Review

The Foundations of American Constitutional Government

In stark contrast to today's pragmatic, everything- is-open-to-compromise politicians, the Founding Fa-thers were men of unbending conviction. This collection of essay shows that their and their countrymen's heroism was a result of their adherence to principles.

As one author declares: "[The colonists] recognized the existence of moral absolutes. Right was right. Wrong was wrong. They were individuals who valued honesty, hard work, thrift, and an equal respect for the rights of others. They knew what they believed and why they believed it. They said what they meant and meant what they said." This explains why

through the seven years of the American war, there were no mass executions, no "reigns of terror," no rivers of blood flowing in the streets of America's cities. When a Congressman suggested to George Washington that he raid the countryside around Valley Forge to feed the starving troops, he flatly refused, saying that such an action would put him on the same level as the invaders.

Writer after writer shows the urgency with which early Americans regarded the need to limit the reach of government. .

Freedom – not government power – was the foundation of true progress, self-improvement, and happiness. Only free individuals in a truly free nation could achieve material welfare, human dignity and personal fulfillment. .

You will gain a greater appreciation for, and a more detailed knowledge of, the Constitution after reading this book. (Texts of the Declaration, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, Virginia's Declaration of Rights, and Washington's Farewell Address are included.) While there are some inaccuracies, reflecting a religious interpretation of the Founding Fathers, they are marginal and do not detract from the convincing portrait of the Constitution as a product of rational ideas. .

(294 pages)

This review is courtesy of and copyright © by the Ayn Rand Bookstore.

Books

• The Foundations of American Constitutional Government by Robert D. Gorgoglione (Editor), Foreword by Clarence B. Carson. Essays on the principled foundations of the United States. (out-of-print, see sources.)