This is a wonderful book that will be attacked by the usual suspects who are clueless about the Constitution and the limits that it places on the Executive in the United States. While I would like to think that most of the critics are part of the parasite class that consumes the taxes that are taken from net taxpaying wage earners who struggle to keep their heads above water the truth is likely to be much worse. The education system in the United States is so terrible that few have ever bothered reading the considerable material that is needed for understanding. McClanahan is very clear that anyone who wishes to understand the Constitution need to do more than just read the famous Federalist essays. The real debates took place during the ratifying conventions and men like Roger Sherman, James Wilson, James Iredell, John Rutledge, and Edmund Randolph had plenty to say about what the words that the Founding Fathers wrote meant. Those of us who do not trust secondary sources are given references to the original material where the arguments that are made are supported by the texts.
Brion McClanahan does a masterful job of taking us to the original sources and demonstrating how nine presidents, beginning with one of his favorites, George Washington, were slowly destroyed constitutional government while four great presidents tried to preserve the original vision of limited constitutional government. Sadly, the book shows that a constitution is unable to maintain a “limited constitutional government” because the incentives for those that benefit from transfer programs and unconstitutional activities are so much stronger than the incentives for those that would prevent slippage towards the pervasive corrupt system that is in place today.
Somewhat surprisingly, McClanahan makes one of his favorite presidents s villain. George Washington is shown to have gone well beyond his powers when he issued a “Proclamation of Neutrality.” While he agrees with the substance of the Proclamation, McClanahan goes after Washington for exceeding his constitutional authority and setting a precedent for future presidents who wished to intervene in foreign policy. He also blames Washington, for calling up the state militia and sending it to Pennsylvania during the Whiskey rebellion. The Constitution did not give Washington the authority but Hamilton, who comes out looking bad, uses his considerable influence to get Washington to overstep his authority. While the criticism is well deserved, many Americans tend to see Hamilton in mythical terms and are likely to object by the positions taken by the author.
That said, the chapter that is likely to get the most negative responses is the one on Lincoln, one of the most tyrannical and corrupt presidents in American history. McClanahan does a wonderful job of exposing Lincoln's lies and actions but I fear that no matter how many references he gives, the true believers will ignore the facts and stick with the mythology. This chapter was a bit disappointing for me because I would have preferred for McClanahan to give Dishonest Abe the Thomas Dilorenzo treatment, (See:
The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War
or
Lincoln Unmasked: What You're Not Supposed to Know About Dishonest Abe
, or to make the tax position even stronger as Charles Adams does in,
When in the Course of Human Events: Arguing the Case for Southern Secession
.
I cannot say enough good things about the book. The chapters on the 'good' presidents were particularly wonderful to see, given the attacks that they get from both the right and left these days. Jefferson's anti-tax, and favorable civil liberties policies get a lot of praise even though McClanahan points out Jefferson's warts and personal failings. I loved the chapter on John Tyler, who is described as “arguably the best president in American history.” A faithful Jeffersonian Tyler vetoed the protectionist tariffs and the corporate welfare policies created by Henry Clay and the Whig Party. Grover Cleveland, Ron Paul's favorite President and probably the last Democratic president worthy to be in the White House, vetoed more legislation than all of the presidents before him combined. Cleveland oppsed interventionism abroad, supported free trade, and opposed the progressive attempt to move towards establishing a welfare state. Calvin Coolidge is seen as a tragic figure whose Jeffersonian vision had been transformed into the socialism of FDR. Because he cut taxes and did not start any wars abroad, Coolidge is seen as a horrible president by professional historians from both sides of the spectrum.
By the book. Go to McClanahan's site. And subscribe to the podcasts. I also enjoyed his other books, shown below.
The Founding Fathers Guide to the Constitution
Forgotten Conservatives in American History
The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers (The Politically Incorrect Guides)
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mark donaldson
Original and not what you learn in school
Reviewed in Canada on November 13, 2017