Novus Ordo Seclorum: The Intellectual Origins of the Constitution
by Forrest McDonald
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The title, taken from the Great Seal of the United States (which is seen on the reverse side of the dollar bill), means "a new order for the ages". In this major new interpretation of the framing of the U.S. Constitution, Forrest McDonald brilliantly explains the philosophical origins from which this "new order" was born. McDonald deftly recreates the intellectual world of the amazing fifty-five men whose genius and passion gave to us the United States Constitution. He explains their show more understanding of law, history, political philosophy, and political economy, and how these perspectives played out in the Constitutional Convention. Above all this ideology, he shows how the Framers were guided by their own experience, wisdom, and common sense. show lessTags
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5811. Novus Ordo Seclorum The Intellectual Origins of the Constitution by Forrest McDonald (read 21 Nov 2022) This book, published in 1985, purports to tell the Intellectual reasonings of the authors of the Constitution, delving into their reasoning and detailing the arguments they made at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. He sets out the arguments made by the delegates , so far as he can deduce them. The author has right-wing leanings but that does not unduly influence his account. As I read, it was my feeling that the way the Constitution ended up being adopted was better than what some delegates proposed. The early part of the book was not too interesting to me, but when it got to relating the actual arguments the show more book became more interesting. None of the amendments to the Constitution are discussed and as we know some of them improved the document adopted after the 1787 Convention. show less
An excellent read, and an excellent look into the makings of the Constitution. McDonald looks into the ideologies of politics and economics of a wide range of members of the founding generation, as well as how they came together to write a practical compromise in the form of the Constitution.
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29+ Works 1,696 Members
Forrest McDonald was born in Orange, Texas on January 7, 1927. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and received a doctorate there in 1955. He taught history at Brown University, Wayne State University, and the University of Alabama, where he retired in 2002. He wrote more than a dozen books including Novus Ordo Seclorum: The show more Intellectual Origins of the Constitution, The American Presidency: An Intellectual History, and biographies of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. He died of heart failure on January 19, 2016 at the age of 89. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Awards
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Novus Ordo Seclorum: The Intellectual Origins of the Constitution
- Important places
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Pennsylvania, USA
- Important events
- Constitutional Convention (1787)
Classifications
- Genres
- Politics and Government, History, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Philosophy
- DDC/MDS
- 320.0973 — Society, government, & culture Political science Types of Government Political Science Biography And History
- LCC
- JA84 .U5 .M43 — Political Science Political science (General) Political science (General) History
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 509
- Popularity
- 58,811
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.98)
- Languages
- English, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 8
- ASINs
- 4
