Prequel

To Rescue the Constitution: Brett Baier

Fox News anchor Bret Baier returns to his history book series with “To Rescue the Constitution: George Washington and the Fragile American Experiment.”

The focal point of this book is the period between Washington’s generalship in the American Revolution and his tenure as first President of the United States.

The time period after winning independence when Americans realized the Articles of Confederation were inadequate for operating a nation and a new form of government needed to be established.

At the end of the Revolutionary War, Washington had retired his military command and returned to private life at his family home of Mount Vernon. He came out of retirement to preside over the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia to create the U.S. Constitution.

Washington was reluctant to attend or participate in the convention but other leaders knew his involvement would be crucial. Without him, most considered it impossible to create a working constitution, persuade doubting states to approve it and win over public acceptance.

George Washington was again the indispensable person in creating the United States of America.

Even though he was mostly silent during the proceedings and made most of his comments to delegates in private, Baier notes Washington’s presence loomed over the convention.

Delegates believed Washington would be the first president so the office was tailor-made for him. When it seemed delegates could not resolve a conflict, Washington’s dedication to the task kept them working to find acceptable compromises.

As with many of these history books that offer a title focusing on a moment in history, half to two-thirds of “To Rescue the Constitution” is a biography. Baier spends the first half of the book chronicling Washington’s life from a youngster to acquiring the family home through the deaths of his father and brother, to marriage, military service and pushing for American independence from Britain, to his command during the Revolution.

The second half of the book deals with the creation of the Constitution followed by the consequences of the document in the early years of the government with Washington’s presidency and the few short years he lived past his presidency.

The book is the second volume in Baier’s “Rescue” series and his fifth presidential book. The first book in this series is “To Rescue the Republic” which focuses on the post-Civil War presidency of Ulysses S. Grant.

While the “Rescue” books are good, they are not as compelling as Baier’s “Three Days” trilogy.

“Three Days in January,” “Three Days in Moscow” and “Three Days at the Brink” deal respectively with the presidencies of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Each book contains biographical sections on the featured president but the majority of each volume reviews a crucial three days in the presidency of each man.

“To Rescue the Constitution” frames an important and often forgotten part of Washington’s career and contribution to the United States. As most Americans know from childhood, without Washington, we likely would not have gained independence when we did and we would not have had traditions such as the peaceful transfer of power but as Baier reminds readers, we would have likely not had the Constitution to guide us then and now.

Prequel: Rachel Maddow

Whether you watch her MSNBC news and views show or not, agree with the angle of the show or not, Rachel Maddow continues to be a fascinating author and historian.

“Blowout” takes on corruption in the oil industry. “Bagman” looks at the almost forgotten troubles of Spiro Agnew, Richard Nixon’s disgraced vice president.

“Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism,” Maddow’s latest book, pulls the Band-Aid off an often overlooked, forgotten and unknown part of America’s past – the number of people and organizations that sympathized, supported or wanted to emulate the anti-semitism and totalitarianism of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany in the United States during the 1930s.

The book is titled “Prequel” because its intent is to serve as a warning against fascism in 21st century America but the book spends almost all of its pages looking at the far-right political fringes of nearly a century ago.

Many of the people featured in “Prequel” were openly antisemitic, openly supported the Nazis and openly pushed for the United States to back Germany during World War II but they covertly sought the establishment of an authoritarian regime in America.

They sought leaders who could be an “American Hitler.”

Maddow details the lives and actions of lone actors, famous people, clergy, congressmen and oddballs who pushed these ideas and fueled these plots and schemes. She introduces the journalists, prosecutors and undercover agents and volunteers who fought to uncover and foil their plots.

And while the plots were stymied and suspects charged, most of the plotters escaped justice through obfuscation and help from influential backers who openly and covertly interfered in the cases.

Maddow tells the stories of “Prequel” with panache. Her research is backed by a style that reads like a thriller. The book is a chilling reminder of how constitutional rights have been threatened throughout American history and how those who do not know history may be doomed to repeat it.