The American Founding and the Social Compact

by Pestritto, Ronald J.; West, Thomas G.; Erler, Edward J.; Forde, Steven; Myers, Peter C.; Paynter, John; Walling, Karl; S. Watson, Bradley C.; Yarbrough, Jean M.; Zuckhert, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780739106648
• ISBN10: 0739106643
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-08-25
• Publisher: Lexington Books

Summary

The American Founding and the Social Compact is a first-rate collection of essays that examine the shared political ideas of the American Founders with a particular focus on the theory of the social compact. As this volume so convincingly argues, an understanding of social compact theory is essential for understanding the Founders' ideas about human nature, government and politics.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Ronald J. Pestritto and Thomas G. West
1 Locke on the Social Compact: An Overview	1	(36)
Peter C. Myers
2 Social Compact, Common Law, and the American Amalgam: The Contribution of William Blackstone	37	(38)
Michael Zuckert
3 Hume, Historical Inheritance, and the Problem of Founding	75	(20)
Bradley C. S. Watson
4 The Political Theory of the Declaration of Independence	95	(52)
Thomas G. West
5 Thomas Jefferson and the Social Compact	147	(16)
Jean M. Yarbrough
6 From Subjects to Citizens: The Social Compact Origins of American Citizenship	163	(36)
Edward J. Erler
7 Alexander Hamilton and the Grand Strategy of the American Social Compact	199	(32)
Karl Walling
8 John Adams "Hobbism"	231	(24)
John Paynter
9 Benjamin Franklin and the Theory of Social Compact	255	(22)
Steven Forde
Index	277	(4)
About the Contributors	281