The American Founding and the Social Compact

Ronald J. Pestritto, Thomas G. West

• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Year: 2003
• eBook ISBN: 9780585479378
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Research & Methodology
• Index: Social Sciences

Unlike many other books about the American founding, this new work by two of the most prominent scholars of American political history emphasizes the coherence and intelligibility of the social compact theory. Social compact theory, the idea that government must be based on an agreement between those who govern and those who consent to be governed, was one of the Founders' few unifying philosophical positions, and it transcended the partisan politics of that era. Contributors to this volume present a comprehensive overview of the social compact theory, discussing its European philosophical origins, the development of the theory into the basis of the fledgling government, and the attitudes of some of the founders toward the theory and its traditional proponents. The authors argue forcefully and convincingly that the political ideas of the American Founders cannot be properly understood without understanding social compact theory and the exalted place it held in the construction of the American system of government.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• 1 - Locke on the Social Compact: An Overview
• 2 - Social Compact, Common Law, and the American Amalgam: The Contribution of William Blackstone
• 3 - Hume, Historical Inheritance, and the Problem of Founding
• 4 - The Political Theory of the Declaration of Independence
• 5 - Thomas Jefferson and the Social Compact
• 6 - From Subjects to Citizens: The Social Compact Origins of American Citizenship
• 7 - Alexander Hamilton and the Grand Strategy of the American Social Compact
• 8 - John Adams’ “Hobbism”
• 9 - Benjamin Franklin and the Theory of Social Compact
• Index
• About the Contributors