Posted on 11/17/2017 1:11:39 PM PST by Dr. Zzyzx
Yes, I also recommend Forrest MacDonald.
I heartily recommend The Heritage Guide to the Constitution.
Bork’s “The Tempting of America.” Some of it is a recounting of his Supreme Court nomination ordeal, but large chunks of the book deal with the history of Constitutional law.
Thank you. Very proud of the alma mater.
http://bastiat.org/en/the_law.html
A must read if considering understanding how the framers of the COnstitution felt about Government.
Socialism is Legal Plunder
If you “really” want to understand the Constitution AND the amendments, you must read both the Federalist AND the “anti-Federalist” writings. It is truly sad how predictive the anti-Federalist fears have proven to be.
IMO, the U.S. Constitution has to be studied as part of a process that began with the Revolution, and includes the failed Articles of Confederation. In that light, the Constitution is seen as a successful conservative counter-revolution. Robert Harvey's A Few Bloody Noses is an excellent place to start.
Read everything you can on Madison...by Madison. But don’t believe everything you read. All these people had different opinions and the Constitution was a Compromise.
Before you move on read “The Business of May Next” by William Lee Miller.
It ties together the genesis of the Constitution through the history of Madison’s influence.
And, of course, Madison’s influence on the Bill of Rights that he introduced was also huge.
Then you’ll be prepared to tackle the BOR.
Avery informative and pleasantly written book.
Janine Turner is Juliette’s mother. She probably had major input in the book “Our Constitution Rocks” since her daughter is a teenager.
We sent one of my husband’s daughters (by his first wife) to Hillsdale. She left a Christian and a conservative and came back that way, too! Not many colleges do that kind of thing!
ML/NJ
When I got pregnant the first time I started to take politics seriously and read The Federalist and Anti- Federalist papers. A must.
Also “the Road to Serfdom”, “The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot” and Bastiat are all good reads.
Hillsdale’s Constitution course is excellent. So is their one on Churchill. Haven’t watched their one on The Federalist Papers. Next on my list.
Two of my favorites:
1. “The Business of May Next: James Madison and the Founding”
by William Lee Miller. Paperback, 312 pages. Published November 1, 1993 by University of Virginia Press (first published 1992).
2. “Miracle at Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention, May to September 1787” by Catherine Drinker Bowen. Paperback, 346 pages.
Published September 30, 1986 by Back Bay Books (first published 1966).
3. “Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788” by Pauline Maier. Hardcover, 608 pages. Published October 19, 2010 by Simon & Schuster. I haven’t read it yet, but it’s sitting on my nightstand waiting for me to start. I heartily recommend it based the sheer excellence of the author’s previous book “American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence.” That book was so well written and taught me so much about the DOI that I do not doubt she has done a similar excellent job on Ratification.
Also, it’s a bit more modern, but you might like Mark Levin’s Liberty and Tyranny
Bump to Joseph Story.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.