Liberty, Order, and Justice: An Introduction to the Constitutional Principles of American Government

by James McClellan

Book Overview

Unlike most textbooks in American Government, Liberty, Order, and Justice seeks to familiarize the student with the basic principles of the Constitution, and to explain their origin, meaning, and purpose. Particular emphasis is placed on federalism and the separation of powers. These features of the book, together with its extensive and unique historical illustrations, make this edition of Liberty, Order, and Justice especially...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0865972567
• ISBN13: 9780865972568
• Release Date: December 2000
• Publisher: Liberty Fund
• Length: 649 Pages
• Weight: 2.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 5.9" x 8.9"
• Age Range: 18 to 10 years
• Grade Range: Postsecondary to Grade 5

Customer Reviews

My best read in 2009

James McClellan's Liberty, Order, and Justice is the best book I have read so far in 2009. This seminal book is as important to the history and roots of American constitutional government as Russell Kirk's Roots of American Order is to American political history. No other book that I am aware of does as well a job in presenting an engaging history of the American constitutional order and of presenting a wealth of information on the constitutions of ancient Greece and Rome, the English natural law and natural rights traditions, and the formation of the American political conscience. The key documents that helped shape what would become the American mind, including the Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights, are discussed in prose so engaging that it makes it difficult for the reader to put the book down. This book is an excellent choice for anyone interested in American constitutional history. The following is my summary of McClellan's excellent treatise: Introduction McClellan's work deals with the principles and characteristics of the American political order by familiarizing readers with the basic principles of the Constitution. Resting on the assumption that "in order to achieve liberty, order, and justice, we must first establish limited constitutional government" (p. xx), the book examines the constitutional foundations of the nation by looking to the English origins of the American Constitution, the first Constitutions of the American States, and the principles that pervade the American Constitution, as well as the interpretation and process for the amendment of the Constitution. Throughout the book, McClellan pays special attention to the separation of powers and the limits placed on the federal government by the Constitution. Part 1. The Constitution's Deep Roots McClellan begins by setting down the four primary characteristics of a good constitution: (i) to "provide for stability and continuity in the governing of a country"; (ii) to "restrain government from assuming powers that rightfully belong to other political entities or to families or individuals"; (iii) to "establish a permanent arrangement that enables public officials and others with political authority to represent the people they govern"; and (iv) to "hold public officials directly accountable to the people" (p. 6-7). McClellan goes on to examine the constitutions of the Greek and Roman civilizations that the American Founders would have studied. Although the American Founders could trace the values of republicanism and political virtue that imbued their young republic, the principles of ancient Greece and Rome cannot fully explain the American experiment. The American Founders found many shortcomings in the ancient constitutions, which did not fully account for man's nature. The Founders instead turned towards an English heritage to animate their political order. The American Constitution, which was evolutionary rather than revolutionary, drew many of its precep