Comments on: Propositions and Declarations http://larison.org/2006/07/04/propositions-and-declarations/ n. the principle of good order "Observe the strange inversion of all order and sense! Dignity debased; how vilely is the function of a consul prostituted!" ~The Craftsman Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:49:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.4 by: Eunomia » Happy Independence Day! http://larison.org/2006/07/04/propositions-and-declarations/#comment-8936 Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:23:38 +0000 http://larison.org/2006/07/04/propositions-and-declarations/#comment-8936 [...] I hope everyone has a festive and enjoyable holiday, and I very much hope that you are not wasting it reading this on the day it was posted. Regardless, here are some remarks from three years ago that are worth re-posting: The Declaration did also include a number of rhetorical nods to the early Enlightenment and Whig thought of late seventeenth century Britain, as Locke and Sydney, among others, had sought to justify the Great Rebellion and, in the case of Locke, also the “Glorious Revolution.” The constitutional guarantees confirmed in the Bill of Rights of 1628 and the Petition of Right of 1689, and secured by the main force of regicide and foreign invasion, had become the patrimony of our forefathers and represented the established and venerable custom that they then sought to preserve against perceived innovation and usurpation. Though exceedingly minor, the infractions against which they rebelled represented for them the thin end of the wedge and, if left unchecked, the source of future usurpation based on the precedents then being set. [...] […] I hope everyone has a festive and enjoyable holiday, and I very much hope that you are not wasting it reading this on the day it was posted. Regardless, here are some remarks from three years ago that are worth re-posting: The Declaration did also include a number of rhetorical nods to the early Enlightenment and Whig thought of late seventeenth century Britain, as Locke and Sydney, among others, had sought to justify the Great Rebellion and, in the case of Locke, also the “Glorious Revolution.” The constitutional guarantees confirmed in the Bill of Rights of 1628 and the Petition of Right of 1689, and secured by the main force of regicide and foreign invasion, had become the patrimony of our forefathers and represented the established and venerable custom that they then sought to preserve against perceived innovation and usurpation. Though exceedingly minor, the infractions against which they rebelled represented for them the thin end of the wedge and, if left unchecked, the source of future usurpation based on the precedents then being set. […]

]]> by: tedschan http://larison.org/2006/07/04/propositions-and-declarations/#comment-4296 Thu, 06 Jul 2006 01:02:50 +0000 http://larison.org/2006/07/04/propositions-and-declarations/#comment-4296 Thank you very much! Thank you very much!

]]> by: Daniel Larison http://larison.org/2006/07/04/propositions-and-declarations/#comment-4295 Wed, 05 Jul 2006 18:32:55 +0000 http://larison.org/2006/07/04/propositions-and-declarations/#comment-4295 For the Founders' understanding of the relevant legal and political issues, I would have to recommend the primary sources of their own writings first and foremost (Regnery has a good edition of the political writings of John Adams with which I am familiar, and Jefferson's writings are widely available), together with a combined reading of Filmer's Patriarcha and Sydney's Discourse Concerning Government (which was the Whig rebuttal of Filmer). There are several collections of Antifederalist and Federalist writings surrounding the ratification debates that convey the rival conceptions of the legal and political traditions both sides in the debates on the Constitution shared. As for studies of the more general background, I recommend The Language of Liberty by J.C.D. Clark for understanding the rhetorical and political tradition in which the Founders were working (this study extends beyond the Revolutionary period into the early 19th century, and treats both "sides" of the Anglo-American world together). For the immediate post-independence period I recommend The Jeffersonian Persuasion by Lance Banning, particularly the connections it makes between the tradition of Country dissent against the Court (as represented by Bolingbroke) that the Jeffersonians relied upon in making their critiques of cities, merchants the "monied interest." For some of the historical background of the 17th century, Crisis of Parliaments by the late Lord Russell is fairly good for the basic narrative up to the Civil War (I cannot claim that Russell is without his biases, but he was a good enough historian to keep them from overwhelming his interpretation). I'm afraid that American history is my amateur interest, not my professional area of expertise, so I am undoubtedly neglecting many very good and probably more important volumes that will help you more than my scattershot recommendations. I hope these help. For the Founders’ understanding of the relevant legal and political issues, I would have to recommend the primary sources of their own writings first and foremost (Regnery has a good edition of the political writings of John Adams with which I am familiar, and Jefferson’s writings are widely available), together with a combined reading of Filmer’s Patriarcha and Sydney’s Discourse Concerning Government (which was the Whig rebuttal of Filmer). There are several collections of Antifederalist and Federalist writings surrounding the ratification debates that convey the rival conceptions of the legal and political traditions both sides in the debates on the Constitution shared. As for studies of the more general background, I recommend The Language of Liberty by J.C.D. Clark for understanding the rhetorical and political tradition in which the Founders were working (this study extends beyond the Revolutionary period into the early 19th century, and treats both “sides” of the Anglo-American world together).

For the immediate post-independence period I recommend The Jeffersonian Persuasion by Lance Banning, particularly the connections it makes between the tradition of Country dissent against the Court (as represented by Bolingbroke) that the Jeffersonians relied upon in making their critiques of cities, merchants the “monied interest.” For some of the historical background of the 17th century, Crisis of Parliaments by the late Lord Russell is fairly good for the basic narrative up to the Civil War (I cannot claim that Russell is without his biases, but he was a good enough historian to keep them from overwhelming his interpretation). I’m afraid that American history is my amateur interest, not my professional area of expertise, so I am undoubtedly neglecting many very good and probably more important volumes that will help you more than my scattershot recommendations. I hope these help.

]]> by: tedschan http://larison.org/2006/07/04/propositions-and-declarations/#comment-4294 Tue, 04 Jul 2006 23:31:28 +0000 http://larison.org/2006/07/04/propositions-and-declarations/#comment-4294 Sorry for the double post! It's my first time using Word Press, and I didn't know it takes some time before comments are posted and the page is updated. Sorry for the double post! It’s my first time using Word Press, and I didn’t know it takes some time before comments are posted and the page is updated.

]]> by: tedschan http://larison.org/2006/07/04/propositions-and-declarations/#comment-4293 Tue, 04 Jul 2006 21:44:05 +0000 http://larison.org/2006/07/04/propositions-and-declarations/#comment-4293 Mr. Larison, I am looking for books that deal further with what the Founding Fathers understood the legal and political issues to be, their use of the English legal tradition, and their pet political philosophies. What would you recommend? Mr. Larison, I am looking for books that deal further with what the Founding Fathers understood the legal and political issues to be, their use of the English legal tradition, and their pet political philosophies. What would you recommend?

]]> by: tedschan http://larison.org/2006/07/04/propositions-and-declarations/#comment-4292 Tue, 04 Jul 2006 21:40:22 +0000 http://larison.org/2006/07/04/propositions-and-declarations/#comment-4292 Mr. Larison, Are there any books on the background behind the Revolution (and free from the ideological slants you mentioned above and any others) that you would recommend? I am looking at something that would deal further with how the Founding Fathers understood the relevant legal and political issues, their use of the English legal tradition, and their 'pet' political philosophies. Mr. Larison,

Are there any books on the background behind the Revolution (and free from the ideological slants you mentioned above and any others) that you would recommend? I am looking at something that would deal further with how the Founding Fathers understood the relevant legal and political issues, their use of the English legal tradition, and their ‘pet’ political philosophies.

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