Birth of the Bill of Rights [Two Volumes]

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Birth of the Bill of Rights [Two Volumes] Encyclopedia of the Antifederalists

Jon L. Wakelyn

Book Code: GR1739

ISBN: 0-313-31739-9

ISBN-13: 978-0-313-31739-2

DOI:

Greenwood Press

Publication: 11/30/2004

List Price: $219.95 (UK Sterling Price: £125.00)

Discount Price: $153.97 Greenwood Press Fall 2008 Backlist Sale. Use code 0826. Save 30%. Ends 12/31/2008.

Availability: In Stock

Media Type: Hardcover

Also Available: Ebook

Trim Size: 7 x 10

Subjects:

Reviews:

Readers will appreciate having access to pamphlets, speeches, and newspaper articles that give a basis for individual rights and governmental authority in our society. A useful reference resource for scholars and students, this work is recommended for academic and larger public libraries.
—Library Journal December 2004
Wakelyn's set examines individuals who opposed ratification of the Federal Constitution. They supported a more autonomous role for the states and produced arguments and debates that played a key role in the Bill of Rights' eventual passage....Wakelyn's encyclopedia will be welcomed by students, teachers, and researchers of American history and government, since it fits a specialized reference niche. Highly recommended. Academic and research library collections.
—Choice May 2005
[W]ill appeal to high school, college and public library holdings with excellent references certain to receive constant consultation.
—MBR Bookwatch August 2005
At a time when American civil liberties are being increasingly circumscribed by federal legislation such as the USA Patriot Act, these two volumes provide an information dense analysis of the position of the persons responsible for the Bill of Rights being included in the Constitution as the first ten amendments.
—VOYA October 2005
Historian Jon Wakelyn's guide to the Antifederalists captures the spirit and reasoning of the opponents of the Constitution....This useful tool will serve both students and scholars of the early republic.
—Lawrence Looks at Books April 2005
The Birth of the Bill of Rights is a well-written introduction to a group of individuals Wakelyn describes as "often lost to history" and the historical importance of their opposition to the Constitution. It is recommended for academic and large public libraries.
—Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin March 1, 2005

Description: They lost even their name to their opponents. But while the Antifederalists lost the battle against Constitutional ratification, they won the war by getting the Bill of Rights into the Constitution as its first ten amendments. In restraining the national government's power and guaranteeing individual liberties, the Bill of Rights has come to dominate modern U.S. politics and law. Freedoms of religious belief, speech, the press, assembly, and the right to bear arms are encoded because of Antifederalist efforts. It is to these individuals that Americans owe the hallowed prohibition against unreasonable search and seizure, the right to due process, the right to trial by a jury composed of one's peers, the right to privacy, and more. One can even argue that it was the Antifederalists who instituted national obsession with "rights talk." The first volume features biographies of 140 prominent Antifederalists, including Samuel Adams, George Clinton, Mercy Otis Warren, and James Monroe. Entries on each Antifederalist detail:

Personal and public life

Early political career

Revolutionary activities

Friends and enemies

Basis for opposing the constitution

Subsequent historical reputation

The second volume collects important speeches and writings of the Antifederalists, along with annotations to help the reader place these articles into their historical context. Primary documents include:

Major pamphlets

Broadsides

Newspaper articles

Speeches delivered in state legislatures

Speeches delivered in the Philadelphia convention

Speeches delivered in state ratification conventions.

Many of these documents are difficult to find, and they never have before been collected into one edition. Uniquely, this volume is organized by date of state ratification conventions, beginning with Pennsylvania from November 20, 1787 and ending with Rhode Island in 1790. This allows users to easily trace the on-going debate over the ratification of the Constitution, and to see how the Antifederalists's questions were formed, how their arguments were crafted, and why alliances were made and broken. In all this fascinating and valuable reference set covers a critical, though neglected and enduringly important, aspect of American history.

Table of Contents:

Preface and Acknowledgments
Introduction: Profile of Antifederalists
Abbreviations of Frequently Cited Works
Individual Entries-Alphabetical
Appendix: Short Biographical Information by State Ratification Date, Alphabetical within States
Essay on Essential Sources

LC Card Number: 2004047546

LCC Class: E302

Dewey Class: 973


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