Liberty's Blueprint: How Madison and Jefferson Wrote the Federalist Papers, Defined the Constitution, and Made Democracy Safe for the World

by Michael Meyerson

Book Overview

Aside from the Constitution itself, there is no more important document in American politics and law than The Federalist-the series of essays written by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison to explain... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0465002641
• ISBN13: 9780465002641
• Release Date: March 2008
• Publisher: Basic Books (AZ)
• Length: 309 Pages
• Weight: 1.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.5" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

The American Revolution, rallied and solidified by The Federalist!

As we contemplate the dawn of the computer age, the rivalries between the mainstream media and bloggers, the rise of the security state and telecommuting, perhaps a case could be made that the American Revolution occurred in an antique and irrelevant land. Not so, not so! Meyerson's Blueprint is very timely. While his title is a clever play on Coolidges "Make the World Safe for Democracy"and others have accused Blueprint of attempting to `pound modern square pegs into olden round holes' I saw his approach as quite cohesive in this regard. Many of the elements that percolated through society at the time of the American Revolution challenge us now--Only the cast of characters has changed. Indeed, so evocative were Blueprint's observations of the era, it might be interesting to read it in an historical setting, such as Independence Hall in Philadelphia or on the grounds at Monticello, Jefferson's home. The portraits of Hamilton and Madison were well drawn. Liberty's Blueprint gives many details of the times, the issues, the reasons why The Federalist were written, as well as the dynamics between its authors. Such details as these are presented: The original purpose to which the Federalists were circulated--to assist in the passage of the US Constitution of 1787 (and the opposition there-to!). For instance, Patrick Henry's disdain for the thing (a new tyranny). The authors desire for anonymity (!) Madison's exhaustive study of democracies ancient and modern-(confederations don't work as without central authority, petty rivalries rue the day). All these are telling details. While the book stands up well on its own, it has piqued my interest for further study. I'm now off to get hold of a bound copy of The Federalist Papers.

Wonderful story

This book gives the wide-ranging back-story of the creation of The Federalist Papers. Meyerson provides a well sourced view of the process behind the fight for ratification of the Constitution. The book is not too dry, with plenty of anecdotes relative to the relationship between Madison and Hamilton. A good all-around read.

Fresh reconstruction of the core Federalist arguments

Michael Meyerson is Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore, and teaches the Federalist Papers as part of his Constitutional Law class. He has put his academic training to excellent use. Some legal scholars focus on minutia. Fortunately for us, Professor Meyerson is a skilled popular writer, with a true gift for synthesizing and explaining first principles. Using the best of modern scholarship, he provides us with a clear and fresh overview of the main arguments in the Federalist Papers. Especially helpful is Professor Meyerson's frequent reference to the Anti-Federalist writings. Ignoring them is like hearing only one side of a phone conversation. By reconstructing both sides of the debate, Meyerson creates a dynamic work that transports us back to that turbulent time, when the public's approval of the new Constitution was in the balance. I was fascinated by Professor Meyerson's clear explanation of the checks and balances in the Constitution, designed to avoid concentrations of power, which are the principal risk with a strong government, due to the defects in human nature. Perhaps the main weakness in the book is its effort to comment on current political debates. Here, if I'm not mistaken, Professor Meyerson seems a bit too eager to criticize various Republican and conservative ideas. Perhaps he thinks that Democracts have ceded the Federalist Papers to the Republicans in recent years, and he is seeking to redress the balance. In my view, this weakens the work by interjecting a partisan perspective in an otherwise excellent and balanced historical analysis.

Collaboration and Friendship helped ratify the US Constitution

Liberty's Blueprint: How Madison and Hamilton Wrote the Federalist Papers, Defined the Constitution and Made Democracy Safe for the World, fittingly describes the premise of the book in so little words. Michael I. Meyerson observes The Federalist or Federalist Papers, the essays, which Alexander Hamilton and James Madison composed in order to convince the framers of the US Constitution that one of the most important documents in American history was worth ratifying. Meyerson puts a human face to the story as well as examines this historic moment in terms of history and law. In addition, he clarifies the papers' meaning as well as misinterpretations that have arisen since the completion of the papers in 1788. But in order to understand its purpose, Meyerson has had to revisit the history of the framers of The Federalist essays, which helped shape freedom and democracy in the US. However, their story is not as romanticized as history books have painted it out to be, but rather it was a series of events that consisted of a blend of squabbles and commiseration that involved rumors of Hamilton's precipitous idea of moving the capital from Philadelphia to New York, which turned out to be congressional President Elias Boudinot's political influence that later had Hamilton confiding with Madison to clear his name from the matter; this event would strengthen their collaboration but also eventually be one of the factors, which ended their friendship. Despite Hamilton and Madison's demise, they have left a lasting legacy that is relevant today. Meyerson suggests that Madison and Hamilton wanted to provide an understanding of the how laws have an enormous effect on the entire populace be it through a state or national level. But as a law scholar, he ponders with the past and comments on current events through a 21st century lens that many historians would avoid, such as with the War in Iraq and environmental issues. However, he genuinely shows a greater emphasis and meaning to the Federalist Papers and the US Constitution as living documents that help others to understand and to preserve the rights of many people.

Lively introduction to THE FEDERALIST (history + explanation)

I have been searching for a while some book on THE FEDERALIST which were recent and not a difficult reading, so when I found this work combing history and analysis I decided it to give it a chance, in despite of not finding previous comments on it. The description on the synopsis provided by the "Book reviews" is fairly accurate. Therefore, I will only point out that this work,combining the personal and the constitutional, law and history, takes a close look at the Federalist Papers,which are essays written by James Madison and Alexander Hamilton in favor of ratifying the Constitution. The book is basically divided in two parts. Part I explains how Hamilton (combustible and heedless) and Madison (priggish and intellectual) became friends, came to write THE FEDERALIST together (John Jay's contribution is briefly mentioned), and afterwards became political enemies. Part II provides reasons to read, understand and appreciate the influence of THE FEDERALIST, the author's succinct and readable interpretation of it and his defense of THE FEDERALIST's critical importance for understanding many of present America's divisive political debates. Just in case some people may refrain from this work lest it will be scholarly dull, let me tell you that is not the case at all. I could not put it down it and read it in less than a week's time (content: 5 starts; pleasure of Part I: 5; pleasure of Part II: 3 to 4). So I highly recommend it. All that (and much more that I do not mention in this summary) is developed in 297 pages (footnotes included), the book being divided in the following way: Preface. /Introduction: "A well-established historical controversy": solving the mystery of who wrote THE FEDERALIST //Part I: Writing THE FEDERALIST. Chapter 1: "Testifying the Esteem & Regard": An Unlikely Friendship/ Chapter 2:"To cement the union": sounding the call for a convention/ Chapter 3: "Better than nothing": the drafting of the Constitution/ Chapter 4: "Establishing good government from reflection and choice": Producing THE FEDERALIST/Chapter 5: "The head of a faction decidedly hostile to me": The disintegration of a relationship. //Part II: Reading THE FEDERALIST. Chapter 6:"The most valuable disquisition of government": Why and how to read THE FEDERALIST/Chapter 7: "The diseases most incident to republican government": Appreciating FEDERALIST/Chapter 8: "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition": Lessons on the separation of powers/Chapter 9: "A double security": Lessons on federalism/Chapter 10: "The Greatest of all reflections on human nature": Lasting lessons/Acknowledgments, Works frequently cited, Noteworthy editions of THE FEDERALIST, Notes on the Title, Notes, Bibliography, Index. Other books on the USA I would also recommend are the following: A) Dealing with constitutional and political ideas: 1) "America's Constitution: A Biography" by Akhil Reed Amar; 2) Constitutional History of the American Revolution [ABRIDGED]" by John Philip