The
Essential Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers
Edited by David
Wootton
Reviewed by
Monty Rainey
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Among the significant
documents of American history, few hold such a high degree
of significance as the FEDERALIST PAPERS, constructed by
Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay. There is an
endless list of books written on the Federalist Papers of
which to choose from, however, the Anti-Federalist side of
the argument has, for the most part, been ignored among
American historians, and I know of no other volume that
gives the reader a better opportunity to examine both sides
of the argument together. THE ESSENTIAL FEDERALIST AND
ANTI-FEDERALIST PAPERS, edited by David Wootton, presents
both sides of the argument for the reader's examination.
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Wootton provides documents
defending each argument beginning with the historical
sources, such as Blackstone's COMMENTARIES, used to
construct the Constitution. Seven antifederalist voices
follow, beginning with George Mason's broadside and
concluding with four of Judge Robert Yates' ESSAYS OF
BRUTUS.
This book serves a long overdue purpose, however, is not
without fault. I'm sure, for brevity's sake, Wootton has
included only 33 of the Federalist Papers (the original 33
which appeared in the New York newspapers, none of the later
52 papers which appeared in book form). My biggest
disappointment in the book, however, is that the Federalist
and Anti-Federalist arguments are separated rather than in
chronological order. This would have made it much easier to
comprehend what was being said in that, many of the
arguments were responses to previous arguments from the
opposition.
The book concludes with a selection of Constitutional
documents. The Articles of Confederation, Madison and Edmund
Randolph's Virginia Plan, and the Constitution-together with
the first ten amendments-finish the volume, which also
features a detailed index. Even though there were a few
things I did not like about this book, if your goal is to
research both sides of the Federalist/Anti-Federalist
argument, this is a terrific source and will save you
countless hours of research.
Monty Rainey
www.juntosociety.com
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