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: 9780739106655
• ISBN10: 0739106651
• Format: Paperback
• 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	p. ix
Locke on the Social Compact: An Overview	p. 1
Social Compact, Common Law, and the American Amalgam: The Contribution of William Blackstone	p. 37
Hume, Historical Inheritance, and the Problem of Founding	p. 75
The Political Theory of the Declaration of Independence	p. 95
Thomas Jefferson and the Social Compact	p. 147
From Subjects to Citizens: The Social Compact Origins of American Citizenship	p. 163
Alexander Hamilton and the Grand Strategy of the American Social Compact	p. 199
John Adams' "Hobbism"	p. 231
Benjamin Franklin and the Theory of Social Compact	p. 255
Index	p. 277
About the Contributors	p. 281
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