A Government of Laws: Political Theory, Religion, and the American Founding
by Ellis Sandoz
University of Missouri Press, 2001 Paper: 978-0-8262-1360-0 Library of Congress Classification JA84.U5S26 2001 Dewey Decimal Classification 320.50973
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
ABOUT THIS BOOK
In A Government of Laws, which includes a new preface, Ellis Sandoz re-evaluates the traditional understanding of the philosophic and intellectual background of the American founding. Through an exhaustive assessment of Renaissance, medieval, and ancient political philosophy, he shows that the founding fathers were consciously and explicitly seeking to create a political order that would meet the demands of human nature and society. This rigorous and searching analysis of the sources of political and constitutional theory generates an original and provocative approach to American thought and experience.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Ellis Sandoz, Hermann Moyse Jr. Distinguished Professor of Political Science, is Director of the Eric Voegelin Institute for American Renaissance Studies at Louisiana State University. He is the general editor of Voegelin's History of Political Ideas and author or editor of numerous books, including The Politics of Truth and Other Untimely Essays: The Crisis of Civic Consciousness and most recently The Voegelinian Revolution: A Biographical Introduction.
REVIEWS
"This insightful book makes a positive contribution to our understanding of the role classical and religious ideas played in the U.S. founding, and it offers a compelling critique of analyses that highlight secular Enlightenment, liberal, and republican ideologies to explain America's heritage."—American Political Science Review
"In this important, learned, and insightful book, the main thrust of which `is theoretical rather than antiquarian or simply historical' . . . Sandoz defines the founding as `a unique anti- modernist rearticulation of Western Civilization . . . profoundly indebted to classical and Western influences.'"—William and Mary Quarterly
"It is difficult to write a reasonably short review of Ellis Sandoz's latest work because virtually every page contains a masterful observation, a bit of analysis, a felicitous turn of phrase, or some delightful historical tidbit begging to be paraded in front of the reviewer's audience."--Journal of Policy Theory
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Preface to the 2001 Edition
Preface and Acknowledgments
Introduction
Human Nature, Politics, and Democracy
Chapter 1
Political Obligation and the Brutish in Man
Chapter 2
The Civil Theology of Liberal Democracy: Locke and His Predecessors
Chapter 3
Classical and Christian Dimensions of American Political Thought
Chapter 4
Power and Spirit in the Founding: Thoughts on the Genesis of Americanism
Chapter 5
Reflections on Spiritual Aspects of the American Founding
Chapter 6
Liberty as Law: The Constitution and Civil Rights
Chapter 7
The American Constitutional Order After Two Centuries: Concluding Reflections
Bibliography
Index
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
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A Government of Laws: Political Theory, Religion, and the American Founding
by Ellis Sandoz
University of Missouri Press, 2001 Paper: 978-0-8262-1360-0
In A Government of Laws, which includes a new preface, Ellis Sandoz re-evaluates the traditional understanding of the philosophic and intellectual background of the American founding. Through an exhaustive assessment of Renaissance, medieval, and ancient political philosophy, he shows that the founding fathers were consciously and explicitly seeking to create a political order that would meet the demands of human nature and society. This rigorous and searching analysis of the sources of political and constitutional theory generates an original and provocative approach to American thought and experience.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Ellis Sandoz, Hermann Moyse Jr. Distinguished Professor of Political Science, is Director of the Eric Voegelin Institute for American Renaissance Studies at Louisiana State University. He is the general editor of Voegelin's History of Political Ideas and author or editor of numerous books, including The Politics of Truth and Other Untimely Essays: The Crisis of Civic Consciousness and most recently The Voegelinian Revolution: A Biographical Introduction.
REVIEWS
"This insightful book makes a positive contribution to our understanding of the role classical and religious ideas played in the U.S. founding, and it offers a compelling critique of analyses that highlight secular Enlightenment, liberal, and republican ideologies to explain America's heritage."—American Political Science Review
"In this important, learned, and insightful book, the main thrust of which `is theoretical rather than antiquarian or simply historical' . . . Sandoz defines the founding as `a unique anti- modernist rearticulation of Western Civilization . . . profoundly indebted to classical and Western influences.'"—William and Mary Quarterly
"It is difficult to write a reasonably short review of Ellis Sandoz's latest work because virtually every page contains a masterful observation, a bit of analysis, a felicitous turn of phrase, or some delightful historical tidbit begging to be paraded in front of the reviewer's audience."--Journal of Policy Theory
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Preface to the 2001 Edition
Preface and Acknowledgments
Introduction
Human Nature, Politics, and Democracy
Chapter 1
Political Obligation and the Brutish in Man
Chapter 2
The Civil Theology of Liberal Democracy: Locke and His Predecessors
Chapter 3
Classical and Christian Dimensions of American Political Thought
Chapter 4
Power and Spirit in the Founding: Thoughts on the Genesis of Americanism
Chapter 5
Reflections on Spiritual Aspects of the American Founding
Chapter 6
Liberty as Law: The Constitution and Civil Rights
Chapter 7
The American Constitutional Order After Two Centuries: Concluding Reflections
Bibliography
Index
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
It can take 2-3 weeks for requests to be filled.
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE