All Americans need to read this. Here lies the foundation. Our Founding Fathers had it right (and what beautiful English!)

Among the significant documents of American history, few hold such a high degree of significance as the FEDERALIST PAPERS, constructed by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay. There is an endless list of books written on the Federalist Papers of which to choose from, however, the Anti-Federalist side of the argument has, for the most part, been ignored among American historians, and I know of no other volume that gives the reader a better opportunity to examine both sides of the argument together. THE ESSENTIAL FEDERALIST AND ANTI-FEDERALIST PAPERS, edited by David Wootton, presents both sides of the argument for the reader's examination.



Wootton provides documents defending each argument beginning with the historical sources, such as Blackstone's COMMENTARIES, used to construct the Constitution. Seven antifederalist voices follow, beginning with George Mason's broadside and concluding with four of Judge Robert Yates' ESSAYS OF BRUTUS.



This book serves a long overdue purpose, however, is not without fault. I'm sure, for brevity's sake, Wootton has included only 33 of the Federalist Papers (the original 33 which appeared in the New York newspapers, none of the later 52 papers which appeared in book form). My biggest disappointment in the book, however, is that the Federalist and Anti-Federalist arguments are separated rather than in chronological order. This would have made it much easier to comprehend what was being said in that, many of the arguments were responses to previous arguments from the opposition.



The book concludes with a selection of Constitutional documents. The Articles of Confederation, Madison and Edmund Randolph's Virginia Plan, and the Constitution-together with the first ten amendments-finish the volume, which also features a detailed index. Even though there were a few things I did not like about this book, if your goal is to research both sides of the Federalist/Anti-Federalist argument, this is a terrific source and will save you countless hours of research.



Monty Rainey

www.juntosociety.com

Among the significant documents of American history, few hold such a high degree of significance as the FEDERALIST PAPERS, constructed by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay. There is an endless list of books written on the Federalist Papers of which to choose from, however, the Anti-Federalist side of the argument has, for the most part, been ignored among American historians, and I know of no other volume that gives the reader a better opportunity to examine both sides of the argument together. THE ESSENTIAL FEDERALIST AND ANTI-FEDERALIST PAPERS, edited by David Wootton, presents both sides of the argument for the reader's examination.

Wootton provides documents defending each argument beginning with the historical sources, such as Blackstone's COMMENTARIES, used to construct the Constitution. Seven antifederalist voices follow, beginning with George Mason's broadside and concluding with four of Judge Robert Yates' ESSAYS OF BRUTUS.

This book serves a long overdue purpose, however, is not without fault. I'm sure, for brevity's sake, Wootton has included only 33 of the Federalist Papers (the original 33 which appeared in the New York newspapers, none of the later 52 papers which appeared in book form). My biggest disappointment in the book, however, is that the Federalist and Anti-Federalist arguments are separated rather than in chronological order. This would have made it much easier to comprehend what was being said in that, many of the arguments were responses to previous arguments from the opposition.

The book concludes with a selection of Constitutional documents. The Articles of Confederation, Madison and Edmund Randolph's Virginia Plan, and the Constitution-together with the first ten amendments-finish the volume, which also features a detailed index. Even though there were a few things I did not like about this book, if your goal is to research both sides of the Federalist/Anti-Federalist argument, this is a terrific source and will save you countless hours of research.

Monty Rainey
www.juntosociety.com