We the People: The Modern-Day Figures Who Have Reshaped and Affirmed the Founding Fathers' Vision of America

Did I enjoy Jaun's book? Yes. Did I agree with all his topics? No. Let me clarify. Juan Williams is a popular Liberal commentator on FoxNews. If you have watch him on the various programs he is on, you know he is there to express the Liberal view. When you read this book, and I recommend it, you need to know his bias.I heard him on one of the news programs saying he offered a far representation of modern people who have affected change in America like the Founding Fathers did over two hundred years ago. This would have been a five star review if he presented a balance of individuals on the political spectrum. For example, the women he chose came from the feminist movement pretty much ignoring the women who fought the feminist movement like Phyllis Shaffley who passed recently.He discusses the US welfare program since the Great Society, he praises Lyndon Johnson but fails to mention that his programs have destroyed poor families, especially poor Afro-Americans. He primarily discusses the wonders of such programs and neglects all the negatives.I admired his covering the contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr., but I got the impression that he thought Rev. Jesse Jackson might have affected more change. He mentions that at the murder of Dr. King and how Jackson ran to his side, smeared blood on his clothing, and used the opportunity to position himself as the successor of the fallen leader. He labeled Jackson as an opportunist and that his change was more political than the moral approach the Dr. King had taken. What bothered me the most is that he thought Jackson affected more than Dr. King. He failed to address other African-Americans who made major contributions. He did say that Jackson paved the way to the election of President Obama. Juan noted that Obama really doesn't fit the typical role of a Black politician because of his background. Juan's path to explain the growth of Blacks being influential in American politics. On that note, he gave Jackson the credit for leading the fold.In each chapter Jaun discusses the Founding Fathers and their leadership in building the foundation for the new nation. What he said was basically true regarding their culture of elitism, a slave system that benefited rich White men, and the role of women in those early days. But, he failed to state that the cultural context was different in the Antebellum period than late 20th Century and early 21st Centtury. He failed to explain the evolution of American thought to the point that he was critical of the Founding Fathers. His view came across as a judgmental statement of these men and their 18th and 19th Century values that created this nation. His liberal approach to American history does not balance with a more conservative/moderate understanding of American history.I do think that this is a book that should be read by liberals, moderates, and conservatives. As a moderate/conservative I had a love/hate reactions to what I read. I think from Jaun's leanings, this is an attempt to be "fair and balanced" as FoxNews proclaims. Yet, his lack of understanding that his Progressive personalities in "We the People" not only did some positive in our recent history, but also have elitist ideas that have polarized this nation. I would like to have seen in "We the People" the industrialists, the leaders of the technology we now enjoy, and individuals like John Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Dwight Eisenhower with Congressional leaders. He could have discussed how the Clinton administration changed the mores of this nation where violations of those mores are disregarded for power and wealth. Finally, he neglected talking about how the entertainment and news media have had a major footprint on the American psyche and their major role as the Fourth Estate. Perhaps those are areas that can be covered in a sequel to this book. Yet, READ THE BOOK!

In We the People, journalist Juan Williams has written a kind of bi-partisan historical travelogue that is in search of America in the 21st century. He begins by discussing the changes that have taken place in the recent past that are, for many Americans, disorienting. In responding that the disorientation, including his own, he asks a fundamental question about both our national and personal identities: what defines America and Americans? His inquiries, which include government reports and public opinion polls, and the answers he finds are extremely thoughtful. This is a book is a “must read” for anyone interested in the state of affairs in American political life today, including teachers of American history and policy. I believe that it would be a wonderful introduction to contemporary politics for millennials still in school, be in high school or college.Williams has chosen a title that invites his readers to review the entire preamble of the U.S. Constitution, which states the goals of that document: “to form a more perfect union, establish Justice, insure Domestic Tranquility, provide for the Common Defense, promote the General Welfare and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” Williams gives accounts of how these goals, or ideals, have come to be realized through the efforts Americans inspired by those goals, gave voice to these ideals and in doing so, mobilized “The People” to become politically activated. Those spokespersons are the links to the Founders of our country. They are made real by Williams’ sketches of their individual lives and the environment in which they lived.In making that link between those “modern-day figures who have reshaped and affirmed the Founding Fathers’ vision of America” to those Founders, Williams has identified the genius of America: it has retained its founding ideals, while changing the society and politics by making those ideals reals in our daily lives. Continuity and change live dynamically side by side.Not all of these modern-day figures are familiar to the public. To his credit, Williams adds two names of men who, because they were bureaucrats, remain largely unrecognized. In doing this, he reveals the silent ways in which change can take place and ideals realized.We the People concludes with a chapter on the actor Charlton Heston and the National Rifle Association. tracing the way in which the Second Amendment to the Constitution has been decoupled from its military base and reinterpreted to a point where guns have contributed to the rise of murder and suicide rates, thereby challenging whether the Constitution still insures domestic tranquility. It is a plea, by Williams, for moderation and compromise – the fundamental premise upon which the Constitution was written and the ideals of the preamble were written.This is a very thoughtful book and worthy of being read and digested by every American, even those whose believe they are not disoriented by change.

This is an excellent book. It is well written, readable and factually accurate. It might be accurately subtitled as "a 60 years current eventsreprise" since it covers the people Williams has selected as having great influence in shaping American policies and events since WW II.. He is objective, and has selected a wide range of influential people from Thurgood Marshall to Barry Goldwater with frequently opposing ideas, but also were important to shaping America in some way. He leaves out one or two people I might have included, but that is a petty criticism. I totally recommend this book. Each chapter is a stand-alone depiction of the person being discussed so the book can be read in any order you choose without losing continuity. Definitely worth reading.

When Juan first told me about We the People, a look at modern figures through the eyes of America’s founding fathers, I thought it sounded a little Back to the Future’esque. “Not sure there is a market for historical science fiction,” I said to myself. “But, you do you, Juan.”I totally missed Juan’s point.We the People is an exhaustive, accessible, deep dive into the influential figures of our time. Painstakingly researched, (at times, a bit too) politically balanced, the work delves into the work of leaders ranging from Milton Friedman to Rachel Carson to Billy Graham to Eleanor Roosevelt.Instead of merely a snapshot of the moment in time, each chapter goes behind the headlines to examine the larger context.Full review at: [...]