Title

Vindicating the founders : race, sex, class, and justice in the origins of America

Description

It is commonly, but incorrectly, asserted that because Washington and Jefferson owned slaves, because women, even after the American Revolution, enjoyed virtually no rights, and because the poor and those without property were denied the basic tenets of democratic participation, the Founders were frauds who never really believed that "all men were created equal." West demonstrates why such politically correct interpretations are not only dead wrong, but dangerous. Because our understanding of the Founders so profoundly influences our opinion of contemporary America, this book explains why their views, and particularly the constitutional order they created, are still worthy of our highest respect. West proves that the Founders were indeed sincere in their belief of universal human rights and in their commitment to democracy. By contrasting the Founders' ideas of liberty and equality with today's, West persuasively concludes that contemporary notions bear almost no resemblance to the concepts originally articulated by the Founders.

Identifier

658637

847685179

Creator

West, Thomas G

Source

Brian Lamb Booknotes Collection

Gift of Brian Lamb, 2011.

Catalog record

Language

eng

Date

1997

Program air date: November 2, 1997

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections & Archives

Text

Transcription of Annotations
Notes on front endpapers: Constitution? How much compromise. Concession. North v. South. Gordon Wood called Charles Beard's --most influential, p. 111. All men are created equal. What was Madison's bleak vision of the future. What is historicism? p 72. Women vote-1920. Abigail Adams--what is the famous remember the ladies to her husband p 102. Notes on verso of dedication page: Gordon Wood, James MacGregor Burns, Paul Finkelman p 14. Lamb has dashes before some entries on the contents page. Underlinings/Notes: Underlinings: significance of Great Books. American Founders deserve respect; arguments on blacks, poor, women, voting rights, immigration/citizenship. George Washington a political liberal. Founder's view vs. today's view. Gordon Wood--what is radical about the 1776 Declaration? All white men equal; women/blacks excluded. Paul Finkelman--Constitution a covenant with death; slavery's sectional interests, a major threat to the Union. Lamb underlines details on black rights/citizenship; slavery; colonization; property; women and suffrage; family; property rights; poverty/welfare; citizenship. Lamb underscores foundations which supported the publication, Notes: "Franklin & Hamilton on Blacks," "North v. South at the Convention," "3/5ths," "Jaffa on Lincoln," "Gordon Wood," "scholars attack the Founders," "decade of greed," "20th century common workers," "Tocq.," "Linda Kerber," "wrong," "Property owners," "women voters," "women vote 1920," "effeminacy," "Founders view of women," "Alice Miller," "John Bradshaw," "lesbians," "Bachelors," "Abigail Adams," "John A responds," "divorce nos.," "65% of adult males could vote," "Madison-wealth v. laborers," "1820s," "Britain live in idleness," "idle," "since welfare policy has folded," "% Poor," "ADC 1935," "growth of welfare costs 65-94," "N.Y.C. benefits," "Ben Franklin on why England should repeal welfare law," "love of country," "Paris," "5 year naturalization," "John Hope Franklin," "Lincoln," "equality too much."

Subject

"Constitutional history--United States."

"Citizenship--United States--History."

"Slavery--Law and legislation--United States--History."

"Right of property--United States--History."

"Women's rights--United States--History."

Relation

Original Booknotes interview

Rights

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