Review of Mel Bradford's Original Intentions: On the Making and Ratification of the United States Constitution

The Imaginative Conservative posts a review, originally published in 1995, of Bradford's book on the creation of our national charter:  Invoking the Patrimony: Original Intentions: On the Making and Ratification of the United States Constitution. The review, written by Madison scholar Kevin R. Guzman, provides a solid overview of the book, something of a classic among paleo-conservative discussions of the origins of the Constitution. While Bradford was neither a professionally trained historian or constitutional scholar, his background as an English professor and literary scholar provided him with ample tools to mine the historical sources that informed his take on the creation of the Constitution.  As Guzman explains quite well, Bradford's book is well worth a read, not as the only word in exploring the history of the creation of our Constitution, but as a useful study informed by an approach to scholarship that is often discounted by the fads and prejudices afflicting much of modern academia.

Related item: my own take on Bradford's book may be found here.