Customer Reviews

Nullification: A Constitutional History, 1776-1833, Vol. 1: James Madison, Not the Father of the Constitution (Volume 1)

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A must read for all those who seek improved insight into the founding of the United States of America, especially pertaining to the doctrine of nullification or states' rights to nullify federal law that states deem unconstitutional. W. Kirk Wood presents history from a just perspective to expose the ideas and events that paved the way for the emergence of a new kind of liberty: The United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. After reading and digesting the treasured facts as presented (and well-documented); one may find myths broken and clarity achieved concerning the birth of a new nation during the period, 1776-1833. I look forward to reading later volumes---Woody Elliott

We all could use a refresher course describing events from 1776-1789, when after the experiment with the Articles of Confederation and much controversy, our forefathers created the U S Constitution, with its much-debated Bill of Rights. This book is that refresher course, replete with many insightful and educational illustrations of the thinking of those founding fathers.

I have just finsihed Volume I, and I truly hope that Volume II is not only better organized, but argued better as well. Several inclusions in the book, such as the book reviews at the end, seem tacked on and do not deal with the issue of nullification at all. Since half of the book is appendixes, you would think they would add more value to the argument. My other critique centers primarily on one argument (actually sentence) from the author: That Jefferson's victory in 1800 indicated that a majority of voters approved of Jeferson's arguments in the Virginia resolutio. The sentence actually reads "the majority of Americans agreed with the Republican philosophy of the rights of states and nullification as a constitutional veto." This is simply outrageous. First, as the author goes on to explain, nobody knew of Jefferson's authorship and views on nullification for decades. Second, a vast majority of states refused to follow Virginia and Kentucky, harshly criticizing the nullification argument. Jefferson one primarily due to the outrage of the Alien and Sedition acts. This in no way supports the argument that voters also supported jefferson's belief that states could nullify those acts. This one sentence, to me, destroys the author's credibility.