Somehow when I was being "educated" I missed most of the Revolutionary War, The Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution of the United States. The little that I did remember was sterile and very limited.

Now, during a time when our Constitution (and our Country) are under attack from within, it is very apparent that most of the voters in the United States know very little about how this country should be progressing. So many of the things that the founders warned us about are happening every day.

The best system of self government ever created by man (our Constitution)is being ignored, altered, and misinterpreted.

The "Making of America: .....", is the best, most complete, one volume explanation of how and why our Constitution came about. If everyone would read it and live by it, we wouldn't be in the mess we are currently in. I invite you to learn what so many have not. Long live the United States of America.

Slavery is an ugly portion of human history. In many civilizations throughout history, one group has enslaved another. America is not unique in having such a blight on its history. One need only look at Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, etc clear back to Roman times. America is unique, however, in abolishing the institution. Europe, with a much longer history of slave ownership, began moving to abolish the practice in the 18th C. William Wilberforce, in England, fired up the movement. By 1814, France had abolished slavery (after its return by Napoleon). The US had a much shorter history of human bondage. It banned the importation of slaves in 1808, but was stymied on how to create a gov't, run by democracy and some majority rule, that could legally get rid of slavery. The Founding Fathers truly believed that slavery was on the way out, and they would have been proved right, had it not been for the cotton gin. Slavery was given no moral support in the Constitution, slaves were considered people and the hope was that this whole mess would disappear as an economically unsustainable practice. These practices worked for a time; slavery was legal in every state in 1776, but by 1804, it was abolished north of Maryland and strangled by importation prohibitions in the South. But it took the Civil War to finally destroy it. Our leaders were attempting to drive slavery out of business and still maintain democratic practices. If the South views the Civil War as the War of Northern Aggression, they are partially right. Our gov't could not get the South to agree to vote slavery out of existence, so they used force. The Civil War was the bloodiest our young country had ever fought. Only a true America hater would sniff at the massive numbers who died to free the slaves. Where have you seen that type of sacrifice in other countries? You don't. America sacrifices; the world dithers and complains.

Anyone whom loves the United States Constitution, and Bill of Rights I believe must have this book. Author takes you through the history of how we arrived at such a document. Author also does excellent job of listing all the principles of said Constitution, and giving numerous quotes by the founding father's for each principle.

A great book, by a great author the late Cleon Skousen.

There are some sections in this text which, to the racially dis-honest or to those who are pre-disposed to instant indignation, will surely light you up. When the entire body of the aforementioned sections are honestly examined, the truth will reveal itself to be quite the contrary.
That said, it is my humble opinion that this book should be purchased for daily consumption in every household. The fundamental principles of liberty shared within will surely open your eyes to the honest intent of our Founding Fathers to provide the template for the freedom of all mankind.
The finest work of its' kind I have ever read.

This book has the look and feel of something designed for classroom use...perhaps high school or community college level in a class on government.

The typeface (slightly larger point-size than for many books) and the layout of the pages gives that impression right off the bat.

The book has lots of illustrations--all black and white and mostly reproductions of charts, old political cartoons, etc. They are all appropriate to the subject. The text is broken up by subheads --two or three per page--which is more consistent with something geared to the student attention span.

The text does go into fairly complete discussions of various articles of the constitution, various branches of government, with short bios on the individuals who were in attendance at the original conventions.

Lots of quotations from founding individuals and lots of citations that refer the reader to the Federalist Papers (I also bought this book), de Tocqueville, and/or others.

I bought the book because the description in Amazon.com sounded like something that would be quite apropos to my desire to understand America and American history more fully. These things can be more meaningful to you at other stages of life than they were in high school anyway!!

I read some of the customer reviews, including the two negative reviews. All were helpful in my decision making. The seriousness of the two negative reviews really caused me to pause. Was this book worth buying? But then I read the positive reviews and noted that there are 33 positive 5-star reviews and only two 1-star reviews. (Evidently this is not an in-between book so no 2, 3, or 4-star reviews so far.) I own other books on American history and a few are not of the "fair and balanced" mode, so I figured that I could ferret through an ultra-right wing book as much as I do through an ultra-leftist view.

I am glad that I listened to the 33 positives. The two negative reviews are justified in that the author/editor of this book has chosen to include a lengthy quotation from a 1934 book on U.S. economic history which includes remarks about slavery that would be offensive to anyone who understands that slavery was an evil thing. This quote comes on pages 729-730 of The Making of America. I would say that it might have been better if such a quote were set off from the rest of the text by a different typeface or with a box around it, or etc. This would help us to know that it is not part of the actual text. The book does include comments elsewhere that describe slavery as evil and notes as well that several of the Founding Fathers sought to phase it out, etc. I would say that the two negative writers were one-issue people.

Overall, this book does what it sets out to do.

Contrast the sound content of this 1985 textbook to textbooks whose content is always in a state of flux - always being revamped in new editions ostensibly to stay abreast of the latest developments in their subject matter (but more likely in order to stay ahead of students' reselling and sharing last semester's edition).

This is a textbook the likes of which your children will never get in school in any edition from a textbook publisher like Pearson, McGraw-Hill, or Houghton-Mifflin.

You will have to educate your children on this material yourself once you've used it to fill in some of the gaps in the civics/government component of your own public education...

A few nuggets of scholarly wisdom from this steaming pile:

"White schoolchildren would `envy the freedom' of `colored playmates.' Slave food, even if monotonous, was plentiful. Corn bread and bacon were the mainstays, with plenty of fruit and vegetables in season. In hog-killing time, countenances were unusually greasy."

Newly sold slaves "usually a cheerful lot." "The tendency was to sell families as units, if for no other reason [than] to keep the slaves contented. The gangs in transit were usually a cheerful lot, though the presence of a number of the more vicious type sometimes made it necessary for them all to go in chains. At the other extreme, when the Central of Georgia railroad company in 1858 equipped a Negro sleeping car to assist in the slave trade it set a standard not always maintained in a later generation. When on the block, the slave was as likely to hinder as to help in his sale. Some, out of a vain conceit in bringing a high price, would boast of their physical prowess, in which case an unwary purchaser would likely be cheated. Others would malinger, because of a grudge against owners or traders or in order to bring a low price and be put at less tiring labor. Dealers, also, adopted the tricks of horse traders to make their merchants more attractive--the greasiest Negro was generally considered the healthiest." [The Making of America, pages 731-732]

Slaves hampered efficiency of white labor. "In the management of slave labor the gang system predominated. The great majority of owners, having at the most only one or two families of Negroes, had to work alongside their slaves and set the pace for them. Slavery did not make white labor unrespectable, but merely inefficient. The slave had a deliberateness of motion which no amount of supervision could quicken. If the owner got ahead of the gang they all would shirk behind his back." [The Making of America, page 732]

Cruelty rare, slave owners "the worst victims." "Excessive toil occurred only where the masters or overseers were feeble witted as well as brutal. A persistent rumor among abolitionists was that sugar planters followed a policy of working slaves to death in seven years as a matter of economy. The persons spreading such reports were as ignorant of Negro nature as they were of conditions in the sugar mills. Furthermore, they overrated the ability of the masters to know how to kill a slave in the given time instead of leaving him a broken-down burden to the plantation. When they set out to prove the accusation they returned with no evidence, but convinced that the practice existed in some obscure region which they had not succeeded in ferreting out. Harriet Martineau, after watching slaves go through the motions of work without tiring themselves, considered the planters as models of patience and observed that new slave owners from Europe or the North were prone to be the most severe. Numerous observers, of various shades of opinion on slavery, agreed that brutality was no more common in the black belt than among free labor elsewhere, and that the slave owners were the worst victims of the system." [The Making of America, pages 733-734]

Southern life a "nightmare" of fear--for white people. "The constant fear of slave rebellion made life in the South a nightmare, especially in regions where conspiracies were of frequent occurrence. The extermination of white civilization in Santo Domingo was followed in the nineteenth century by several other bloody outbursts in the West Indies, which never failed to cause ominous forebodings in America. [...]



Of course, there is no reason given for why, if the slaves were such a happy, greasy, contented lot, there was such danger of a slave rebellion.

That this book is even for sale through Amazon ought to make each and every Amazon customer feel the need to take a shower.

You will know what the founding father's intended when they drafted our nation's constitution. Learn about the participants in the constitutional convention. Study over 270 principles that the founders systematiclly included in the constition, illustrated by quotes and anecdotes from the constitutional convention in the participants own words. A must read.

We had either this book or one very similar (it might have been published earlier as the Miracle of America) growing up. Dr. Skousen writes at a level that is intuitive enough for a child and yet deep enough for an adult. It provides amazing insights into how the Founding Fathers of this nation intended to preserve our liberties and our inalienable rights endowed by a Creator through the framework of a Constitution that would keep our government chained down and restrained from oppressive actions as practically as possible.

Like the holy scriptures themselves, this book provides us with a knowledge of our god given rights and of common law as understood by our forefathers. You'll be shocked to realize just how many of our freedoms have slowly been eroded away by the collective accumulation and arising predominance of civil law over common law. One example being the advise by many judges today to juries that they are obligated to only find the facts of the case as opposed to the original power of the jury to acquit when they found the laws themselves preposterous to the situation. The predominance of personal liberty and true rule by common law is founded on the original U.S. Constitution. Dr. Skousen has done an excellent job summarizing just how miraculous the founding of this nation was and providing meaningful explanations of each clause and Amendment to the Constitution. Some Amendments to the Constitution have eroded away some of the pristine ideals of true liberty (e.g. those that paved the way to our present income tax, while others have furthered the cause of liberty by leading to more equal rights and protection under the law to all men regardless of race and/or sex.

I would recommend that every freedom loving family have a copy of this book next to their copies of the word of God where every child can have easy access to this wonderful reference and realize their god given dignity and freedoms.

This book reminds us how inspired the Founding Fathers were in writing our Constitution and in establishing our republic.

This is the most amazing and informative book I have ever read about our Constitution and what is says and what it means. The founders of this great nation did a fantastic job of documenting their intent of what they wrote. Excellent reading and should be taught in our schools and used as a text book.

Excellent book. Dr Skousen has done it again. This book goes into the Constitution in depth. You will learn something new in every chapter. I would highly recommend it and pass it on!

This is a great book, as is "The 5000 Year Leap", for understanding the thought and reasoning behind the Constitution of the United States and our Bill of Rights. Knowing the considerations and deliberations our Founding Fathers used in developing our constitution gives me a better appreciation for the document that now protects our freedoms and how important it is to respect our achievements and uphold its principles. This is not a partisan book, it is an in depth 40 year research of a "behind the scenes" look at the development of our government.

Who would have thought that I'd have a hard time putting this one down? But I did. It was truly excellent. So many details, great footnotes...heck I even ended up highlighting footnotes!

This book is excellent. I couldn't put it down. I learned so much about our founding father's and how hard they fought and worked to make our country so great. I highly recommend it. It should be in every high school in our country.

I have always found the Constitution dry reading. I read it for understanding only. But this book has brought the Constitution alive for me and showed me a clear picture of the founders and their intentions and the background that formed this. It has helped start me in the right path to research areas I wanted to understand better; such as, separation of church and state discussions. I have learned things I never knew and have come to appreciate the amazing work that is our U.S. Constitution. This is a must read for any patriotic American.

This book is the best written and informative compulation of material concerning the Constitution I've ever had the pleasure to enjoy. I wish in my heart that it was required reading and teaching in every school in America. If the children were required to learn this book and its meaning we would have a much more rounded population in future years.

The Making of America: The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution is a book every american needs, not should, but needs to read if he or she loves this country. It clearly puts forth in simple, readable language the thinking of the founding fathers. It is balanced in its approach and well documented. Worth its weight in gold.

So easy to understand and use for a reference tool. I plan on attending the Making Of America seminar when it comes to Tacoma in Sept. I hear it's really great and many who have attended one sign up when it comes near thier home town again. Go to nccs.net to find a class by you!

This is a great lesson on how and why our Constitution was written! It also will show how far we have come in changing the Constitution so that our Founding Fathers would not recognize it as the same document they wrote. A great lesson on the Constitution!

This book is the best American History textbook I have ever read. It gives details about the founding of our country which you will never hear in schools, in this country today.

It explains who the founders were and what sort of personal torment they went through in order to found our great country.

The book tells in great detail what our Declaration of Independence and Constitution are all about and how they came to be; based on the personal belief systems, values and moral codes of conduct of the men who wrote them. It details who those men were and it places them and their arguments for and against in context with what was actually taking place at the time.

This book will make the founders of our country personal to you. You will know them as individuals with lives that you can recognize, maybe even as similar to your own.

If you are an American or want to be an American this is a must read. It is actually more than a must read book. This is a book you should read, underline, study and then read again.

If every parent in the United States of America read this book to their own children, we would be a much better country for it.

I very much like this book and highly recommend it because the author talks about what our Founders were thinking of back then.

If you want to know what the Founders thought about separation of church and state, this book will tell you. Most of these men were religious in some way, and they put the idea of separation of church and state right into the Constitution. That phrase is used today to actually suppress the practice of religion, and to substitute the new State Religion of psychology, psychiatry, etc.

If you want to know what they meant by the Second Amendment, this book will tell you.

1) Every American needs to read this book, especially those in higher offices of our government. There is probably not a better one on the Constitution.
2) Our Constitution is a true miracle-- read the book and find out why!
3) The author's also pulled off a miracle-- they made this book with such a fast paced narrative so that you don't want to put it down, but at the same time included an immense amount of intriguing detail.
4) This book had a lot to do with the Reagan Revolution and now it could spark a new Revolution to put the power of governing back into THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE where it belongs! If only our citizenry would turn off the TV and get involved!

Read it and you will see and know what the founding fathers meant for you to know and see. I have owned it for a decade now. I see this book as an important and timely tool for the reawakening of America so that we can save our blessed Constitution.
I Also Recommend: The 5000 year leap.The 5000 Year Leap: A Miracle That Changed the World

This book should be a required history book in ALL schools. It describes the US from the very beginning. The principles and values of our Founding Fathers. If this was required in our schools, we would not have the problems with our congress that we have today.. READ THIS!!!!!

A must read for the person wanting to know what our founding fathers intended the constitution to do.

Excellent book that explains the contents of the Constitution in a clear and effective manner.

The author takes the minutes of the Constitutional Convention and goes over every phrase in the Constitution to detail what the founders intended by the document. Essential to understanding what the Constitution means. Can be read as a book, or used as a reference.

"I entirely concur in the propriety of resorting to the sense in which the Constitution was accepted and ratified by the nation. In that sense alone it is the legitimate Constitution. And if that is not the guide in expounding it, there may be no security." (James Madison, in letter to Henry Lee June 25, 1824.)

"On every question of construction [of the Constitution] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or intended against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed." (Thomas Jefferson, Letter To Justice William Johnson, Monticello. June 12, 1823.)

I read this book about a year ago, the way it broken down each section of the Constitution in easy to understand language, using alot of first person quotes and text direct from the writings of the Founding Fathers. If you want to learn about the intent of the Constitution this is a great place to start. It would also be a great text book for home schoolers and just plain schools.

This book is a must read for every American. This should be taught in our school system. Everyone should know the Constitution so they can see for themselves what the government is taking away. Liberty is for all not just a few.

A remarkably clear and lucid explanation of how the Constitution was formed. The author's sensitivity to historical context is exceptional. The book is written in a breezy high-school style that makes it accessible to essentially any reader. The author quotes extensively from the writings of the Founders so that the reader doesn't have to take his word for anything. This book is a "must-read" for anyone who wants to be an informed and responsible citizen of our republic.

The Making of America is a must read for every American. This book gives an detailed account of what the Founding Fathers' intended our form of government to be, a Republic, not a Democracy. If you want to be a patriot that is not blown about by every wind of political sophistry, read this book! Did you realize that the Founding Fathers' had a different political spectrum that we use today? Read this book to find out more.

This book should be the required text for all high school and college government classes. It is easy to read and contains information not readily available in most text books on the Constitution.

I love this book. It taught me about the Constitution and its simple, exalted ideas. If you read this book you will understand America's "charter of freedom" better than you would from taking a college course in political science. (At least, that's what happened to me.)
I wouldn't say The Making of America is "bipartisan." It fully lauds the Constitution as having a "success formula" for prosperity and freedom that is unique and superior to any other political system in the world. If you want a book that regards America's Constitution as neither better nor worse than other government systems, then this is not the book for you.
The Making of America is well organized. Here is a synopsis of the contents: It begins with interesting biographical information on " the man who discovered America's Freedom Formula" - Thomas Jefferson. The next chapter explores various governments - real governments that existed, such as what the Anglo-Saxons, Israelites, and French (during the times of Napoleon) had, contrasting their advantages and weaknesses. All of these were assessed by the Founders (especially Jefferson), so the author is showing what influenced the Founders' thinking about governments. It's amazing. The third chapter describes some of the Revolutionary War battles, and the Colonial leaders, and how the existing government - the Articles of Confederation - was severely deficient and in need of replacement, which chapter 4 explores further. Chapter 5 is all about the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia, and 7 explains, very simply, the balance of powers in government and all that complex stuff about three branches and division of powers and the Great Compromise and all that.
Chapter 8 is one of my favorite parts; it explains capitalism - not just what it is, but exactly why it works: It allows maximum freedom for people to invent, try, sell, buy, prosper, fail. It gives real examples of what happened when the government intervened in the economy, such as with price controls, and discusses whether big business is bad or good. Chapter 9 recounts the ratification of the Constitution and the reaction of the states and people, and talks about the Federalist Papers. It then examines the Preamble, its wording and principles.
Now we get to the heart of the book. From here until the conclusion, each chapter explores, in depth, every article and section of the Constitution - almost sentence by sentence. The author chose a very interesting way to do this - instead of boringly stating why this or that clause was included, he identifies the principle that the section allows. So after giving a sentence straight from the Constitution, he writes: "This provision gives the American people the RIGHT to ..." and says what it lets us do. Here's an example. On page 500, you read the text from Article I.10.1, "No state shall grant any title of nobility." The author says, "This further secures the RIGHT of the American people not to have [government] creating an aristocracy of privileged citizens." And then interesting history is given, describing how before the Constitution granted this right, King George III and the House of Lords were corrupt and arrogant and elitist because they were given special titles and considered above the common people, and so the American Founders wanted to forbid this practice to protect the people. Every sentence almost, of the Constitution is explained in this way. Throughout The Making of America, plenty of history is provided, in an easy-to-understand way, to help the reader see what life was like before the Constitution; also, the entire book is replete with quotations from the Founding Fathers - this is so that the reader knows exactly what the Founders intended, because much of the Constitution is misinterpreted now. Also, the amendments are studied in the same format as the Constitution, analyzing them in their historical contexts. After you read this book, you'll feel smart because your mind will be buzzing with philosophy, history, and political science. I can't tell you how much I've learned from this book. It has increased my understanding, and therefore, my love, for America's Founders and Constitution.
Also, there is a handy subject index, a copy of the Constitution's text, brief description and pictures of each of the Convention delegates, and a good introduction and conclusion.
My only complaint about this book is that there isn't a new edition; it seems it was written in the mid 80s. Don't worry, though - the information isn't outdated - because it only deals with timeless principles; but still, it would be nice if there were a newer edition; it has a rather plain cover - pale yellow with grey and red letters - and, for some reason, the print is huge, like it's for the visually-impaired or something. But that doesn't really matter; the text itself is fascinating.
You can use this great book as a reference tool - like if you hear some legislation is passing in the House and you want to know if it's really Constitutional or not - or you can read it cover-to-cover, as I did; either way, get this book, if you want to understand the Constitution and America's "freedom formula."

I love this book. It taught me about the Constitution and its simple, exalted ideas. If you read this book you will understand America's "charter of freedom" better than you would from taking a college course in political science. (At least, that's what happened to me.)
I wouldn't say The Making of America is "bipartisan." It fully lauds the Constitution as having a "success formula" for prosperity and freedom that is unique and superior to any other political system in the world. If you want a book that regards America's Constitution as neither better nor worse than other government systems, then this is not the book for you.
The Making of America is well organized. Here is a synopsis of the contents: It begins with interesting biographical information on " the man who discovered America's Freedom Formula" - Thomas Jefferson. The next chapter explores various governments - real governments that existed, such as what the Anglo-Saxons, Israelites, and French (during the times of Napoleon) had, contrasting their advantages and weaknesses. All of these were assessed by the Founders (especially Jefferson), so the author is showing what influenced the Founders' thinking about governments. It's amazing. The third chapter describes some of the Revolutionary War battles, and the Colonial leaders, and how the existing government - the Articles of Confederation - was severely deficient and in need of replacement, which chapter 4 explores further. Chapter 5 is all about the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia, and 7 explains, very simply, the balance of powers in government and all that complex stuff about three branches and division of powers and the Great Compromise and all that.
Chapter 8 is one of my favorite parts; it explains capitalism - not just what it is, but exactly why it works: It allows maximum freedom for people to invent, try, sell, buy, prosper, fail. It gives real examples of what happened when the government intervened in the economy, such as with price controls, and discusses whether big business is bad or good. Chapter 9 recounts the ratification of the Constitution and the reaction of the states and people, and talks about the Federalist Papers. It then examines the Preamble, its wording and principles.
Now we get to the heart of the book. From here until the conclusion, each chapter explores, in depth, every article and section of the Constitution - almost sentence by sentence. The author chose a very interesting way to do this - instead of boringly stating why this or that clause was included, he identifies the principle that the section allows. So after giving a sentence straight from the Constitution, he writes: "This provision gives the American people the RIGHT to ..." and says what it lets us do. Here's an example. On page 500, you read the text from Article I.10.1, "No state shall grant any title of nobility." The author says, "This further secures the RIGHT of the American people not to have [government] creating an aristocracy of privileged citizens." And then interesting history is given, describing how before the Constitution granted this right, King George III and the House of Lords were corrupt and arrogant and elitist because they were given special titles and considered above the common people, and so the American Founders wanted to forbid this practice to protect the people. Every sentence almost, of the Constitution is explained in this way. Throughout The Making of America, plenty of history is provided, in an easy-to-understand way, to help the reader see what life was like before the Constitution; also, the entire book is replete with quotations from the Founding Fathers - this is so that the reader knows exactly what the Founders intended, because much of the Constitution is misinterpreted now. Also, the amendments are studied in the same format as the Constitution, analyzing them in their historical contexts. After you read this book, you'll feel smart because your mind will be buzzing with philosophy, history, and political science. I can't tell you how much I've learned from this book. It has increased my understanding, and therefore, my love, for America's Founders and Constitution.
Also, there is a handy subject index, a copy of the Constitution's text, brief description and pictures of each of the Convention delegates, and a good introduction and conclusion.
My only complaint about this book is that there isn't a new edition; it seems it was written in the mid 80s. Don't worry, though - the information isn't outdated - because it only deals with timeless principles; but still, it would be nice if there were a newer edition; it has a rather plain cover - pale yellow with grey and red letters - and, for some reason, the print is huge, like it's for the visually-impaired or something. But that doesn't really matter; the text itself is fascinating.
You can use this great book as a reference tool - like if you hear some legislation is passing in the House and you want to know if it's really Constitutional or not - or you can read it cover-to-cover, as I did; either way, get this book, if you want to understand the Constitution and America's "freedom formula."

This is one of the most important books that I have ever read.

The Making of America contains some history leading up to the Constitution. The most important and unique part of the book is a dissection of the Constitution principle by principle.

The author goes through 286 separate principles in the Constitution.

If you read this book, you will understand the U.S. Constitution better than 99% of the 'constitutional lawyers' claiming to be experts.

This is a book that every elected official and every American voter should read and study.

The most complete book written on the substance and meaning of the U.S. Constitution. The first couple hundred pages or so focus on the history leading up to to the Constitution (including Biblical history relevant to the Constitution). The rest of the book focuses on the Constitution itself.

Skousen (he was actually aided by a whole team of researchers and scholars to get all the material and documentation for the book) then takes the text of the Constitution and analyzes it phrase by phrase, using actual quotes made by Founding Fathers, which describe the phrase in question or the concept that the phrase deals with. Every single phrase in the Consitiution is covered. Most phrases are covered by several Founding Fathers.

I've had a copy of this book for about 10 years now and I never get bored with it. I consider it to be one of the most important books ever written.

To understand what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote the Constitution, this book is indispensible.

I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to study the original intent of the founding fathers. It pulls no punches and bursts the myths of "political correctness". It is clear these men were inspired and understood their place in history. This book takes the reader though the constitution a step at a time and is able to make even the complex parts of our system plain.

Indispensable ammunition for those of us seeking to establish "original intent". Skousen's book matches provisions of the Constitution with Madison's Notes on the Convention. Very readable. Liberals hate it...that's good enough for me.

Indispensable ammunition for those of us seeking to establish "original intent". Skousen's book matches provisions of the Constitution with Madison's Notes on the Convention. Very readable. Liberals hate it...that's good enough for me.

From the notion that slaveholders "were the worst victims of slavery" to the far-right myth that Carter's ending our LEASE on the Panama Canal was unconstituional and immoral, this book is right-wing babble passing off as mainstream history. Any distortion you could think of is here - I guarantee it!

This book is extremely interesting because it commenced with the development of the constitution, the inspiration of the founder's. Their total alligence and dedication to a document so vitally important to the building of a nation deemed for the freedom of all. Totally interesting and informative to scholars and lay people alike. I found it to be in easy to understand language. Tremendously interesting.