What does the Constitution really mean?
How did the founding generation intend for us to interpret and apply the Constitution? Are liberals right when they cite its "elastic" clauses to justify big government, or are conservatives right when they cite its explicit limits on federal power? Professor Brion McClanahan, popular author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers, finds the answers by going directly to the source—the Founders themselves, who debated all the relevant issues in their state constitutional conventions.
In The Founding Fathers' Guide to the Constitution, you'll discover
–How the Constitution was designed to protect rather than undermine the rights of states;
–Why Congress, not the executive branch, was meant to be dominant—and why the Founders would have argued for impeaching many modern presidents for violating the Constitution;
–Why an expansive central government was the Founders' biggest fear, and how the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were designed to guard against it;
–Why the founding generation would regard most of the current federal budget, including "stimulus packages," unconstitutional;
–Why the Founding Fathers would oppose attempts to "reform" the Electoral College; and
–Why the Founding Fathers would be horrified at the enormous authority of the Supreme Court and why they intended Congress, not the Court, to interpret federal law.
Authoritative, fascinating, and timely, The Founding Fathers' Guide to the Constitution is the definitive layman's guide to America's most important—and often most willfully misunderstood—historical document.
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“The Constitution for the United States, like all human creations, has been changed by the inescapable ravages of time. Not only the passage of time, but ambition, rent-seeking, ignorance, deception, misunderstanding, ideology, and the lust for power have encrusted our basic instrument of government with layer upon layer of false assumptions and distorted postures that have blocked us from knowing its real meaning and intent. Dr. McClanahan, with insight, painstaking effort, and that rare thing, plain common sense, has presented here as good a picture as we will get of what the Constitution really meant to those who wrote and ratified it. This book is not only a notable feat of historianship but also an important exercise of citizenship that will enlighten those who yearn for truth.”
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Clyde N. Wilson, emeritus distinguished professor of history, University of South Carolina