Power Versus Liberty: Madison, Hamilton, Wilson, and Jefferson
- ISBN-10
- 0813919126
- ISBN-13
- 9780813919126
- Category
- Biography & Autobiography
- Pages
- 201
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2000
- Publisher
- University of Virginia Press
- Author
- James H. Read
Description
Does every increase in the power of government entail a loss of liberty for the people? James H. Read examines how four key Founders--James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, James Wilson, and Thomas Jefferson--wrestled with this question during the first two decades of the American Republic. Power versus Liberty reconstructs a four-way conversation--sometimes respectful, sometimes shrill--that touched on the most important issues facing the new nation: the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, federal authority versus states' rights, freedom of the press, the controversial Bank of the United States, the relation between nationalism and democracy, and the elusive meaning of "the consent of the governed." Each of the men whose thought Read considers differed on these key questions. Jefferson believed that every increase in the power of government came at the expense of liberty: energetic governments, he insisted, are always oppressive. Madison believed that this view was too simple, that liberty can be threatened either by too much or too little governmental power. Hamilton and Wilson likewise rejected the Jeffersonian view of power and liberty but disagreed with Madison and with each other. The question of how to reconcile energetic government with the liberty of citizens is as timely today as it was in the first decades of the Republic. It pervades our political discourse and colors our readings of events from the confrontation at Waco to the Oklahoma City bombing to Congressional debate over how to spend the government surplus. While the rhetoric of both major political parties seems to posit a direct relationship between the size of our government and the scope of our political freedoms, the debates of Madison, Hamilton, Wilson, and Jefferson confound such simple dichotomies. As Read concludes, the relation between power and liberty is inherently complex.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2000-01-29
- 201 pages
- Ebook
- University of Virginia Press
-
- 2000-01-01
- 201 pages
- Paperback
- University of Virginia Press
Similar books
-
Power and Liberty: Constitutionalism in the American Revolution
By Gordon S. WoodThe results of these issues produced institutions that have lasted for over two centuries. In this new book, eminent historian Gordon S. Wood distills a lifetime of work on constitutional innovations during the Revolutionary era.
-
Liberty Vs. Power: The Founding Fathers' Vision for America
By Timothy D. JohnsonA very clear and interesting essay on the concepts of personal liberty versus governmental power in regards to the history and creation of the United States of America.
-
Liberty in Peril: Democracy and Power in American History
By Randall G. HolcombeAs its title suggests, this book describes the decline of liberty as the guiding principle of American liberty in favor of the idealization of democracy.
-
Sovereignty and Liberty: A Study of the Foundations of Power
By Amnon LevThis book retraces the history of the implication of sovereignty and liberty, an implication that has shaped the way we live together, as individuals and as political beings.
-
The Federalist Papers
By Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John JayClassic Books Library presents this brand new edition of “The Federalist Papers”, a collection of separate essays and articles compiled in 1788 by Alexander Hamilton.
-
Liberty from All Masters: The New American Autocracy vs. the Will of the People
By Barry C. Lynn... their protection, a condition which if permitted to continue, will render impossible all attempts to restore normal competitive conditions in the industrial world” (Brandeis, Other People's Money and How the Bankers Use It, 49).
-
Light and Liberty: Thomas Jefferson and the Power of Knowledge
By Robert M. S. McDonaldAlthough Thomas Jefferson's status as a champion of education is widely known, the essays in Light and Liberty make clear that his efforts to enlighten fellow citizens reflected not only a love of learning but also a love of freedom.
-
Freedom Is Power: Liberty through Political Representation
By Lawrence HamiltonA novel, sophisticated and realistic account of freedom as power through political representation.
-
Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution
By Stephen BreyerAs this book argues, promoting active liberty requires judicial modesty and deference to Congress; it also means recognizing the changing needs and demands of the populace.
-
On Liberty
By John Stuart MillFrom the Introduction In his Autobiography, Mill predicts that the essay On Liberty is "likely to survive longer than anything else that I have written." He goes on to say...