The Founders’ Library
Essential reading for citizens and foreigners to understand the American regime
I came to the American Founders rather late in my life, particularly for an American citizen and someone with a passion for history and politics. Being raised in France, I did not get the basic high-school introduction to the American Founding and the Constitution that high-schoolers in the U.S. get. Nor, in my university studies in Great Britain, was there much focus on U.S. politics before 1900.
I cannot recommend enough that you both read the American Founders and about the American Founding. It is a profoundly enlightening experience. You cannot understand the course of American history, evolving American values, or the exercise of American power—which affects just about everyone across the world—without understanding America’s founding constitutional and cultural DNA. While path dependency is not absolute, there is no doubt that the American Founding set the “self-evident” moral grammar and deliberate constitutional structure for all subsequent U.S. history. As Princess Irulan of David Lynch’s Dune says: “A beginning is a very delicate time,” one which can be highly determinant for all subsequent evolution.
As such, all U.S. citizens have a duty to understand their nation’s Founding, including the “Second Founding” represented by Abraham Lincoln’s victory in the Civil War, which profoundly reshaped the country at a critical turning point. This is needed to understand what America promises, what it does not, what it (rightly or wrong) critically assumes, and to give some sense of how the nation has evolved, for good and for ill. Foreigners should also try to understand America’s Founding, if only to get a better sense of what kind of power they are dealing with and what are the roots of its undeniable, enduring, and, indeed, often overbearing demographic, economic, technological, military, diplomatic, and cultural power.
And I rather feel like the ancient Greco-Roman historian Polybius who, in the opening to his Histories of the Roman Republic, asked: What could be more interesting than understanding how a great empire rose to unite, for the first time, the entire known world into a common nexus of interdependence? I find studying the rise of United States to be equally fascinating and useful.
Understanding America’s Founding and Constitution is especially important at a time when constitutional nihilism1 is rapidly rising—and this is a novelty—on the Right. Popular tweep Hunter Ash asks on X:
What is the [American] creed? And can we deport people who don’t believe in it? If not, what does it do?
A cursory knowledge of the American tradition would help answer the latter question. There is no doubt that shared values and symbols, albeit always contested and often changing in content, have been one of the most distinctive components of America’s political stability and moral power. As Abraham Lincoln said in one of his earliest political speeches “let [reverence for the Constitution and the laws] become the political religion of the nation.” As the French absolute monarchy learned in 1789 and the Soviet Union learned in 1989, a great state does not exist by brute force alone, but also by the moral legitimacy and appeal that commands willing adherence and makes violence unnecessary most of the time.
Yet one often equally hears from right-wingers these days that the Constitution is a phantom, no longer exists, and (more plausibly) cannot be “restored.” It is obvious the actual constitutional practice (let’s call it the Practiced Constitution) has evolved constantly and massively, and that it no longer corresponds to the Founders’ Constitution (however that might be reconstructed) and has an often tenuous relationship with the Written Constitution (the actual text of the document).
All this however does not make the Constitution meaningless or worthless. The Practiced Constitution continues to structure American politics in profound and unique ways. To understand this, you need only compare the practice of American government with virtually any other advanced democracy.
Most pointedly, the Practiced Constitution gives an astonishing degree, virtually unlimited, of legal freedom of speech to all citizens—including and perhaps especially politically-incorrect right-wingers. This does not especially derive from the Founders’ Constitution: many Founders endorsed censorship with the Alien and Sedition Acts; freedom of speech was often understood as in the English common law tradition, meaning the government could not impose prior restraint on publication, not lack of legal accountability post-publication. Nor is extraordinary free speech protection grounded in the literal text of the Constitution, which only speaks of limiting Congress’ ability to censor the press, not the states’ ability. Rather, America’s treasured free speech protection was born in the early twentieth-century with the evolutionary judicial philosophies of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. and Louis Brandeis, who affirmed the value of the “marketplace of ideas” as the test of truth and the need for free speech for civic debate. (See the eloquent and “canonical” dissents of Holmes in Abrams v. United States and Brandeis in Whitney v. California.)
Whatever one makes of America’s astonishing free-speech protection—and broadly this continues to be a great source of pride to Americans—one cannot deny the Practiced Constitution’s significance and impact in this area.
One could extend the discussion of the Practiced Constitution’s impact to all sorts of areas—the relative strength of American federalism, the arguments on regulation of abortion and gun rights, the various constraints on the growth of federal government (because of checks and balances, the Senate filibuster…), the prerogatives and limitations of the presidency, the scope for freedom of association, and on and on. All this makes engaging in constitutional learning and argument deeply meaningful, at least so long as Americans try to live together in a shared Republic. Living in the same polity requires citizens to have least some shared constitutional understanding, but the content of that understanding is something which is being constantly co-created through legal, political, and democratic argument.
I will also say this: the Founders and Lincoln are also worth reading because their political thought is of an unusally high intellectual and moral level. I don’t say they were morally perfect or that there aren’t more profound political thinkers elsewhere; I say it is rare for politicians not only to explicitly articulate the rationale of their actions and state-building in a sustained and holistic way, but also that their thought is remarkably sophisticated, cogent, realistic, and high-minded. Foundational American thought is surely very much worth reading alongside the classics of Greco-Roman, Chinese, Indian, Islamic, or modern European political thought.
I would even go a step further: the Founders are a wonderful entry point to the whole Western tradition of a political thought. This is because the Founders were astonishingly cultivated and well-read by later standards, reflecting the Enlightenment ideal of the educated gentleman. When you are reading the Founders, you are also getting a taster of Greek, Roman, Christian, and modern European moral and political thought.
Case in point: in developing their own political views, John Adams and James Madison basically read up on all known previous political history. In The Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton considers the successes and failures of all then-existing European republics and confederations (e.g., Venice, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the Holy Roman Empire…). The Founding was also deeply informed by the colonists’ Christian (mostly Protestant) faith and culture, profound engagement with the successes and failures of Greek and Roman republican history and political thought, and more recent political history. However, unlike earlier classics (say those of the Reformation or the Middle Ages), the Founders’ concerns are largely our own and they share much of our vocabulary: freedom, equal rights, republican self-government. This makes them, notwithstanding late 18th Century purple prose, more immediately intelligible than, say, Aquinas or Plato.
This makes America’s Founding Canon the great intertext of the Western political tradition, being relevant to we moderns while engaging with the early modern, medieval, Christian, Roman, and Greek layers of Western political thought.
With all that said, I invite readers to check out the National Constitutional Center’s (NCC) Constitution 101 course on Khan Academy and browse the following classics of foundational American political thought (which, I hope, may serve as good a selection as any):
John Winthrop, “A Model of Christianity Charity” (1630)
A Puritan vision of what the Massachussetts Bay Colony would become. It introduces the memorable idea of making America a model to the world as “a city on a hill” (Ronald Reagan would add “a shining city on a hill”).
William Perkins, A Treatise of the Vocations (1605; especially p. 6)
A muscular case for following one’s Calling as a divine duty, whose moral urgency arguably continues to resonate in surprising places, such as Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Benjamin Franklin, “Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind” (1751)
A short but remarkable essay that keenly identifies demographic dynamics and predicts the steady rise of Anglo-American power. Would influence Thomas Malthus who would in turn influence Charles Darwin. Podcast.
George Washington, “110 Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior” (1748)
Technically this text was not authored by Washington, but by French Jesuits. All the same, the sixteen-year-old Washington copied it out and it gives a sense of the ethos and daily discipline of more aristocratic colonial Americans.
Thomas Paine, Common Sense (January 1776)
Paine’s 47-page pamphlet was the best-selling book of the American Revolution, with perhaps 150,000 sales for a population of just 2.5 million. At once down-to-earth and radical, Common Sense helped make independence from Britain thinkable.
John Adams, “Thoughts on Government” (April 1776)
Adams’ response for advice on how to set up a viable republican government is remarkably concise, rich, and cogent, highlighting democratic dilemmas that continue to be relevant today.
Declaration of Independence (July 1776)
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”: Probably the most famous political sentence in the English language, whose contested meaning has influenced all subsequent American history. (First objection overcome: the phrase “created equal” refers to equality in rights, not equality of character or talents.) See the NCC’s Annotated Declaration of Indepedence as contextualized by constitutional scholars.
George Washington, “Circular to the States” (1783)
On resigning his commission at the conclusion of the War of Independence, General Washington allows himself a rare expression of political opinions. In measured words, reflecting both America’s uniquely positive circumstances and his deep frustration with the political ineffectiveness of the pre-Constitution U.S. government, he calls for an indissoluble Union, “sacred regard” for repaying debts, a minimal peacetime military capacity, and friendliness and moderation among citizens.
Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia (1785)
A series of letters to an inquiring Frenchman on America’s geography, political organization, wildlife, demographics, and other topics. Probably most notable for Query XIV’s extensive discussions of race and slavery including a tentative—almost embarrassed—claim of black inferiority and the denial of the possibility of biracial democracy. Also noteworthy is Jefferson’s statement on American slavery in Query XVIII: “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep for ever.”
Congress of the Confederation, Northwest Ordinance (1787)
The inauspiciously-titled Northwest Ordinance is one of the lesser known foundational American documents. However, having been adopted by Congress before the Constitution and in defining how new states are to join the Union, the Ordinance is one of the foundational texts of the American regime. Besides enabling the steady expansion of the Republic on the basis of equal states, the Ordinance notably has important provisions banning slavery in these territories (later much-cited by Lincoln), guaranteeing religious liberty, and promoting religion and education.
James Madison, Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention (1787)
Essential reading for understanding the genesis of the Written Constitution, including its more peculiar features such as the Three-fifths Compromise granting states representation for slaves, the Great Compromise’s granting equal representation to states in the Senate, and the constitutional Rube Goldberg machine known as the Electoral College.
The United States Constitution (1787, and subsequently amended)
The U.S. Constitution was remarkably short as originally drafted at 4,400 words, since extended with 27 amendments to almost 7,600 words. Drafted in Philadelphia over three months in the sweltering summer of 1787, the Written Constitution set the foundations for the U.S. to be a coherent military-fiscal state, able to maintain domestic stability and guarantee external security, while—it was hoped—preserving law, liberty, and republican self-government. This document must be engaged with to understand the structure and textual foundations of the U.S. federal government, although its meaning in practice certainly cannot be reduced to the text. You also need historical and political awareness of the drafters’ background assumptions, the changing meaning of terms, and evolving constitutional interpretation and practice as a result of changing public opinion and constant institutional battles. Check out the NCC’s Interactive Constitution to learn more.
Alexander Hamilton, John Madison, and John Jay, The Federalist Papers (1787-88)
Written to convince New Yorkers to ratify the new Constitution, The Federalist Papers is a classic statement of political science and the single most-cited work in all American constitutional debate. Essays #1-9 and #11-13 alone should be mandatory reading for learning basic power-political realities (which, to my perpetual bafflement, escape many people who are highly politically engaged) and make a realist case for a continental union defined by a virtuous circle of external security, domestic stability, liberty, and growth. Other key essays include Madison’s famous #10 on liberty, inequality, and faction in an extended republic, #51 on checks and balances (“If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”), #78 on judicial review and independence, and more. While morally earnest, The Federalist shows the Founders to be republican, geopolitical, and indeed psychological realists with a keen sense of human nature and political conflict. I recommend starting with the more famous esssays rather than the “flyover country” of The Federalist Papers.
George Washington, “First Inaugural Address” (1789)
The first president’s first address to Congress is a model of republican humility.
George Washington, “Farewell Address” (1796)
Washington’s Farewell Address offers an influential vision of how to ensure the American Republic’s success, including limiting faction, respecting the Constitution, promoting religion and morality, embracing trade, and avoiding foreign entanglements.
Thomas Jefferson, “Natural aristocracy” (1813)
A remarkable letter to John Adams in which the author of the Declaration of Independence endorses “natural aristocracy” founded on merit and muses about the possibility of eugenic polygamy.
Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (1835-40)
The Frenchman’s Democracy in America is an “American” political classic for a reason. While his description of 19th Century American politics is sometimes incorrect, Tocqueville remains one of the most insicive observers of the strengths and weaknesses of American society and government, and indeed of democratic society in general (including materialism, individualism, radicalizing egalitarianism, and middle-class conformism).
Abraham Lincoln: Many.
Finally, Lincoln practically stands in a class of his own as the refounder of the American regime during the Civil War. His moral and political vision—grounded in abhorence of slavery, a mobile democratic and industrial society, and reverence for the Constitution, even as this was being transformed—resonated profoundly with Yankeedom and in many ways has profoundly influenced all subsequent growth and deployment of American power.
Lyceum Address on “the perpetuation of our political institutions” (1838)
A classic statement of the American “political religion.”
Temperance Address (1842)
Lincoln brings all his rhetorical prowess and moral appeal to bear against the scourge of alcoholism, a major problem then and since.
First Lecture on Discoveries and Inventions (1858)
A lucid exposition of the power of literacy to enable communication between minds—across time and space— and the accumulation of knowledge, as well as the power of technological innovation.
Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)
The debates on slavery that made Lincoln a national figure and articulated the importance equal rights and individual liberty to America’s moral foundations.
Cooper Union Address (1860)
An overview of Lincoln’s explorations of the opinions on slavery of the 39 signers of the Constitution, finding that restricting slavery’s expansion was both constitutional and morally imperative.
Abraham Lincoln, “First Inaugural Address” (1861)
Lincoln’s measured but decisive position at the eve of the Civil War, pledging respect for the then-Constitution (and therefore of slavery where it existed and his duty to preserve the Union) and his please for reconciliation.
Abraham Lincoln, “Gettysburg Address” (1863)
At a mere 271 words, Lincoln expressed what become the credo of American democracy, vindicating the sacrifice of the 700,000 soldiers who died in the Civil War.
Abraham Lincoln, “Second Inaugural Address” (1865)
Lincoln’s conciliatory appeal at the end of the Civil War: “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in.”
Reconstruction Amendments (13th 1865; 14th 1868; 15th 1870)
In abolishing slavery and guaranteeing citizenship and equal rights to former slaves and the descendants of slaves, the Reconstruction Amendments transformed the nature of the American regime. All subsequent debates on issues such as birthright citizenship, civil rights, and discrimination are grounded in these amendments.
Naturally, the American political story does not stop with the Civil War. American political thought and the regime continued to evolve in subsequent generations—often in fundamental ways, as with the rise of pragmatists like Holmes and Brandeis, progressives like Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and later struggles over desegregation, constitutional Originalism, healthcare, ever-growing executive power, and beyond. Notheless, a familiarity with Foundational American political thought remains essential for framing and appreciating all subsequent developments, the great adventure of American political history.
More useful sources:
Alin Fumurescu and Anna Marisa Schön (eds), Foundations of American Political Thought (Cambridge University Press, 2021). A very useful collection of primary texts with introductory context).
Joseph Kobylka, The Cycles of American Political Thought (The Great Courses). An audio lecture series.
Thomas West, The Political Theory of the American Founding (Cambridge University Press, 2017).
The Right’s growing indifference or outright hostility to constitutionalism belies a great poverty of practical political thought. Concretely this translates into advocacy for autocracy (often name-dropping the authoritarian legal theorist Carl Schmitt or, generally inappropriately, the brilliant founder of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew) by our leader or “our guys,” on the quaint assumption that opportunistic power grabs can lead to wise and principled leadership (imagined to be according to the particular advocate’s principles, naturally). The failure modes of this kind of governance are too obvious to mention.
A great list of books. I find it extraordinary that such a political geniuses emerged in such as tiny part of the world at just the right time to form a new nation. And it is just as extraordinary that this nation went on to have a huge impact on world history.