How Long to Read John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty

By C. Bradley Thompson

How Long Does it Take to Read John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty?

It takes the average reader 6 hours to read John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty by C. Bradley Thompson

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

America's finest eighteenth-century student of political science, John Adams is also the least studied of the Revolution's key figures. By the time he became our second president, no American had written more about our government and not even Jefferson or Madison had read as widely about questions of human nature, natural right, political organization, and constitutional construction. Yet this staunch constitutionalist is perceived by many as having become reactionary in his later years and his ideas have been largely disregarded. In the first major work on Adams's political thought in over thirty years, C. Bradley Thompson takes issue with the notion that Adams's thought is irrelevant to the development of American ideas. Focusing on Adams's major writings, Thompson elucidates and reevaluates his political and constitutional thought by interpreting it within the tradition of political philosophy stretching from Plato to Montesquieu. This major revisionist study shows that the distinction Adams drew between "principles of liberty" and "principles of political architecture" is central to his entire political philosophy. Thompson first chronicles Adams's conceptualization of moral and political liberty during his confrontation with American Loyalists and British imperial officers over the true nature of justice and the British Constitution, illuminating Adams's two most important pre-Revolutionary essays, "A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law" and "The Letters of Novanglus." He then presents Adams's debate with French philosophers over the best form of government and provides an extended analysis of his Defence of the Constitutions of Government and Discourses on Davila to demonstrate his theory of political architecture. From these pages emerges a new John Adams. In reexamining his political thought, Thompson reconstructs the contours and influences of Adams's mental universe, the ideas he challenged, the problems he considered central to constitution-making, and the methods of his reasoning. Skillfully blending history and political science, Thompson's work shows how the spirit of liberty animated Adams's life and reestablishes this forgotten Revolutionary as an independent and important thinker.

How long is John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty?

John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty by C. Bradley Thompson is 360 pages long, and a total of 90,000 words.

This makes it 121% the length of the average book. It also has 110% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 8 hours and 11 minutes to read John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty aloud.

What Reading Level is John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty?

John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty?

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