit-Federalist Papers.." contains an excellent introduction by Ralph Ketcham, the complete Anti-Federalist papers and Constitutional Convention Debates with commentaries, an Index of Ideas, and cross-references to "The Federalist Papers."

The original intent of the Convention of States was to simply amend the Articles of Confederation, but instead it set out to frame an entirely new constitution. The Conventional debates began on May 29, 1787, in Philadelphia, with the "Virginia Plan" as the topic of the debates. This was James Madison's plan to strengthen the national government. However, not all our founding fathers wanted a centralized government. Statesmen such as Patrick Henry and John DeWitt argued for a decentralized government with a minimal central government. These men saw that the government as depicted in the Constitution would not represent the people adequately and that rights and liberties recently won from England would be lost.

This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn about the political thought which shaped our Constitution.

142 of 158 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and passionate prose that will inspire you!, April 6, 1999

By	J. Fay Kelle ([e-mail]) "jfkelle" (Richmond, Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates (Mentor) (Paperback)

These often intense and firey speeches made by the Anti-Federalists or the detractors of the Constitution (as it was being written and then debated) are powerful, passionate and sharp enough to make one feel these words were meant to be weapons, i.e., the front line defense of the freedom and liberty we so easily take for granted today. I feel that much of what is wrong in our political system today was predicted here, and what would constitute the only real solution, i.e., active, democratic citizenship, is also demonstrated here in their willingness to fight against tyranny with reason and passion. How much greater our public debates would be today if this were required reading for all citizens! "Politics" would be thought well of again and refer to what citizens do in noble service to communities, close to home and far away. Do yourself a favor, get inspired again as to the original principles and purpose of democracy, read this book, and believe again! And do something!

80 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Needs a Footnote, February 22, 2006

By	Brandon K. Harnish - See all my reviews

Ralph Ketcham lost some respect I had for him when he, in the middle of Patrick Henry's speech, inserted, "Here Mr. Henry strongly and pathetically expatiated on the probability of the president's enslaving America..."

If it were not for the fact that I've already highlighted and marked up this edition, I would buy a different version and use that as my primary source. Mr. Ketcham's remarks were not in good taste, nor was it proper historical method to simply leave out an argument from Patrick Henry, thereby disallowing a following historian to examine and evaluate its merits.

****Note****: About four weeks after I wrote the post above, I discovered that the insert mentioned above was not Ketcham's doing, but rather, the side note of a journalist present at the time of Henry's speach at the Virginia Convention. My apologies to Ketcham. Although, he should have inserted a footnote to make the readers aware of what appears to be an awful bias. Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't allow users to edit their ratings and so this version of the Anti-federalist papers will remain at 1 star from me, although it should be a 4 or 5.


Regards,
Brandon K. Harnish