Blood of Tyrants. Logan Beirne. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

Автор: Logan Beirne
Издательство: Ingram
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Жанр произведения: Политика, политология
Год издания: 0
isbn: 9781594037672
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alt="A mere five feet tall and 120 pounds, James Madison was an intellectual giant and a driving force behind the drafting of the Constitution. . . ."/>

      A mere five feet tall and 120 pounds, James Madison was an intellectual giant and a driving force behind the drafting of the Constitution. He declared that creating even a “limited monarchy . . . was out of the question” and used his masterful political skills to help form the new republican government. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ppmsca-19166

The wily Benjamin Franklin used his guile to charm the French court—particularly the female contingent. . . .

      The wily Benjamin Franklin used his guile to charm the French court—particularly the female contingent. Through parties and chess games, he persuaded the French to send aid to the American cause and eventually declare war on Britain. As the war wound down, he then infuriated the French by working with John Adams and John Jay to outmaneuver them in the peace process. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-pga-01591

      CONTENTS

      III DICTATOR OF AMERICA

      13 Scorpion on a Leash

      14 Between a Hawk and a Buzzard

      15 Onslaught

      16 The Times That Try Men’s Souls

      17 Reevaluation

      18 Victory or Death

      19 Idolatry

      20 Dictator Perpetuo

      IV TRIBUNALS & TRIBULATIONS

      21 Gentleman Johnny vs. Granny Gates

      22 A Traitor Lurks

      23 Treason of the Blackest Dye

      24 Commissions & Courts-Martial

      25 American Military Justice

      V HIS EXCELLENCY’S LOYAL SUBJECTS

      26 Total Ruin

      27 Band of Brethren

      28 Poison & Peas

      29 America’s Defender

      30 License to Plunder

      31 Not-So-Civil War

      VI COULD HAVE BEEN KING

      32 O God! It Is All Over!

      33 Winning the Peace

      34 Spectacles & Speculation

      35 The Greatest Man in the World

       Epilogue: Governing from the Grave

       Acknowledgments

       Notes

       Index

      “What is past is prologue.” These words, penned by William Shakespeare in The Tempest, are inscribed into the granite of the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. The inscription is fitting when you consider how many recent headlines could have been plucked right out of the American founding era: ASSESSING THE TRADE-OFFS BETWEEN SECURITY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES; or, HOW THE GOVERNMENT SPIED ON ME; or, POW SWAP TOOK PLACE IN A LEGAL GRAY AREA.1 The United States has faced this all before, and our past might offer a guide for our future.

      Never was a more compelling prologue written than when the founding generation forged our nation. Whether it is the NSA intercepting Americans’ emails today or the Continental Congress intercepting citizens’ letters during the Revolutionary War, there are parallels between the present day and the nation’s humble beginnings. Technology has changed but our fundamental rights and American values need not.

      I was raised in a family and a community where the patriotic spirit of the American Revolution remains very much alive. My parents constantly reminded me, “You are descended from Revolutionary War patriots. James Madison is in your family tree. These people matter!” Yet I found the study of history to be boring. Eventually I realized that it was not the history that was uninteresting, but the way it was often presented. So I left behind the textbooks and sought out the Founders’ writings to hear the story in their own words.