Customer Reviews

The Founders' Constitution (5 Volume Set)

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This 5-volume set is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the historical context of the U.S. Constitution. The editors have divided the Constitution up clause by clause. For each section they provide primary, explanatory materials such as letters, records of debates, and early case law. These resources reveal what the writers of the Constitution intended with the language they chose and how that langauge was orginally interpreted. The editors also provide interesting materials on early English law, showing the legal backdrop the Founders worked against.

For example, I found interesting the books' treatment of the second amendment's protection of weapons ownership. The volume provides the early English history of gun control, debates from the Constitutional convention on the proper role for militias, and reports from the earliest litigation on the right to carry concealed weapons.

The wisdom of our Founding Fathers -- collected in these five volumes -- helps inform modern debates on the many subjects that have roots in the words of the Constitution. Highly recommended.

This set can be used along with "Elliot's Debates," "Farrand's "Records" and "Madison's Notes." Can also be found online at The Online Library of Liberty.

The Founders' Constitution provides a much more complete understanding of the Constitution than the Federalist Papers (which are included in this collection). Major Constitutional themes (in volume 1) and provisions of the Constitution and the first twelve amendments (in volumes 2 through 5) are addressed chronologically with historical documents, demonstrating how the legal concepts developed over time and were understood. For example, legal principles that originated in England are often explained by the writings of Blackstone, followed by the Americanization of such principles by relevant documents from (i) the American colonial period; (ii) the Constitutional Convention and state conventions on ratification; and (iii) the early days of the American Republic, up to the 1830s. These documents include transcripts of legislative debates, publications, legislative acts, private letters and legal opinions. The coverage of Constitutional provisions are usually concluded with a summary from Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story's treatise, Commentaries on the Constitution, published in 1833. The Federalist Papers are included in these materials and are followed by anti-federalist papers giving an opposing view.

It took me eight months to read The Founders' Constitution and I found it a treasure of history and political knowledge. The private writings of James Madison stand out, while many of the court opinions are on the dry side (particularly dealing with Article III). Some of Trenchard and Gordon's Cato Letters from the 1720s are included and you can see why they had an impact on the Founders. The anti-federalist Brutus challenges Alexander Hamilton and makes compelling arguments in the debate over Constitutional ratification.

The Founders' Constitution can be used as a reference book, but it is definitely a worthwhile read. It offers a unique understanding as to how and why the Constitution was drafted as it was and how it was understood during the early days of the Republic. The political wisdom contained within it is truly impressive.