Time: Thu Feb 06 07:31:18 1997 by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id GAA02896; Fri, 7 Feb 1997 06:44:20 -0700 (MST) Date: Thu, 06 Feb 1997 07:29:59 -0800 To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar] Subject: SLS: ST. JOHN THREE-VOLUME SET <snip> >You are there--with Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, >James Madison, Ben Franklin, and George Washington > >CONSTITUTION JOURNAL >A CHILD OF FORTUNE and >FORGE OF UNION/ANVIL OF LIBERTY >by Jeffrey St. John >(reviewed by Jim Powell) > >This trilogy, the cap of the late Jeffrey St. John's >distinguished journalism career, tells the epic story of how the >Constitution was hammered out, how it was ratified, how the >federal government got started and how the Bill of Rights was >secured. > >Writing as if he were a reporter filing dispatches, St. John puts >you right there amidst historic struggles and debates. You'll >meet unforgettable characters and feel the tension as they fight >for their most cherished ideas. You'll hear Patrick Henry's >spellbinding oratory. You'll see George Washington outwit the >wily Massachusetts governor John Hancock (once known as "the >Prince of Smugglers"). > >Thomas Jefferson was American Minister in Paris while the >Constitution was drafted and ratified, but St. John tells how he >made his moral influence felt through a succession of eloquent >letters. Jefferson denounced the shameful secrecy of the >Constitutional Convention, saying "I am sorry they began their >deliberations by so abominable a precedent as that of tying up >the tongues of their members." After Colonel Alexander Hamilton, >the New York lawyer, expressed his admiration for monarchy, >Jefferson scowled: "I am astonished at some people's considering >a kingly Government as a refuge... Send them to Europe to see >something of the trappings of monarchy, and I will undertake that >every man shall go back thoroughly cured." And when Jefferson >read a draft of the Constitution, he insisted that "a bill of >rights is what the people are entitled to against every >government on earth... " > >St. John shows how the Constitution surprised everybody. Voters >had sent Convention delegates to revise the Articles of >Confederation, but they trashed it. Although at least 30 of the >55 delegates owned slaves, the Constitution called for abolishing >the slave trade in 20 years. The thin, soft-spoken Virginian >James Madison was hailed as the "architect of the Constitution," >but he made one proposal after another which the Convention >rejected. For instance, he thought the executive branch ought to >be combined with the judiciary, he was opposed to the idea of >giving each state equal representation in the Senate, he didn't >want the House originating money bills, and he objected to >Congress having power to impeach the President. > >There are dramatic moments aplenty. For example, St. John >reports how the Constitutional Convention was near collapse on >July 3, 1787 when the ailing Benjamin Franklin suggested a >breakthrough compromise. St. John tells how Patrick Henry and >Virginia governor Edmund Randolph got into an argument which was >nearly settled by gunfire. You'll see why New York came close to >defeating the Constitution, despite Federalist electioneering and >85 forceful essays by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John >Jay, published as THE FEDERALIST PAPERS. You'll hear Sam Adams, >revered leader of the American Revolution, demand a bill of >rights, saying the "Constitution be never construed to authorize >Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press, or the rights >of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who >are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms..." > >St. John tells how Patrick Henry barred James Madison from the >Senate and almost kept him from being elected to the House. St. >John shows how the savvy Madison subsequently maneuvered the Bill >of Rights--which he had long opposed--through the Federalist- >dominated Congress that didn't want it. > >While St. John seems to believe the Constitution was a good >thing, because the prior Confederation Congress couldn't deal >with big debts resulting from the Revolutionary War, he >acknowledges that it meant establishing a central government >which could become a tyranny. Moreover, ratifying the >Constitution involved treachery. Federalists controlled most of >America's 95 newspapers, St. John says, and they were often able >to suppress publication of Anti-Federalist views. St. John tells >how Massachusetts Federalists "employed spying and threats, >packed the spectator galleries with supporters, and concluded a >political deal with the popular Governor of the State... " St. >John provides a forthright account of Anti-Federalists like the >Virginians Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee and George Mason >(author of America's first bill of rights) who maintained public >pressure for a federal Bill of Rights. > >St. John notes Washington was a reluctant candidate because, >among other things, he was struggling to keep his debt-plagued >plantation out of the hands of tax collectors. But once he won >the election, Washington went on a whirlwind public relations >tour, donning his Continental Army uniform, riding a white horse >and staying overnight in taverns. > >As you can see, St. John presents a most entertaining and >instructive story about tumultuous events which shaped America >for more than two centuries. Historian Forrest McDonald says >"St. John's contemporary-reporter technique works exceedingly >well... marvelous." > >ST. JOHN THREE-VOLUME SET: >AH7221 (hardcover) 974p. >Publisher's list price: $67.85 >OUR PRICE ONLY $34.95 > >----------------------------------------------------------------- >Please send this to anyone who you think might be interested >----------------------------------------------------------------- > >To order the ST. JOHN THREE-VOLUME SET from >Laissez Faire Books . . . > >BY EMAIL: > >Address email orders to Sarah at orders@laissezfaire.org. If you >have ordered from us before, include your name and zip code (or >postal code), and we will process your order using the >information we have on file. If you have not ordered from us >before, we will need your name, address, and credit card number >(including expiration date). If you prefer not to send this >information over the Internet, please write, telephone, or fax us >with this information before emailing your order. PGP encrypted >mail is accepted; email russell@laissezfaire.org for our public >key. > >BY MAIL: Write to Laissez Faire Books, Dept L50, 938 Howard St., >Ste. 202, San Francisco, CA 94103-4114, USA. > >BY PHONE: Call toll free 1-800-326-0996 (US and Canada) or dial >(415) 541-9780. Customer service representatives are available >between 9am and 6pm PACIFIC TIME. > >BY FAX: Fax us at (415) 541-0597. > >PAYMENT: Make a check or money order payable to Laissez Faire >Books, or pay by credit card. (We accept Visa, Mastercard, and >Discover.) > >California residents must include sales tax. (To learn the sales >tax rate for your county, contact Laissez Faire Books or point >your web browser to <http://www.boe.ca.gov/boe/tsutr.htm>.) > >SHIPPING & HANDLING: Standard US mail (1-3 weeks) is $4.35. >(International customers: Surface mail is $3.75.) Contact us for >other shipping options. > >If you'd like to receive our free monthly printed booklist, or if >you'd like to receive Book News announcements via email, or if >you have any other questions or comments, please let me know. > >Visit our web pages at <http://www.laissezfaire.org/>. > >Russell Hanneken >Laissez Faire Books >russell@laissezfaire.org >------- >To subscribe to c-news, send the message SUBSCRIBE C-NEWS, or the message >UNSUBSCRIBE C-NEWS to unsubscribe, to majordomo@world.std.com. Contact >owner-c-news@world.std.com if you have questions. > > ==================================================================== [Text is usually formatted in Courier 11 non-proportional spacing @] [65-characters per line; .DOCs by MS-WORD for MS-DOS, Version 5.0B.] Paul Andrew Mitchell, B.A., M.S., email address: pmitch@primenet.com Web site for the Supreme Law Firm is URL: http://www.supremelaw.com Ship to: c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776, Tucson, Arizona state [We win] We can decode all your byte streams, spaghetti code notwithstanding. Coming soon: "Manifesto for a Republic" by John E. Trumane ie JetMan ====================================================================
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