The Bill of Rights: The Fight to Secure America's Liberties

by Carol Berkin

The real story of how the Bill of Rights came to a concise, vivid history of political strategy, big egos, and partisan interest that set the terms of the ongoing contest between the federal government and the states.

Revered today for articulating America’s founding principles, the first ten amendments—the Bill of Rights—was in fact a political stratagem executed by James Madison to preserve the Constitution, the Federal government, and the latter’s authority over the states. In the skilled hands of award-winning historian Carol Berkin, the story of the Founders’ fight over the Bill of Rights comes alive in a gripping drama of partisan politics, acrimonious debate, and manipulated procedure. From this familiar story of a Congress at loggerheads, an important truth emerges.

In 1789, the young nation faced a great ideological divide around a question still unanswered should broad power and authority reside in the federal government or should it reside in state governments? The Bill of Rights, from protecting religious freedom and the people’s right to bear arms to reserving unenumerated rights to the states, was a political ploy first, and matter of principle second. How and why Madison came to devise this plan, the divisive debates it fostered in the Congress, and its ultimate success in defeating antifederalist counterplans to severely restrict the powers of the federal government is more engrossing than any of the myths that shroud our national beginnings.

The debate over the founding fathers’ original intent still continues through myriad Supreme Court decisions. By pulling back the curtain on the political, short-sighted, and self-interested intentions of the founding fathers in passing the Bill of Rights, Berkin reveals the inherent weakness in these arguments and what it means for our country today.

Genres: History, Politics

272 pages, Hardcover

First published May 5, 2015

Reviews

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author writes about her take on the purpose and history of The Bill of Rights [the first ten amendments to the US Constitution]. She makes the claim that the purpose was to oppose anti-federalist and support a strong central government. She glosses over the Ninth and Tenth Amendments which oppose a strong federal government. Brief biographies of the first federal Congress are provide. The work is worth reading to get a different take on the subject matter.

[John Wood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives a good look into the struggles that the nascent US had in forming a cohesive group of lawmakers and deciding how to set up the government, especially the controversial battle deciding whether or not to add a bill of rights to the new constitution. There were basically two factions, the Federalists, who favored a strong central government, and the Anti-Federalists, who believed in states' rights. Unfortunately, even though the book is well researched and has plenty of details, it is very difficult to keep the sides straight. Although there are biographies of the principles in the back of the book could use a chart or a more concise, easy to follow method to keep things straight and perhaps a timeline of events.