Customer Reviews

We the People: Volume I : Laying the Foundation

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Have you ever looked for a specific document on the founding of our nation and been unable to remember which book you saw it in? Dr. Gauss has put together a fine compilation of documents which contributed to the principles on which our nation was founded. Volume I covers the time from the Ten Commandments up to Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty" address to the Continental Congress in 1775. Volumes II & III promise to be equally compelling.
Dr. Gauss has meticulously reviewed each document and gives commentary on the historical context of each, followed, in most cases by key quotes from the text, then the full text of the document.

This volume contains everything pertinent leading up to our founding. It contains such documents as The First Charter of Virginia, The Mayflower Compact, the Maryland Toleration Act, all 19 chapters of John Locke's: The Second Treatise of Government, the Cause and Necessity of Taking Up Arms, the Olive Branch Petition and so much more.

The book would be tremendously helpful for students and teachers. It should be required reading in our schools, 'should' being the operative word.

The Forward and Introduction will catch the reader's attention and you will not want to put this fine work down.

The author's commentary is indispensable in laying the basic understanding for the student reading the document for the first time. Dr. Gauss does a fine job of laying the groundwork so the student will understand the necessity of the document and come away with a better understanding of its original intent. For example, in Bacon's Declaration, the author explains that Governor Berkley ruled the Virginia Colony with an iron fist in the mid-1600's and believed the citizens there to be mere "subjects" of the King. Berkley was against any sort of education for the common folk, believing it "dangerous". It is explained how rural Virginians lived without the benefit of civil defense against Indians. The readers learn of the poll tax which further burdened those without the ability to pay. So when the reader reads Bacon's Declaration, they have a good understanding of the basic climate which led to it.

I anxiously await the publication of volumes II and III. It will be a pleasure to have a full set of such important documents from our nation's history in a 3 volume set.

"We the People", compiled and edited by James F. Gauss, Ph.D., is a convenient resource for anyone studying the founding of the United States of America. Here one can find in one reference book those documents which were key to establishing our country's principles and laws---find them as they were originally penned, not revised to suit present philosophy or political correctness.

Here is a book that literally speaks for itself. Except for occasional excerpts highlighted by the author, this is a scholar's smorgasbord of the very words---from the Ten Commandments to Patrick Henry's most famous speech---which have articulated into existence the rights and liberties enjoyed by the Western world today. Valuable historical research that makes for refreshing and inspiring reading.

Dr. Gauss's works find an audience in a world that relies on whether or not Abraham had broken his covenant with God, also I'm pretty sure he wrote a guide of lists to survive Y2K... any ethos for this fundamentalist should be shattered by that work alone. This book relies on tradition and is nostalgic for an era he obviously doesn't understand.

What an amazing and wonderful resource. This volume documents the beginnings of democracy in America and contains original source material relating to the history of these United States. This is a definite must have for every family. The author begins the volume with the Ten Commandments and ends with the Continental Congress of 1775 and Patrick Henry's fiery "give me liberty or give me death" speech. Not only are the original source works worthy but there is also a glossary of the old English words and a detailed index. I especially appreciated the author's thought provoking commentary on each entry as well as the section which included "key quotes from the text. I can't wait to get my hands on Volumes Two and Three.

President Woodrow Wilson once said: "A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do." Modern America has developed cultural amnesia, but the documents and speeches in "We the People" are a valuable resource for recovering our heritage and identity.