The Constitution and America's Destiny [Paperback]

David Brian Robertson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 29, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0521607787 | ISBN-13: 978-0521607780 | Edition: First Edition

David Brian Robertson explains how the U.S. Constitution emerged from an intense battle between a bold vision for the nation's political future and the tenacious defense of its political present. Given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to alter America's destiny, James Madison laid before the Constitutional Convention a plan for a strong centralized government that could battle for America's long-term interests. But delegates from vulnerable states resisted this plan, seeking instead to maintain state control over most of American life while adding a few more specific powers to the existing government.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Madison was the American Moses, creating a People by handing down Commandments. But Madison was a patriarch with many rivals and, although he had a vision, he could not inscribe on stone exactly what he thought would govern his imperfect people. As David Robertson deftly shows, Madison's vision nonetheless guided him through the thicket of deliberations upon what became the American Constitution. Contrasting this vision with what others would call preferences, Robertson persuasively contends that Madison strongly influenced the Constitutional Convention precisely because he could see beyond the details and nuances of the moment." Richard Bensel, Cornell University

"Robertson adroitly guides us through the politics that shaped the Constitution, then shows us how the Constitution shaped-and-shapes-America. The result is the finest institutional analysis of America's first institution. Meticulous. Elegant. Fascinating. Brilliant." James Morone, author of Hellfire Nation: the Politics of Sin in American History and The Democratic Wish

"In this extraordinarily useful book, David Brian Robertson shows us no less than how the U.S. Constitution was made. It does no disservice to the American Founders to insist, as Robertson does here, that they were, perhaps above all, politicians. By situating this diverse group of political geniuses within the complex web of policy problems, political agendas, and clashing interests at a decisive political moment, Robertson provides a compelling account of how strategies shifted, compromises were reached, and constitutional agreements were forged. As an added bonus, he then explains how those agreements shaped a politics that remains distinctive to the present day. The Constitution and America's Destiny is an accessible and important study in how constitutions come to be, and how, in turn, they live." Ken I. Kersch, Princeton University

Book Description

This book explains the politics behind the design of the U.S. Constitution. James Madison diagnosed the nation's problems and proposed a much stronger national government to remedy them, which was met with some opposition from state delegates. By systematically analyzing the way the framers negotiated each provision of the Constitution, forging political compromises about who would govern America, what authority these leaders would have, and how they would use that authority, Robertson reveals the enduring effect of those decisions on American politics past and present.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; First Edition edition (August 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521607787
• ISBN-13: 978-0521607780
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,515,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars thinly disguised brief for big fedgov, June 16, 2011

By 

Joseph M. Hennessey (Weston, MA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Constitution and America's Destiny (Paperback)

Professor Robertson's basic thesis is found on p. 9, that "immediate political exigencies, calculations, and compromises explain the Constitution much more fully than [these] sentimental seventeenth century ideas." This is the height of cynicism, realpolitik, and nominalism, that the Founders were Machiavellian, and did not really mean the words they chose.

Robertson often uses pejorative code words to summarize positions his 21st century politics disagree with. Examples: On p. 79, he uses the word "parochialism" to mean 'concerned with local issues.' Has anyone ever heard of 'good' parochialism? P. 68, we find "state insularity;" has anyone ever used "insularity" for something positive?

Robertson frequently uses the phrase "national government." The federalists were constantly telling the anti-federalists that they were *not* setting up a national government, but a federal one, with sovereignty shared between the federal and state governments, and the 10th amendment proves that only express powers were delegated to the federal. Robertson never mentions the 10th amendment,and rarely the other amendments which constitute the Bill of Rights and are just as much part of the Constitution as the document from Philadelphia. Speaking of what was approved at Philadelphia, it had to be ratified by citizens of the 13 states. Were all those who voted yea in on the "exigencies, calculations and compromises?"

On p. 54, Robertson notes that MA imposed the highest taxes after 1777; being from MA, I ask, what else is new?

Robertson seems to be a big fan of 'judicial review,' so on p. 230 he quotes another writer to say that the convention delegates allowed this power to "blossom;" has anyone ever heard of the word 'blossom' being used in a negative way? The words "states' rights" are always presented in scarequotes, as if Robertson does not believe that such rights exist.

Finally, on p. 253 Robertson admits that "it is true that the evolution and expansion of the national government would astonish the framers." The truest words in the book. Robertson uses the word "evolution," which is usually given a positive connotation; I would say 'decomposition."

Do i have a political point of view? You betcha; but i didn't write a book which pretends to be neutral history.