States Rights and the Union

Posted on 01 August 2018 by Forrest McDonald

Forrest McDonald has long been recognized as one of our most respected and provocative intellectual historians With this new book, he once again delivers an illuminating meditation on a major theme in American history and politics.Elegantly and accessibly written for a broad readership, McDonald s book provides an insightful look at states rights an issue that continues to stir debate nationwide From constitutional scholars to Supreme Court justices to an electorate that s grown increasingly wary of federal power, the concept of states rights has become a touchstone for a host of political and legal controversies But, as McDonald shows, that concept has deep roots that need to be examined if we re to understand its implications for current and future debates.McDonald s study revolves around the concept of imperium in imperio literally sovereignty within sovereignty or the division of power within a single jurisdiction With this broad principle in hand, he traces the states rights idea from the Declaration of Independence to the end of Reconstruction and illuminates the constitutional, political, and economic contexts in which it evolved.Although the Constitution, McDonald shows, gave the central government expansive powers, it also legitimated the doctrine of states rights The result was an uneasy tension and uncertainty about the nature of the central government s relationship to the states At times the issue bubbled silently and unseen beneath the surface of public awareness, but at other times it exploded.McDonald follows this episodic rise and fall of federal state relations from the Hamilton Jefferson rivalry to the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, New England s resistance to Jefferson s foreign policy and the War of 1812, the Nullification Controversy, Andrew Jackson s war against the Bank of the United States, and finally the vitriolic public debates that led to secession and civil war Other scholars have touched upon these events individually, but McDonald is the first to integrate all of them from the perspective of states rights into one synthetic and magisterial vision.The result is another brilliant study from a masterful historian writing on a subject of great import for Americans. Best Download [ States Rights and the Union ] by [ Forrest McDonald ] For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr McDonald s States Rights and the Union offers exactly what it advertises a detailed look at the evolving notion of the relationship between state and federal power in the first century of the nascent American nation McDonald s reputation as both a detailed analyst and a fine writer are both well earned.Perhaps unsurprisingly the picture that emerges most strongly from this work is the astonishing flexibility if we re speaking charitably on this topic exhibited by nearly every political McDonald s States Rights and the Union offers exactly what it advertises a detailed look at the evolving notion of the relationship between state and federal power in the firs...One of Professor McDonald s last books another tour de force.My favorite of McDonald s works.Among their many failings, U.S history textbooks have often portrayed national sovereignty as a largely settled question following the revolutionary war, which was resurrected years later by southern states who wanted to hold slaves What University of Alabama Professor Forrest McDonald shows in States Rights and the Union, is that states rights infused the national debate of most issues in the first 100 years of the republic.One of those issues on which McDonald provides a particularly inter Among their many failings, U.S history textbooks have often portrayed national sovereignty as a largely settled question following the revolutionary war, which was ...I only wish that McDonald continued his survey past 1876 to the present Of course, the first 100 years of this country s union are the most decisive in the battle between states rights and federal government union, so the choice is understandable McDonald does also include a meaningful epilogue at the end that briefly traces states rights philosophy through to the present day Mainly I mean only to imply how well written and fascinating McDonald s survey is I would have continued reading fo I only wish that McDonald continued his survey past 1876 to the present Of course, the first 100 years of this country s union are the most decisive in the battle between states rights and federal government union, so the choice is understandable McDonald does also include a meaningful epilogue at the end that briefly traces states rights philosophy through to the present day Mainly I mean only to imply how well written and fascinating McDonald s survey is I would have continued reading for another few hundred pages without getting bored.Granted, I am an anarchist by principle and libertarian in practice, so I m biased to...Talk states rights in today s political climate, and you re likely to be labeled a crank or a racist or both, because so much ignorance passes for history in our government school system.You will be taught in your history classes about checks and balances in the US Constitution, but you will be taught that those checks and balances consist largely of the division of power between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the federal government Only a moment s reflection, th Tal...Anyone interested in how we went from a loose confederacy of states to the centralized global power of today should read this book The battles fought around these issues during the first hundred years are fascinating and illuminate the deeply held beliefs on both sides of the debate.Very informative work on the issue of states rights and the evolution of constitution law and interpretation.

English
01 August 2018

Forrest McDonald