A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America (Masterplots, Definitive Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: John Adams
- First Published: 1787
- Type of Work: Political treatise
- Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Essays
- Subjects: History, United States or Americans, Power, personal or social, Eighteenth century, Government, Constitutional law, Legislative bodies, Constitutions, Republics
Critical Evaluation:
This sprawling work consists of John Adams’ selections from writings on republican governments ranging from ancient Greece to America of the 1780’s, material interspersed with his own maxims and observations on historical characters and events. He excused his faulty arrangement and style on the grounds of “hasty,” fourteen-month compilation, prompted by news of Shays’ Rebellion in Massachusetts and moves toward revising the constitution of the American union. Some regard the work as possibly the most complete examination into the philosophy and...
[The entire page is 991 words long]
