Review: THE FOUNDING FATHERS, RECONSIDERED

The Founding Fathers, Reconsidered R.B. Bernstein

The title implies some new or unique interpretation of the founding fathers and their legacy. This it really was not. The author adopted a typical approach and pitted two extreme schools of interpreting the founders -- godlike reverence against complete disgust/dismissal -- and proposed a middle way between them at the beginning. As the book progressed, Mr. Bernstein essentially summarized the way Americans have understood and received the founders throughout our history. This was fine as far as it went, but the book mostly failed to add anything new or unique to the historical conversation regarding that class of distinguished personages.

His discussion towards the end of the book on the debate over original intent as a mode of jurisprudence was especially unsatisfying. He accurately conveyed the criticism of that school but neglected to examine or explain the response to that criticism, especially the fact that many of those who support "original intent" do not actually support it -- they support a school of "original meaning." To those who describe themselves as such -- the most prominent of which is Justice Antonin Scalia -- this distinction constitutes a significant difference.

The one interesting segment was toward the beginning, where Mr. Bernstein went into an interesting and illuminating discussion of the history of early American constitutionalism. For those interested in the roots of our Constitution, which has stood the test of time, this portion is a worthy read.

For those unfamiliar with the historical reaction to the founding fathers this book would be a solid, brief summary of that subject. For those already familiar with the topic and looking for some unique or new way of understanding the founders this book could be bypassed.