In The Jefferson Rule, historian David Sehat describes how everyone from liberals to conservatives, secessionists to unionists have sought out the Founding Fathers to defend their policies.
Beginning with the debate between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton over the future of the nation, and continuing throughout our historyâthe Civil War, the World Wars, the New Deal, the Reagan Revolution, and Obama and the Tea Partyâmany politicos have asked, âWhat would the Founders do?â instead of âWhat is the common good today?â Both the Right and the Left have used the Founders to sort through such issues as voting rights, campaign finance, free speech, war and peace, gun control, and taxes, though those Fathers were a querulous and divided group who rarely agreed.
In this âsobering, informative studyâ (Publisherâs Weekly), Sehat shows why coming to terms with the past would be the start of a productive debate. The result is, simply put, ârequired reading for those desperate for sane, intelligent political argumentsâ (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). The Jefferson Rule âtakes the reader through an engaging and insightful survey course in American historyâ (The Christian Science Monitor).