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Title: Vindicating the Founders: Race, Sex, Class, and Justice in the Origins of America by Thomas G. West ISBN: 0-8476-8516-0 Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Pub. Date: 01 January, 1997 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $22.95

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Average Customer Rating: 4.06 (17 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: Highly Recommended!
Comment: Thomas G. West does a masterful job of explaining the commonly held political and social beliefs of the Founders, all the while he debunks numerous myths from both the Left and the Right. West, a disciple of Leo Strauss and Harry Jaffa, stays within the tradition of natural law theory as currently advocated by the Clairemont Institute as he explains the true meanings of the words found in the Declaration and the Constitution. Each chapter begins with quotations from various historians or influential thinkers who have misinterpreted their meanings, then West gathers quotes from the Founders within context and gives the reader the proper meaning. This is then followed by what might be called application and social critique, telling us things that may surprise us.

Although I think he underplays the racism that was evident in their thoughts and behaviors, I believe he is correct in most of his conclusions and I learned quite a bit. It could be a conservative compliment to *Lies My Teacher Told Me* by James Loewen. For those who want to gather the true meaning of the what the USA was founded on, they could get no better book than this.

Rating: 5
Summary: A Must-Read for Any Critic of the Founders
Comment: No one should criticize or condemn the Founding Fathers of this country until they've read either this book by Tom West or every one of the speeches, letters, and other writings of the Founders for themselves. One of the problems in today's country is that we have a bunch of self-appointed PC historians that regularly badger the Founders for falling short of today's enlightened sense of justice without taking the time to read what the Founders had to say on these issues themselves. West lets the Founders speak for themselves by documenting both their writings and their actions. Truly, a valuable contribution to the study of American history.

I hope to see more from Tom West.

Rating: 1
Summary: Not a good read
Comment: Dr. West has a very wishy-washy argument, arguing against the ideas that blacks, women, and the poor enjoyed life, liberty, and happiness at the founding. He argues the point that the Founding Fathers BELIEVED in TRUE EQUALITY for all, and he proves his point by using the writings of the founders. However, the simple proclamation of principles does no good for society when they are not carried out. He only goes on to explain WHY the Founders could not carry out their principles.
This book is very heavy on the philosophical/principled side of politics, and very lacking in it's examination of the actions undertaken at the founding. I'm only reading the book because it's for my politics class (at the university where he teaches. . . I wonder why we had to buy it. . $$$)

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