Introduction
I. The History that Made the Founding Fathers
The State of the Union
Free-Born English Subjects
The Intellectual World
II. The History that the Founding Fathers Made
Independence
Constitution-Making
Federalism
Politics
Church and State
Equality, Inequality, and Slavery
America in the World
Part III. What History Made of the Founding Fathers
Ancestor Worship?
"Which Founding Father Are You?"
The Dead Hand of the Past: Original Intent
Conclusion
Notes
Chronology
Further Reading
R. B. Bernstein, Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Law at New York Law School, has written, edited, or co-edited nineteen books on American constitutional and legal history, including Thomas Jefferson.
"Read Bernstein's book if you can. It's both a reminder of how
fallible the Founding Fathers were--and yet how good they still
look to us nearly a quarter of a millennium later."--Andrew Cohen,
The Atlantic
"The Founding Fathers Reconsidered brims with insights and
revelations, and the jargon-free prose is a genuine pleasure to
read."--Journal of American History
"Prolific historian Bernstein (adjunct, New York Law Sch.) follows
up the brief biography Thomas Jefferson with another accessible
work of popular history on a weighty topic...Recommended for
general readers seeking an introduction to the legacies, political
careers, and disparate roles of these men in the creation and early
leadership of a new nation."--Library Journal
"A logical and easily read examination of the history that made the
Founders, the history they made, and what history has made of their
handiwork."--Kansas Free Press
"Unsurpassed in his knowledge of the vast literature on the
subject, Bernstein is admirably suited to the task. He is also an
efficient retailer, having packed a great deal of informed
exposition and wise commentary into a small, compact book of just
over 250 pages."--New England Quarterly
"Bernstein's erudite and marvelously accessible take on the
Founding Fathers is a gem. With masterful economy, wit, insight,
and expertise, he makes a familiar story come newly alive in his
portraits of the men who made the American Revolution and the early
republic. This book should be on the shelf of anyone interested in
America's founding era."--Annette Gordon-Reed, author of The
Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family and Thomas
Jefferson
and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy
"Even in the wake of innumerable learned commentaries on the
subject, Bernstein manages to shed new light on the work of the men
who framed the Constitution....The brief sketches of the various
framers are likewise masterful and, Bernstein's focus on how their
disagreements continued to play out in constitutional showdowns for
decades to come--indeed down to the present--lends depth often
lacking in treatments of the era."--Virginia Quarterly Review
"Bernstein offers his readers an engaging and erudite account of
the men who carried the colonies down the path to Revolution and
then took up the task of creating a new nation. In the process, he
provides a history of how the founding fathers came to be both
idealized and debunked and the role historians and historical
events of the 19th and 20th centuries played in shaping the
reputations of men like Washington, Jefferson, and Hamilton. This
is a book with
something important to say both to those new to the story of the
nation's founding philosophy and those who have long been students
of American politics and culture."--Carol Berkin, Presidential
Professor of History, Baruch College & The Graduate Center, CUNY,
and author of A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American
Constitution
"A masterly volume brimming with apt description and insightful
analysis, The Founding Fathers Reconsidered respectfully brings
America's most cherished heroes firmly down to earth."--History
Book Club
"This is a sparkling book. The endnotes aloneDLthe product of
decades of serious study and thoughtful reflection...are worth the
volume's price. Scholars and thoughtful lay readers alike will find
The Founding Fathers Reconsidered a rich and rewarding
work."--Claremont Review of Books
"Bernstein has something quite helpful to offer-a succinct and
engaging discussion of the founders that contextualizes them both
in their time and ours and shows how their actions and legacies
have been interpreted in the popular and scholarly discourse....In
little more than 150 pages, he manages to draw out some of the most
interesting and pivotal moments of the founding, describe them in
ways that will make them accessible to students, and then show how
the
ideas they represented are still relevant today. The breadth of
scholarly and mainstream topics and ideas Bernstein invokes to
illustrate his points is truly impressive."--Jane E. Calvert,
Pennsylvania
Magazine of History and Biography
"Bernstein eloquently discusses the contributions, struggles, flaws
and virtues of the seven key founders throughout the book...a
thoughtful, accessible read that will appeal to broad audiences
looking for an introduction to the founding era...and the basis for
the enduring debates that shape our understanding of the founding
era and constitutional controversy."--Mark Rush, Law & Politics
Book Review
"Clearly written and with general readers in mind, Bernstein's
account synthisizes much recent scholarship as he traces the
history of the term 'Founding Fathers,' offers definitions of what
it has meant over the years, and discusses those it has includeed
and even those it ought to include...Recommended."--CHOICE
"This book's great strength is in accomplishing what its author set
out for it it to be: a graceful, manageable introduction to some of
the best recent scholarship on the Founding Fathers and the issues
that surround them."--American Nineteenth Century History
"R.B. Bernstein provides a succinct and fair-minded overview of the
controversies....Bernstein's excellent overview will prove a
helpful and impressive guide for the interested general
reader."--Journal of Southern History
"A lucidly written and capably argued accomplishment...likely to
satisfy the curiosity of readers looking for a brief and lively
review of the Revolutionary Pantheon."--The Journal of Law and
History Review
"Bernstein is a winning writer with style to burn."--The Historian
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