In eleven provocative essays Forrest McDonald and his wife, Ellen Shapiro McDonald, cover a wide range of the intellectual, political, military, and social history of the eighteenth century to present both a picture of the age in which our Constitution was crafted and a commentary on developments that have caused American government or stray from the Founders' principles.
Appearing here in print for the first time is Forrest McDonald's widely acclaimed 1987 NEH Jefferson Lecture, "The Intellectual World of the Founding Fathers." In other essays the McDonalds examine such topics as the writing of the Constitution, the central role of such little-known Founders as John Dickinson ("the most underrated of all the Founders") and the constitutional principles of Alexander Hamilton. Also presented is an exploration of the ritualistic aspects of eighteenth-century warfare and an analysis of Shays' Rebellion as a tax revolt. In chapters focusing on the separation of powers, the political economy, and the death of federalism, the McDonalds argue the urgent need to "return to limited government under law."
Forrest McDonald is Distinguished Research Professor of History at the University of Alabama and author of sixteen books, including Pulitzer Prize finalist
Novus Ordo Seclorum: The Intellectual Origins of the Constitution; States' Rights and the Union: Imperium in Imperio, 1776-1876, The American Presidency; The Presidency of George Washington; and
The Presidency of Thomas Jefferson. He was named by the NEH as the sixteenth Jefferson Lecturer, the nation's highest honor in the humanities.
Ellen Shapiro McDonald is his wife and longtime intellectual partner.
