The Bill of Rights: The Fight to Secure America's Liberties

The Bill of Rights: The Fight to Secure America's Liberties

â€œNarrative, celebratory history at its purestâ€ (Publishers Weekly)â€”the real story of how the Bill of Rights came to be: a vivid account of political strategy, big egos, and the partisan interests that set the terms of the ongoing contest between the federal government and the states.

Those who argue that the Bill of Rights reflects the founding fathersâ€™ â€œoriginal intentâ€ are wrong. The Bill of Rights was actually a brilliant political act executed by James Madison to preserve the Constitution, the federal government, and the latterâ€™s authority over the states. In the skilled hands of award-winning historian Carol Berkin, the story of the foundersâ€™ fight over the Bill of Rights comes alive in a drama full of partisanship, clashing egos, and cunning manipulation.

In 1789, the nation faced a great divide around a question still unanswered today: should broad power and authority reside in the federal government or should it reside in state governments? The Bill of Rights, from protecting religious freedom to the peopleâ€™s right to bear arms, was a political ploy first and a matter of principle second. The truth of how and why Madison came to devise this plan, the debates it caused in the Congress, and its ultimate success is more engrossing than any of the myths that shroud our national beginnings.

The debate over the Bill of Rights still continues through many Supreme Court decisions. By pulling back the curtain on the short-sighted and self-interested intentions of the founding fathers, Berkin reveals the anxiety many felt that the new federal government might not surviveâ€”and shows that the true â€œoriginal intentâ€ of the Bill of Rights was simply to oppose the Antifederalists who hoped to diminish the governmentâ€™s powers. This book is â€œa highly readable American history lesson that provides a deeper understanding of the Bill of Rights, the fears that generated it, and the miracle of the amendmentsâ€ (Kirkus Reviews).
Country USA
Brand Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer Simon & Schuster
Binding Paperback
ReleaseDate 2016-05-24
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781476743806

Country	USA
Brand	Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer	Simon & Schuster
Binding	Paperback
ReleaseDate	2016-05-24
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781476743806

The Bill of Rights: The Fight to Secure America's Liberties

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