Overview
Americans seldom deify their Founding Fathers any longer, but they do still tend to venerate the Constitution and the republican government that the founders created. Strikingly, the founders themselves were far less confident in what they had wrought, particularly by the end of their lives. In fact, most of them--including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson--came to deem America's constitutional experiment an utter failure that was unlikely to last beyond their own generation. Fears of a Setting Sun is the first book to tell the fascinating and too-little-known story of the founders' disillusionment. As Dennis Rasmussen shows, the founders' pessimism had a variety of sources: Washington lost his faith in America's political system above all because of the rise of partisanship, Hamilton because he felt that the federal government was too weak, Adams because he believed that the people lacked civic virtue, and Jefferson because of sectional divisions laid bare by the spread of slavery. The one major founder who retained his faith in America's constitutional order to the end was James Madison, and the book also explores why he remained relatively optimistic when so many of his compatriots did not.
Full Product Details
Author: Dennis C Rasmussen ,
Keith Sellon-Wright
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Imprint: Tantor Audio
ISBN: 9798200159048
Publication Date: 02 March 2021
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Audio
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Reviews
An illuminating account of how the founding fathers worried about the future of America...This standout history provides useful context for understanding the roots of contemporary political turmoils and may comfort those who fear that American democracy is in dire peril. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"An illuminating account of how the founding fathers worried about the future of America...This standout history provides useful context for understanding the roots of contemporary political turmoils and may comfort those who fear that American democracy is in dire peril. -- ""Publishers Weekly (starred review)"""
Author Information
Dennis C. Rasmussen is professor of political science at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. His books include The Infidel and the Professor: David Hume, Adam Smith, and the Friendship That Shaped Modern Thought and Fears of a Setting Sun. He lives in Cazenovia, New York. Keith Sellon-Wright is a seasoned professional with a career in Hollywood spanning over thirty years. He has had the good fortune to work with some of Hollywood's seminal directors, including Christopher Guest and Spike Lee. His TV career includes some of the most important shows in TV history, going back to shows such as Wings, Frasier, Seinfeld, and The West Wing. More recently he's appeared on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, NCIS, Mad Men, and Parks and Recreation. The majority of Keith's audiobook work so far is nonfiction, (I love what I get to learn!) but as a lifelong storyteller, he of course loves fiction too. Keith also serves as a voice of the New York Times, narrating selected articles for the daily audio edition on Audible. He records from a killer booth he built at his residence in Southern California. The quickest way to Keith's heart-introduce him to a great new wine!
