Customer Reviews

New Views of the Constitution

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

John Taylor's " New Views of the Consitution of The United States" is a brilliant refutation of the Federalist and strong central government. Taylor, the most articulate exponent of Jeffersonian Republicanism, is at his finest here. In New Views he refutes the doctrines of Madison and Hamilton in the Fedrealist which declare the United States to be a " consolidated nation" and having a supreme national government, instead of a federal one. He points out the contridictions of the authors of the Federalist, and de-mystifies it's hold on the interpretation of the Constitution. He also destroys the arguement that the Supreme Court has the exclusive right to " interpret" the Constitution and has the final word. He outlines a Jeffersonian view of limited government, and it's role in a federal republic. His predictions of civil war and geographical
domination of one section of the union over the other are prophetic. Anyone who believes in states rights, republicanism, and democracy should read New Views. This friend of Thomas Jefferson deserves the look. He espouses pure Jeffersonian Reoublicanism.

~New Views of the Constitution~ is a remarkable exposition of states' rights federalism or what scholars dub the South Atlantic republicanism. John Taylor of Caroline stands out for his prudent and principled statesmanship. He stood alongside the illustrious John Randolph of Roanoke as the leaders of the Tertium Quids. He was an avid constitutionalist, a strict constructionist, and a republican at heart. For much of his life, he stood up against the depredations of the aristocracy of paper and privilege. After his Senatorial career, he retired to farming on his plantation, and continued to engage in active dialogue with his political allies and opponents. He penned 'Tyranny Unmasked' which critiqued the protectionist system of the Hamiltonians, he also authored 'Arator' which conveyed his agrarian thoughts with some political tidbits, and in 1823 he published this book 'New Views of the Constitution' shortly before his death.

Justice Joseph Story, a champion of judicial nationalism, scoffed at the book for its title and never read it. "I once saw a book advertised New Views of the Constitution. I was startled! What right a man to start new views upon it?" Though, Taylor wrote his book to answer the perennial question, "What is the American form of government-national or federal?" Utilising recently published notes from Robert Yates which were sealed as was most the proceedings at the convention for years, John Taylor sought to give clarity and insight on the Constitution. Taylor makes it abundantly clear that the nationalising tenets of the consolidationist-monarchist camp were aired and summarily defeated at the convention following ratification. The ratified Constitution was the consensus produced which was wholly "federal" and not "national." Hamilton's nationalist motions were all struck down in the Convention. "Although, neither the Virginia plan nor Mr. Hamilton succeeded in the convention, they embraced a mass of talents, too proud and powerful for humility and submission; and they resorted to the engine of construction, to be directed by many an Archimedes," notes Taylor. And this is precisely what Hamilton did, as he tried to conflate the teleocratic principle of "general welfare" expressed into the preamble into a grant of power. The so called "general welfare" clause was merely the expressed interest in which delegated powers were to serve, and is hardly a grant of power in itself as Hamilton would postulate. The language of the Constitution was to be subverted by the nationalists through construction: they would malign the "necessary and proper" clause, they manipulated the so called national supremacy clause, and lastly they animated the "We the people" clause in the preamble with an esoteric democratic nationalism as if the American people were one consolidated mass. If one studies the debates, and the deducible nature of sovereignty which flows from the States, it should be readily apparent that the United States was framed as a federal republic and not a national unitary state. John Taylor championed a true federal polity and the Constitution which he saw as compact among sovereign States. The States delegated certain, expressed enumerated powers to the general government, and the interlocking structures set by the Constitution embodied the whole federal polity. The Tenth Amendment clarified the consensus at the 1787 Convention: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Taylor was keenly aware of the lessons of history, and that "the Roman republik" having been subverted into centralised imperium "was secured by republican words." For this reason, he would not stand idle as centralizing sophists tried to engage in such chicanery, so as to disfigure the American republic.

All things considered, John Taylor of Caroline offers a remarkably insightful work and this neglected classic is pivotal in gaining valuable introspection on the study of the constitutional debates and the convention of 1787. The "Sage of Hazelwood" was a great American patriot, a principled republican and a champion of states rights. His exposition is a keystone for true federalists and defenders of states' rights.

"Sovereignty is the highest degree of political power, and the establishment of a form of government, the highest proof which can be given of its existence. The states could have not reserved any rights by articles of their union, if they had not been sovereign, because they could have no rights, unless they flowed from that source. In the creation of the federal government, the states exercised the highest act of sovereignty, and they may, if they please, repeat the proof of their sovereignty, by its annihilation. But the union possesses no innate sovereignty, like the states; it was not self-constituted; it is conventional, and of course subordinate to the sovereignties by which it was formed." -John Taylor of Caroline.

Twentieth Centurions often credit modern conservatism with being the brainchild of Russell Kirk, Barry Goldwater or some other recent conservative, but John Taylor of Caroline clearly demonstrates in this classic work that conservatism has had long established roots in American society. First published in 1823, we find that government usurpation of the rights of states and individuals is not exactly a twentieth century revelation.

The language of 180 years ago, coupled with Taylor's agonizing repetitiveness, make this a somewhat tedious and difficult read, but one that is certainly worth the effort. The basic theme of the book is how nationalism was proposed and defeated in favor of federalism at our Constitutional Convention, however, there has been, from the beginning, a behind the scenes push to propagate a system of nationalism by what would be considered today, a liberal governmental faction. Taylor meticulously explains how this objective was set into motion and its consequences of the deterioration of states rights and personal freedoms. It doesn't take much effort for the knowledgeable reader to see how that battle has been furthered in the years since Taylor first exposed the nationalism gameplan.

Americans today tend to look upon the misdeeds of government and ask, "How can they get away with doing that?" Taylor clearly illustrates how it all began and that there is nothing new under the sun. But he also goes further in explaining various ways of "righting the ship" so to speak, and discusses the consequences of each differing course of action.

Oh, if we could only find a congressman today who possessed the clear headed tenacity of John Taylor of Caroline. A person who would fear not the consequences of unpopularity and stand tall to examine the true principles upon which our founding promoted.

If you are conservative, this book is a must read and will arm you with ammunition to clearly discuss states' rights and original intent. If you are a liberal, this outstanding book will help cure your mental condition and lead you down a path of understanding.

As an endnote, I don't normally comment on the quality of the book itself, but this one warrants comment. The book is printed on quality acid free paper and comes with a cloth bookmark. A nice touch.

Monty Rainey
www.juntosociety.com

This is the seminal work on the Constitution and its true meaning. Taylor was the greatest political thinker in U.S. history and a critically important advisor to Thomas Jefferson ... his advocacy of interposition by state legislators to arrest and reverse unconstitutional encroachments upon the reserved sovereign liberty and powers of the states and their people, as advanced by Jefferson and James Madison in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, remains the most effective means of restoring and maintaining a limited federal government accountable to the boundaries established in the Constitution.

Martyn Babitz, Esquire - author of THE ILLUSION OF FREEDOM: How To Restore The True Constitution And Reclaim Liberty Now

This book makes the defining case for states rights, giving you nuclear arguments that you won't find in many other places (and which, consequently, statists won't be prepared to defend against). In particular, he dismantles the omnipotence of the federal judiciary, and emphasizes the Constitution as imposing a divided federal government in violent opposition to a unitary national govermnent.

The downside is that you need absolute concentration when reading this book. John Taylor must have considered word syntax his favorite art, because his overuse of commas and long-winded sentences make this book very slow reading. If you have to read each page twice, you are not alone.

New Views of The Constitution, by John Taylor is one of the best reads from the early 1800's on the issue of democracy and the constitution. I have an original first edition and it is one of my most prized books. Read it, if you can find it, and you to will have a new found respect for the development of our great nation's history of democracy.

After reading John Taylor's Treatise on the Constitution it should become obvious to the most casual observer that the Constitution is so loose that it enables the congressional cretins in conjunction with the "Supreme" court to violate every aspect of State's sovereignty that it was supposed to guarantee. This book should enlighten one to get active in supporting conservative thought and legislation.