The Bill of Rights, Carol Berkin
The Bill of Rights, Carol Berkin
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The Bill of Rights
The Fight to Secure America's Liberties

Author: Carol Berkin

Narrator: Pam Ward

Unabridged: 5 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/05/2015


Synopsis

Revered today for articulating America's founding principles, the first ten amendments—the Bill of Rights—were 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 1789, the young nation faced a great ideological divide around a question still unanswered today: Should broad power and authority reside in the federal government, or should it reside in state governments? The Bill of Rights 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 continues to this day. By pulling back the curtain on the political, shortsighted, and self-interested intentions of the founding fathers in passing the Bill of Rights, Carol Berkin reveals the inherent weakness in these arguments and what it means for our country today.

About Carol Berkin

Carol Berkin is the author of numerous books, including Wondrous Beauty: The Life and Adventures of Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, The History Handbook, and Civil War Wives. She is the Presidential Professor of History at Baruch College and a member of the history faculty of the Graduate Center of CUNY, Emerita, where she taught early American and women's history. She has worked as a consultant on several PBS and History Channel documentaries, including one on the "Scottsboro Boys," which was nominated for an Academy Award as the best documentary of 2000.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Fredrick on October 03, 2017

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 oppos......more

Goodreads review by John on December 07, 2020

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, t......more