Founders and the Idea of a National University

George Thomas is Associate Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College, California. He previously taught at Williams College, Massachusetts. Thomas is the author of The Madisonian Constitution (2008), as well as numerous articles and essays on American constitutionalism in journals such as American Political Thought, Constitutional Commentary, Perspectives on Politics, the Review of Politics, and the American Interest. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Huntington Library, and he is the recipient of the Alexander George Award from the American Political Science Association.

• Introduction; 1. The national-university vision and American constitutionalism; 2. The national university and constitutional limits; 3. The national university and state institutions; 4. Constituting the university; 5. Education, the national university, and constituting national identity; 6. The civic dimensions of American constitutionalism; Conclusion: the Constitution and the American mind.

'George Thomas exposes the error of two widely held views about the American founding fathers: that they were committed chiefly to a set of decisional procedures, not to a specific way of life, and that they thought 'checks and balances' would secure good government without the need to cultivate a competent and public-spirited leadership community. This well-written book is a major contribution to American constitutional thought.' Sotirios A. Barber, University of Notre Dame, Indiana