Reclaiming the American Revolution: The Kentucky and Virgina Resolutions and Their Legacy Hardcover - 2004

First line

The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, written over two decades after the colonies declared independence from Great Britain, represent a reaffirmation of the spirit of 1776.

From the jacket flap

"With historical knowledge that one can only wish more could possess, Watkins has brought our attention back to Jefferson's and Madison's constitutional commentary in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798-1800 and their illuminating relation to American history.
--Clyde N. Wilson, Professor of History, University of South Carolina "With Reclaiming the American Revolution, we have a thorough, thoughtful, and important study of a significant subject that has been too long neglected."
--Joyce O. Appleby, Professor of History, UCLA; past president of Organization of American Historians and American Historical Association "William Watkins' important book, Reclaiming the American Revolution, is intriguing and controversial: it is based on much research, and it is full of interest for the questions it raises about federal-state relations."
--Robert L. Middlekauf, Preston Hotchkiss Professor of American History, University of California, Berkeley "Reclaiming the American Revolution is a provocative invitation to rethink the nature of contemporary American government in the light of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. William Watkins' brisk and panoramic account of American constitutionalism reminds us of the political possibilities open to courageous and spirited citizens who are dedicated to responsible liberty under the rule of law."
--Herman Belz, Professor of History, University of Maryland "Those of us who are alarmed by the recent incursions into personal freedom are indebted to William Watkins for Reclaiming the American Revolution, his penetrating and insightful account of how Jefferson and Madison reacted to a situation of equal peril to liberty. We could not do better than to remind ourselves of how they responded when faced with a crisis no less grievous."
--Ronald Hamowy, Professor of History, University of Alberta; editor, Cato's Letters: Essays on Liberty by John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon

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Citations

• Choice, 03/01/2005, Page 1292