Plain Talking the Federalist

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Plain Talking the Federalist by R E Bridwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Plain Talking the Federalist.  By R.E. Bridwell.

Bridwell does a good job of bringing a modern rending of past expressions.  The Federalist Papers were a series of articles published in Colonial America’s Newspapers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, under the pen name of Publius, to argue for support of the proposed product of the original Constitutional Convention.  Bridwell uses Noah Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language instead of 2013 definitions of the founder’s words.  This avoids the danger of historical revisionism and insures that we can know the intentions of our founders and better understand the sacrifices they made for us.  When Benjamin Franklin left the Constitutional Convention, some one asked him, “What kind of government have you given us, Dr. Franklin?”  He answered, “We have given you a republic, if you can keep it.”  Publius makes strong and reasonable arguments for the Union of the States rather than a mere confederacy.  He shows the superiority of a republican form of government over all other forms and addresses the checks and balances of the three main branches of our Federal Government and the relationship of the Federal Powers to the State’s Rights.  In dealing with factionalism among the States and the demand by some for a perfect document, Publius expressed some frustration on page 275 saying, “Where do we find perfection?”  I think the author, Rick, answered this question when he signed my copy of this book, “For Pastor Larry Killion, Only Christ is perfect government – Rick B.”


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