Overview

According to the conventional wisdom of our time, our nation's Founders were guilty of racism, sexism, and elitism. They were hypocrites who failed to live up to their own enlightened principles. The fact that Washington and Jefferson held slaves is taken as definitive proof that they never really believed all men are created equal. It is also widely asserted that women, even after the American Revolution, enjoyed virtually no rights, and that the poor and property-less were denied the basic tenets of democratic participation. Observing that our understanding of the Founders so profoundly influences our opinion of contemporary America, Thomas West demonstrates why the Founders were indeed sincere in their belief of universal human rights and in their commitment to democracy. More importantly, this landmark book explains why their views, and particularly the constitutional order they created, are still worthy of our highest respect. In a straightforward style, West debunks numerous widely held myths about the Founders' political thought. He contrasts the Founders' ideas of liberty and equality with today's, concluding that contemporary notions of liberalism bear almost no resemblance to the concepts originally articulated by the Founders. This controversial, convincing, and highly original book is important reading for everyone concerned about the origins, present, and future of the American experiment in self government.

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9780847685165

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Reviews

Vindicating the Founders is an eloquent defense of the principles of the American founding by one of its most learned students.--Dinesh D'Souza

One of those rare publications that promises to shape the field of inquiry about the American founders for decades to come. -- Newt Gingrich A pathbreaking book. The American people finally have a definitive answer to the distortions about the founding that liberals have been pouring into the American mind since the 1960s. I recommend this book heartily. It belongs on every bookshelf and in every classroom in America. -- Rush Limbaugh Vindicating the Founders is important but (relatively) easy. Learning from them is more difficult. This book helps us learn from Jefferson, Hamilton, and Madison. And there aren't many better teachers about America. -- William Kristol, editor, The Weekly Standard Compelling, accurate, closely reasoned, and entirely convincing. -- Forrest McDonald, University of Alabama; author of We the People A valuable contribution to history and government studies on the founding. -- Herman Belz, University of Maryland Vindicating the Founders is an eloquent defense of the principles of the American founding by one of its most learned students. -- Dinesh D'Souza, American Enterprise Institute West is committed to understanding the American founders accurately and in their own terms. His work is unfailingly penetrating and trustworthy, and I eagerly seek it out. -- Michael Novak, Ave Maria University A provocative and interesting book. -- J. D. Born, Jr., Wichita State University Americans can count themselves fortunate to have at the bar a scholar of West's erudition, good sense, and tenacity. The Weekly Standard West shows how textbooks charge the American Founders with not conforming to present-day standards of political correctness. He also shows how the Founders nevertheless deserve the admiration that they used to receive from teachers and school children many decades ago. West's arguments are convincing. -- Leland B. Yeager, Auburn University Mr. West presents a compelling and well-researched history of the founding fathers and their motives in establishing a new nation. Most important, he challenges effectively the gross misrepresentation of the founding fathers based on presentistic and misleading political judgments. -- Herb London, New York University There are important lessons in this book for political thinkers... By challenging popular new ideas and reviving unfashionable old ones, Mr. West contributes to the process of reclaiming the founders. The Washington Times It's hardly news that in our time some Americans have taken to accusing the Founders of their country of hypocrisy. There is something decidedly cheap about such charges. They reek of ingratitude and imprudence. But they are being made by historians who want to substitute their own authority for the Founders' and it is necessary for someone to take them seriously enough to provide a refutation. Thomas West has risen to the occasion with Vindicating the Founders. The Wall Street Journal West has written a powerful vindication of our common civic faith. -- Daniel J. Mahoney, Augustine Chair in Distinguished Scholarship at Assumption College The American Enterprise With prosecutorial rigor and scholarly erudition, West defends the Founding Fathers and their creation-the American republic-from the relentless assault both have undergone in recent decades... West's tightly argued book adresses a problem that should be a concern to all-namely, the attack on basic American principles. Trenton Times A political scientist at the University of Dallas, West has given us a book that challenges the reigning orthodoxy as expressed by the high priests of multiculturalism. Those who reflexively reject his thesis-the nation's founding is the source of our greatness-have a moral and intellectual duty to refute him. Society Provocative book... Vindicating the Founders is not only about justice, but about how to cultivate the whole cluster of virtues which 'are necessary for a people to be free.' West's admirable study begins a discussion that is long overdue. The Review Of Politics Thomas West has written a courageous book. Modern Age This defense of the founders with their own words and voices is closely reasoned, sharply focused, and highly convincing... This is a superb book. The historical research is excellent, the analysis quite penetrating, and writing quite lucid. This book is rich with truth and wisdom. It deserves a wide audience. Appelate Journal A persuasive case ... stunningly bold. William and Mary Quarterly West not only scolds those academics who denigrate the brilliance of the founders, he also exposes their shameful prejudice toward those great men who molded the liberties we enjoy today. Indianapolis Star

Author Information

Thomas G. West is professor of politics at the University of Dallas and a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute.

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