The Founders and the Constitution: John Adams
Unlike the other Founders profiled in this series, John Adams of Massachusetts didnβt attend the 1787 Constitutional Convention. He was Americaβs ambassador to England when the convention met, and he didnβt return home until the ratification process was well underway....
The ideas that formed the Constitution: Jean-Louis DeLolme and “We the People…”
Writers on the Constitution seldom mention the name of Jean-Louis DeLolme. This is unfortunate, because DeLolmeβs book on the English political system significantly influenced those who participated in the constitutional debates of 1787β1790. The Constitutionβs...
The ideas that formed the Constitution: James Harrington and Algernon Sidney
In the 17th century, England, which always had been a monarchy, flirted with republicanism. From 1649 to 1660, England actuallyΒ wasΒ a republic, at least in theory: King Charles I had been executed, and the country became a βProtectorateβ under Oliver Cromwell. Not...