Reclaiming the American Revolution: The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions and Their Legacy [Hardcover]

William Watkins (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1403963037 | ISBN-13: 978-1403963031 | Publication Date: January 17, 2004 | Edition: 1st

Reclaiming the American Revolution examines the struggles for political ascendancy between Federalists and the Republicans in the early days of the American Republic viewed through the lens of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions authored by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Jefferson and Madison saw the Alien and Sedition Acts as a threat to states' rights, as well as indicative of a national government that sought unlimited power. The Resolutions sought to return the nation to the tenets of the Constitution, in which rights for all were protected by checking the power of the national government. Watkins examines the two sides of this important controversy in early American history and demonstrates the Resolutions' relevance to current politics.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With historical knowledge that one can only wish more could possess, Watkins has brought our attention back to Jefferson's and Madison's constitutional commentary in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798-1800 and their illuminating relation to American history."--Clyde N. Wilson, Professor of History, University of South Carolina
"With Reclaiming the American Revolution, we have a thorough, thoughtful, and important study of a significant subject that has been too long neglected."--Joyce O. Appleby, Professor of History, UCLA; past president of Organization of American Historians and American Historical Association
"William Watkins' important book, Reclaiming the American Revolution, is intriguing and controversial: it is based on much research, and it is full of interest for the questions it raises about federal-state relations."--Robert L. Middlekauf, Preston Hotchkiss Professor of American History, University of California, Berkeley

From the Inside Flap

“With historical knowledge that one can only wish more could possess, Watkins has brought our attention back to Jefferson’s and Madison’s constitutional commentary in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798-1800 and their illuminating relation to American history.
--Clyde N. Wilson, Professor of History, University of South Carolina

“With Reclaiming the American Revolution, we have a thorough, thoughtful, and important study of a significant subject that has been too long neglected.”
--Joyce O. Appleby, Professor of History, UCLA; past president of Organization of American Historians and American Historical Association

“William Watkins’ important book, Reclaiming the American Revolution, is intriguing and controversial: it is based on much research, and it is full of interest for the questions it raises about federal-state relations.”
--Robert L. Middlekauf, Preston Hotchkiss Professor of American History, University of California, Berkeley

“Reclaiming the American Revolution is a provocative invitation to rethink the nature of contemporary American government in the light of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. William Watkins’ brisk and panoramic account of American constitutionalism reminds us of the political possibilities open to courageous and spirited citizens who are dedicated to responsible liberty under the rule of law.”
--Herman Belz, Professor of History, University of Maryland

“Those of us who are alarmed by the recent incursions into personal freedom are indebted to William Watkins for Reclaiming the American Revolution, his penetrating and insightful account of how Jefferson and Madison reacted to a situation of equal peril to liberty. We could not do better than to remind ourselves of how they responded when faced with a crisis no less grievous.”
--Ronald Hamowy, Professor of History, University of Alberta; editor, Cato’s Letters: Essays on Liberty by John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1st edition (January 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403963037
• ISBN-13: 978-1403963031
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,543,474 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Study, April 27, 2004

By 

G. F Gori "Jeffersonian libertarian" (Manteca, ca United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reclaiming the American Revolution: The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions and Their Legacy (Hardcover)

William Watkins "Reclaiming the American Revolution" is a great study of the Alien and Sedition Acts and Jefferson and Madison's Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions. Watkins traces the conflict between the Federalist monocrats and the Jeffersonian republicans during the 1790's. Jefferson and Madison are shown in their true glory as liberatian defenders of the principles of the American Revolution, the "spirit of 1776" as Jefferson put it. As the Federalist Party began to institute tyrannical measures like the Sedition Act and Alien bill to cripple the Jeffersonians, Jefferson and Madison conceived of measures to defended the rights of the states and the people.

Watkins also goes into detail about the nature of the Federal government, the original intent of it's framers and the effect the Virginia and Kentucy Resolutions had on the Nullification dispute between South Carolina and the Federal government in 1832. Anyone interested in the principles of liberty, and the American founding will love this book.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Legally & Historically Accurate Masterpiece, August 4, 2005

By 

ZXZXZX "ZXZXZX" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reclaiming the American Revolution: The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions and Their Legacy (Hardcover)

It's difficult in the modern era, even with the internet and all the literature available, to gain an accurate and honest understanding of the early history of what would become the American Republic. As a product of the public school system, I had to work extra hard to unlearn all the nonsense I'd been taught in what I now see as government run indoctrination camps(the schools "teach" enough info to the kids to prevent them from someday thinking critically about the structure of their government).

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America (1776) essentially declared (aside from the slavery issue) that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. People have an unalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and the people can throw off governments which become destructive of these ends and form new governments based on these principles. Essentially, the people are the "ultimate sovereigns" (in the words of Watkins), and elected respesentatives hold only legislative sovereignty. THESE ARE THE CORE PRINCIPLES OF SELF-GOVERNMENT.

The Principles of the Resolutions essentially answer a question which I believe is more relevant today than ever... what defense do the people have against a central government which doesn't abide by it's rules or by restraints and limitations on it's powers? The Answer, according to Jefferson primarily, was for the State houses to interpose between the Federal government and citizens and to declare Federal usurpations of power which overstep the enumerated powers outlined in Article I Section VIII as void and of no force (nullification).

Watkins does a remarkable job of clearly explaining the events of the period, explaining the principles of the resolutions, providing detailed citations for every source of information (so you can check them yourself), explaining the motives behind the words and actions of people like Jefferson, Madison, and Hamilton, explaining how the structure of American Federalism became corrupted, and what can be done to bring the Constitution back to life... and the answers can be found in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of 1798.

My ONLY complaint is that Watkins, during his discussion of Judicial usurpations, only briefly mentions how the Bill of Rights (a shield erected by the States against the Federal government) became a weapon the Federal Courts would use against the States and the principles of Self-Government. He only mentions the "incorporation doctrine" once, but Watkins does include a quotation in this brief analysis which acknowledges that the incorporation of the Bill of Rights was the most egregious act of usurpation in the court's history, where the court essentially rewrote the meaning of the Bill of Rights. I just wish Watkins had gone into more detail on this topic, but at least he did mention Barron v. City of Baltimore (1833) where John Marshall briefly states in a concise opinion the meaning of the First 10 Amendments of the Constitution and how they can only be applied against actions of the Federal Governemnt.

Kudos to William Watkins Jr. and his masterpiece. It's a crime that this text has received next to no publicity that I'm aware of.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reclaiming the American Revolution, June 29, 2005

By 

Aaron J. Baker "Proctor" (Rapidan, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reclaiming the American Revolution: The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions and Their Legacy (Hardcover)

Rarely do you hear about the critical importance of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. We hear of the Constitution, Declaration of Indepence, and the Bill of Rights. But I would say the average American citizen is ignorant concerning these documents.

Watkins does a tremendous job combining the history of these resolutions with the political ingenuity of both Madison and Jefferson. I guarantee that when you finish reading this book your knowledge will increase regarding the Constitution and how our founding forefathers systematically dealt with the issue of sovereignty. Where does it reside? The difference between legistalive sovereignty and ultimate sovereignty. He presents a balanced presentation of both views: those who support a strong centralized government with a broad interpretation of the constitution versus those who were strong States' Rights advocates and a limited interpretation of the constituion. After presenting a concise yet thorough history of the Resolutions he describes the effects of Resolutions and how succeeding Presedential Administrations and State Legislatures appealed to the resolutions to prevent encroachments. And he ends with a beautiful application to our day and how the Government has constantly overstepped its constitutional boundaries and what we should do. And then he adds his own ideas as to what we can do as a people to make sure our rights stay in tact. In other words, he presents the problem and the solution.

Watkins makes bold comments in relation to how the framers interpreted the Constitution and how to remedy the encroachments of the National Government. But every, and I mean every bold assertion is backed by tangible evidence. Unlike scholars who defend centralized government (whether ignorantly or knowingly) with vague examples and insufficient evidence, Watkins doesn't leave any stone unturned. And in addition you will find in his bibliography notes not only references, but added commentary from various poltical figures of the day. So in essence you get more than the views of Jefferson and Madison, but you get a view of both parties the Federalist (under the leadership of Alexander Hamiltion) and the Republicans (under the leadership of Jefferson). He explains how Patrick Henry, John Taylor, John Breckenridge and others saw the issues. But never does he down play the issue.

It is sad that some historians down play the rightful role of these Resolutions. Jack Rakove goes so far to paint Jefferson and Madison as radical and going too far to assert that the State legislatures could 'legally' check the powers of the national government. Jack Rakove states in "Madison and the Creation of the American Republic" (2nd Ed) Madison simply intended that the Bill of Rights was adopted for this purpose. Ok, well what happens when those rights are violated? Who now is the arbiter to determine whether the government has overstepped its boundaries or not? Well, Watkins makes it clear. The State legislatures were intended for this purpose. But he is fair to show the differences in the logic of both Jefferson and Madison in their view of Nullification and Interposition.

To sum it up in a little over 270 pgs Watkins enlightens the American public to the need of reform within our current government structure, and he shows how the principles of the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions have been carried out in history to reserve the rights of the people and the government from expanding it's power, and how the same thing is needed today. I could not put this book down, and I was upset when I found how much I was not taught in my early American history classes.