The History Book Club

[close] SIGN UP NOW - BEGINNING MARCH 4TH, 2018
Link to event notification: https://www.goodreads.com/event/show/...

This is a group selected book. This was a request from a group member and this was voted on by the membership. This is an on-going selection and open discussion.

The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles or essays advocating the ratification of the United States Constitution.

Seventy-seven of the essays were published serially in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet between October 1787 and August 1788. A compilation of these and eight others, called The Federalist; or, The New Constitution, was published in two volumes in 1788 by J. and A. McLean. The series' correct title is The Federalist; the title The Federalist Papers did not emerge until the twentieth century.

The Federalist remains a primary source for interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, as the essays outline a lucid and compelling version of the philosophy and motivation of the proposed system of government.

The authors of The Federalist wanted both to influence the vote in favor of ratification and to shape future interpretations of the Constitution. According to historian Richard B. Morris, they are an "incomparable exposition of the Constitution, a classic in political science unsurpassed in both breadth and depth by the product of any later American writer."

The Invite:

This event notification is for the discussion of The Federalist Papers by Hamilton, Madison and Jay. Bentley will be leading the discussion. This will be a multi-thread discussion - one thread per Federalist Paper essay and will begin on March 4th, 2018. It will run through October 19th, 2019 - with 1 essay being discussed and read per week. 85 weeks.

Reading 1 Federalist Paper per week plus some supplementary materials will allow us time to discuss each paper in its entirety and then try to match the issues/topics discussed in each paper with current events, cases, and arguments being made by Congress, the Executive Branch and the Judicial Branches of government.

How does each paper written by our founding fathers have so much relevance for everyday Americans? And why should we be paying attention to the words of our founding fathers so many years ago?

We hope that everyone will participate/discuss these monumental papers/essays which were originally published in the newspapers of New York in order to ratify the new United States Constitution. These papers were written anonymously in 1787 and 1788 under the pen name "Publius".

We realize today the importance of the Constitution in America but what some folks do not know was that the Constitution was almost not accepted. In 1781 the states had ratified the Articles of Confederation which gave all of the powers to the states which worked for a few years; but in 1787 the young country realized that they needed a federal government which would provide the cohesiveness and support that the states needed to protect all of them "collectively"; but this was not going to be a slam dunk. New York was a hot bed for opposing ideas; to the rescue came Hamilton, Madison and Jay writing a series of essays known as The Federalist.

We hope that you will be able to join us for this spotlighted discussion of The Federalist Papers.

Bentley

[close] UPCOMING BUDDY READ

[close] SIGN UP NOW - BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2018
Link to event notification:
https://www.goodreads.com/event/show/...

May Book of the Month Selection: Non Fiction - Focus - Russia

Introduction: Quote:
"In my first years as an activist I often said that Putin was a Russian problem for Russians to solve, but that he would soon be a regional problem and then a global problem if his ambitions were ignored. This regrettable transformation has come to pass and lives are being lost because of it. It is cold comfort to be told ‘You were right!’. It is even less comforting when so little is being done to halt Putin’s aggression even now. What is the point of saying you should have listened and acted when you still aren’t listening and acting?” -- from Introduction to “Winter is Coming”

“Brave, trenchant and convincing... The book gallops through the collapse of the Soviet Union and the chaotic 1990s and then charges full tilt at Vladimir Putin: a former KGB man who is a far more dangerous adversary than most outsiders realise. His rise to power in 1999 should have been a deafening alarm call to the West: as shocking as an ex-Gestapo officer coming to power in Germany… Western politicians who offer grand visions and bold leadership, such as Senator John McCain, don't get elected. Voters in democratic countries tend to prefer low key leaders and a quiet life to blood, sweat, toil and tears. How does one defend a free world that does not want to defend itself? Let us hope that Kasparov's book becomes a bestseller.” —The Sunday Times (UK)

[close] Pulitzer Prize Winner - 2017 - Biography/Autobiography - Non Fiction

This is the NOVEMBER 2018 BOTM selection