Overview

What did the American Founders actually intend for the country, and does it even matter today? If America began as an idea, then what kind of idea? In a time of increasing turmoil over American history, politics, and society, Crossroads for Liberty: Recovering the Anti-Federalist Values of America’s First Constitution takes a surprising and thought-provoking look at the American Revolution, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution, and asks what we can learn from them. Author William Watkins casts a critical eye on conventional wisdom about the Articles of Confederation, as he outlines the differences between that original U.S. governing document and the Constitution, which replaced it. He finds that the Articles protected individual liberty and community-centered government in ways that the looser language of the U.S. Constitution did not. Watkins draws from contemporary examples of bureaucratic overreach and expansion to support his argument—examples that were startlingly predicted by proponents of small government at the time of the Constitution’s adoption. Along the way, he points back to the Articles and the values of the American Revolution as a framework for reimagining American politics to foster liberty and truly representative governance. Crossroads for Liberty arrives at an important time in American political life, and its reexamination of the American Founding presents a significant contribution to the story about America. Readers will come away with a greater understanding of current political and constitutional issues, as well as a new perspective on American history. Now in paperback for the first time, and with a new preface by the author.

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9781598132809

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Reviews

""Watkins has produced a splendidly inspiring look at the Anti-Federalists, who were able presciently to warn us of the perils to come. Watkins not only gives us a superb exposition of their thought, but he reminds us of some of the wisdom of our First Constitution (the Articles of Confederation, which are helpfully reproduced as an appendix), and offers us some remedies for our ailing polity."" -- <B>Stephen B. Presser</B>, Raoul Berger Professor of Legal History Emeritus, Pritzker School of Law, Northwestern University; author, <I>The American Constitutional Order</I> ""Counterproductive federal programs, government debt, endless federal usurpation of states’ reserved powers, and unresponsive party politics are among the most notable characteristics of contemporary American political culture.... In Crossroads for Liberty, William J. Watkins Jr. recalls Anti-Federalists’ warnings that things would be so, and he asks, ‘Could the Articles of Confederation have been revised to meet the exigencies of the union without destroying the self-government won in the Revolution?’ After concluding that the Anti-Federalists were right in insisting that they probably could have, he proposes reforms in line with Anti-Federalist thinking. This is a bracing book."" -- <B>Kevin R. C. Gutzman</B>, professor of history, Western Connecticut State University; author, <I>James Madison and the Making of America</I> ""Crossroads for Liberty is a very valuable contribution to the literature and will be of interest to both students and scholars of American constitutional history and government."" -- <B>Joyce Lee Malcolm</B>, Patrick Henry Professor of Constitutional Law and the Second Amendment, George Mason University

Author Information

William J. Watkins, Jr. is a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute and author of the book Crossroads for Liberty: Recovering the Anti-Federalist Values of America's First Constitution. He received his B.A. in history and German summa cum laude from Clemson University and his J.D. cum laude from the University of South Carolina School of Law, and his LL.M. with merit from the University of London. Mr. Watkins is a former law clerk to Judge William B. Traxler, Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and he is President of the Greenville, SC, Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society. He has served as a prosecutor and defense lawyer, and has practiced in various state and federal courts. He lives in Greenville, South Carolina.

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