A Defense of the Constitutions of the United States by John Adams
Introduction: Published in January of 1787, six months before the Constitutional Convention by American Founder, John Adams. In it he calls for a republic consisting of a balance of powers between the executive, judicial, and legislative powers. Citing penetrating examples of the successes, but mostly failures in so-called republican experiments and the reasons for those failures which usually consisted in a failure to balance those powers. For those pushing for a more pure democracy today are many examples of what history has proven about their baneful effects including centralization of power, violent factions, and moral corruption in the extreme, and thus anarchy and tyranny. Written in typical Adams prose, a most worthy read. Of interest is Adams call for a thorough examination of the constitutions of the American Indians which had well defined these three powers, and which he said were given unfairly a bad name. Steve Farrell
Letter 1 Preliminary Observations
Democratical Republics
Letter 4 Biscay, The Grisons, United Provinces of the Low Lands
Letter 5 Switzerland, Appenzel
Letter 6 Switzerland, Underwald
Letter 7 Switzerland, Glaris
Letter 8 Switzerland, Zug
Letter 9 Switzerland, Uri
Letter 10 Switzerland, Switz
Aristocratical Republics
Letter 11 Switzerland, Berne
Letter 12 Switzerland, Fribourg
Letter 13 Switzerland, Soleure
Letter 14 Switzerland, Lucerne
Letter 15 Switzerland, Zurich
Letter 16 Switzerland, Shaffhause, Mulhouse, Bienne
Letter 17 Republics of St. Gall, and Geneva
Letter 18 Swiss Republics of Lucca and Genoa
Letter 19 Republic of Venice, United Provinces of the Low Countries
Monarchical Republics
Ancient Republics and Opinions of Philosophers
Letter 24 DR. JONATHAN SWIFT
Mixed Governments
Letter 28 SIDNEY, MONTESQUIEU
Ancient Republics, And Opinions of Philosophers
Letter 32 Dionysius, Valerius
Ancient Aristocratical Republics
Ancient Monarchical Republics
Letter 37 Tacitus on Ancient Germans
Ancient Aristocratical Republics
Ancient Democratical Republics
Letter 42 Antalcidas Crushes Liberty by Deceit
Letter 43 Achaia and the Volatility of Small Republics
Letter 44 Crete’s So-Called Democracy
Introduction: Published in January of 1787, six months before the Constitutional Convention by American Founder, John Adams. In it he calls for a republic consisting of a balance of powers between the executive, judicial, and legislative powers. Citing penetrating examples of the successes, but mostly failures in so-called republican experiments and the reasons for those failures which usually consisted in a failure to balance those powers. For those pushing for a more pure democracy today are many examples of what history has proven about their baneful effects including centralization of power, violent factions, and moral corruption in the extreme, and thus anarchy and tyranny. Written in typical Adams prose, a most worthy read. Of interest is Adams call for a thorough examination of the constitutions of the American Indians which had well defined these three powers, and which he said were given unfairly a bad name. Steve Farrell