Framers' Construction/Beardian Deconstruction

New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt/M., Oxford, Wien. Major Concepts in Politics and Political Theory. Vol. 18 General Editor: Garrett Ward Sheldon. Was the constitutional design of 1787 prompted by the desire of the Founding Fathers to protect their economic interests, as alleged by Charles Beard in his pathbreaking study in 1913, or was it perhaps attributable to the Framers' determination to overcome democratic turbulence in the states, as posited by the currently academically fashionable neo-Beardian school of historical interpretation? Neither thesis, Professor Slonim demonstrates, accords with the documentary record of the Constitutional Convention. Rather, the tension between the overarching need to create an effective national government and the desire to preserve state autonomy shaped the final result at Philadelphia. What emerged was a strong central government within a federal framework. Also analyzed in this volume are several neglected provisions and features of the 1787 constitutional design and their present-day implications. 'Professor Slonim, a seasoned and trenchant analytical observer of the U.S. Constitution, has provided a major contribution to investigative scholarship with his splendid tome. His rejection of the Beardian and neo-Beardian interpretation of the basic document demonstrates that, in fine, the Framers were wise political scientists.' (Henry J. Abraham, James Hart Professor of Government and Foreign Affairs, Emeritus, University of Virginia) 'I know of no American historian steeped as deeply and intelligently in the formation of the U.S. Constitution as S. Slonim, the distinguished Israeli scholar. This collection of Professor Slonim's superbessays on the Founding Era confirms his status as a remarkable independent thinker. I view this book as a must read for everyone interested in constitution-making in the United States and other nations. Slonim's emphasis on federal-state relations as the central theme of the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 is an eye-opening, persuasive exploration of an often-ignored key to an understanding of the U.S. Constitution.' (Gerald Gunther, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law, Emeritus, Stanford Law School)