The Founding Fathers Guide to the Constitution

By Brion McClanahan

What Does the Constitution Really Mean?

Are liberals right when they cite the “elastic” clauses of the Constitution to justify big government? Or are conservatives right when they cite the Constitution’s explicit limits on federal power? The answer lies in a more basic question: How did the founding generation intend for us to interpret and apply the Constitution? Professor Brion McClanahan, popular author of The Politically Incorrect Guide™ to the Founding Fathers, finds the answers by going directly to the source — to the Founding Fathers 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 the dominant branch of government—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— was designed to guard against it
  
• Why the founding generation would regard most of the current federal budget—including “stimulus packages”—as unconstitutional
  
• Why the Founding Fathers would oppose attempts to “reform” the Electoral College
  
• Why the Founding Fathers would be horrified at the enormous authority of the Supreme Court, and why the Founders 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to the Constitution is the definitive layman’s guide to America’s most important—and often willfully misunderstood—historical document.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Regnery History
• Release date: Jan 9, 2012
• ISBN: 9781596982864

Reviews for The Founding Fathers Guide to the Constitution

[jarratt_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm having trouble putting my finger on why I struggled so much reading this short book. Its idea is a very important one—illustrate how far away we've gotten from the Constitution as ratified. Clearly our federal government is far larger and more powerful than our founders intended. There were multiple times throughout the book where I found myself having to re-read sections. I don't think author Brion McClanahan is a bad writer; I just think he didn't go about presenting the material in a clear way. He quotes founders constantly, which is fine, but I think the book would have been better served if McClanahan had paraphrased a bit more, as the 18th century wording and context was sometimes difficult to grasp.There were also multiple quotes that used the word "he" when it wasn't clear who "he" was. In most cases, I assumed the speaker was referring to himself, and maybe McClanahan, in providing the quote, used "he" instead. Here's an example:"George Mason remarked that 'five states may make a treaty; ten senators—the representatives of five states—being two thirds of a quorum. These ten might come from the smallest states...His principal fear, however, was not that five, but that seen states—a bare majority—would make treaties to bind the Union.'"So whose principal fear are we talking about? Mason, or the person Mason was talking to? This exact thing happens over and over again; making for oft-confusing reading.Another parallel point the book tries to make is which current party's view of the Constitution is more accurate? Is it limiting, as Republicans espouse, or is it a living document as often suggested by Democrats? Clearly McClanahan is conservative, but when he offers examples of how presidents and politicians have overstepped the Constitution, he goes into little or no detail. Maybe that would have made the book too long or veered too far from the main subject, but I often found myself wondering how these people could have gotten away with these transgressions. (Although after eight years of the Obama administration, I can see how easy it is for an executive to do as he damn well pleases when the press helps and the "opposition" doesn't oppose with any strength.)This subject, in the hands of a more gifted, organized writer, would have made for a much better, and more impactful, book.