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Jefferson, Madison, and the Making of the Constitution by Jeff Broadwater, and: The Framers' Intentions: The Myth of the Nonpartisan Constitution by Robert E. Ross (review)

Amid the spiraling political chaos that defined 2017–2019, Americans found themselves living though a seminar on the U.S. Constitution. Some days the topic was familiar-sounding if not fully or easily comprehended: impeachment, for example, or the separation of powers. Other days brought revelations. The 25th amendment, it turns out, has a very important Section 4. Many Americans heard for the first time about the previously archaic but suddenly relevant “emoluments” clause. The learning curve has been steep and made more challenging by the popular seduction of “originalism.” Besides that folly, there has been a surfeit of mendacity. The pressures on our framework of government grew so intense that learned and measured people—historians, constitutional scholars, journalists, diplomats, and political scientists—judiciously began to warn the public of looming constitutional crises. Where it all will end, and how much longer the governmental design conceived 233 years ago will endure, is anyone’s guess. Revisiting where it all began offers some insights and, if one squints, a bit of comfort. In Jefferson, Madison, and the Making of the Constitution, Jeff Broadwater tells a complicated story with clarity and elegance. He weaves together the personal experiences and intellectual journeys of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison to reveal strong connections between the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Jefferson/Madison vision for the federal government in action, which Broadwater calls small-government nationalism. Broadwater emphasizes evolving consistency: Jefferson and Madison are always learning and adjusting but never abandoning their fundamental convictions about just government. Broadwater presents sophisticated and clear analyses of the two men’s writings that scholars would expect, including Jefferson’s “Summary View of the Rights of British America” (1774); Madison’s “Vices of the