Harmonizing Sentiments: The Declaration of Independence and the Jeffersonian Idea of Self Government (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780820439617)

Harmonizing Sentiments: The Declaration of Independence and the Jeffersonian Idea of Self-Government introduces the reader to the major issues concerning America's statement justifying independence. It covers the first controversy between loyalists and patriots, explores the document's intellectual sources, evaluates the degree to which the Declaration's ideals were fulfilled or rejected by the Constitution, and concludes by investigating its current political and legal implications. Readers will be intrigued by the author's argument for approaching the Declaration with an understanding of eighteenth-century political economy and ideas about a natural social order. The importance of Jefferson as a conduit through which these ideas were expressed is defended against recent attempts to de-emphasize the centrality of the Declaration's author. The work concludes that the Declaration's focus upon the abuses of power is still relevant for understanding American political institutions.

Author: Nicholas Capaldi,Hans L. Eicholz
ISBN-10: 0820439614
ISBN-13: 9780820439617
Publisher: Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publi
Language: English
Published: 02/22/2001
Pages: 246
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.60d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 02/01/2002 pg. 1104