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Forgotten Founder, Drunken Prophet:
The Life of Luther Martin
by Bill Kauffman
Product Details:
Hardcover: 225 pages
Publisher: Intercollegiate Studies Institute; 2 edition (September 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1933859733
ISBN-13: 978-1933859736
Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.7 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
Review:
by Dylan Hales
coutesy of the Charleston City Paper
In his newest book, Forgotten Founder, Drunken Prophet: The Life of Luther Martin, Kauffman is treading in unfamilar waters. While the trials and tribulations of the Republic's most eccentric anti-Federalist are well within Kauffman's purview, this is his first book-length biography, something that could make even the most adoring fans skeptical.
But if you enter a skeptic, you'll leave a firm believer in Kauffman's versatility.
Maintaining the usual wit of his previous offerings, Kauffman treats us to a barrage of quips and insights we've come to expect from the folksy patriot of Batavia, New York — all the while keeping an eye on the seriousness of the project at hand.
Though the book is primarily a biography of the early American political figure, it doubles as a spirited defense of those who fought against Constitutional ratification in Philadelphia.
As Kauffman aptly notes, the Founders are often revered as the designers of a "federal compact," wary of the dangers of big government tyranny.
In fact, it was the "anti-Federalists" who were the true advocates of self-government, and Martin was their most spirited proponent.
One of the implied theses of the book is that history is written by the winners, and we are all worse off for it. Kauffman is at his best noting Martin's unfair treatment by Constitutional scholars and historians, who have for the most part regarded him as "the town drunk, the class bore, the motormouth."
Kauffman thoroughly debunks this as obtuse obstructionism. In fact, Martin was a relatively modest participant at the Constitutional Convention. His attachment to the Articles of Confederation was predicated on a reverence for local government as well as the illegality of the usurpation of power promoted by Hamilton, Madison and the gang. |
