Book Reviews and Notices : This Nation Under God. By ELBERT D. THOMAS. (New York: Harper and Brothers. 1950. Pp. 208. $2.75.)
| Date | 01 March 1951 |
| Published date | 01 March 1951 |
| Author | Ross N. Berkes |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591295100400149 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
173
This
Nation
Under
God.
By
ELBERT
D.
THOMAS.
(New
York:
Harper
and
Brothers.
1950.
Pp.
208.
$2.75.)
This
is
not
a
book
which
lends
itself
to
a
review
by
a
political
sci-
entist,
or
by
a
historian,
or
even
by
a
social
scientist.
It
is
a
testimonial
of
faith
and
of
pride
in
our
American
heritage.
It
is
the
product
of
a
man
who
has
sought
and
found
a
key
to
the
appreciation
of
certain
great
truths:
the
richness-even
the
uniqueness-of
our
heritage,
and
the
promise
of
our
destiny,
lie
in
the
fact
that
religion
&dquo;has
been
a
dom-
inant
influence
in
our
development
as
a
nation.&dquo;
It
is
a
comforting
book,
inspired
and
inspirational.
It
is
unscholarly,
though
it is
the
work
of
a
scholar.
It
is
quaint
and
naive,
though
it
is
the
product
of
a
keen
and
practical
statesman.
Former
Senator
Thomas
presents
a
thesis
dedicated
to
the
proposition
that
the
unique
struggles
of
the
American
people
have
shown
a
spiritual
drive
toward
the
realization
of
Heaven-inspired
ideals.
He
presents
pas-
sages
from
the
speeches
of
each
of
our
thirty-two
presidents
as
evidence
of
their
deep,seated
religious
faith
in
our
country.
The
author
is
con-
vinced
that
our
principles
of
human
relationships
and
of
our
basic
govern-
mental
structure
constitute
&dquo;the
first
practical
approach
to
world
unity
and
cooperation.&dquo;
°
Somehow,
one
cannot
be
harsh
with
this
book.
Most
of
us
prob-
ably
believe,
in
varying
degrees,
in
the
ultimate
validity
of
the
ideals
presented
by
the
author.
Whether
or
not
they
are
divinely
inspired
seems
rather
a
personal
matter.
University
of
Southern
California.
ROSS
N.
BERKES.
James
Madison:
Father
of
the
Constitution.
By
IRVING
BRANT.
(New
York:
The
Bobbs-Merrill
Co.,
Inc.
1950.
Pp.
520.
$6.00.)
Long
since
dubbed
&dquo;Father
of
the
Constitution,&dquo;
James
Madison
is
portrayed
in
this
third
volume
of
Brant’s
definitive
biography
as
thor-
oughly
deserving
that
title.
Madison
is
declared
worthy
of
this
appel-
lation
because
of
his
leadership
in
drafting
the
Constitution,
securing
its
ratification
(especially
in
Virginia),
drafting
the
first
ten
Amendments
and
steering
them
through
Congress,
and
materially
aiding
in
establish-
ing
our
government
under
the
new
charter.
Everyone
turned
to
him
for
advice;
even
Hamilton
got
many
of
the
basic
ideas
of
his
financial
pro-
gram
from
Madison.
However,
when
Hamilton’s
program
tended
to
do
injustice
to
veterans
of
the
Revolutionary
War
and
other
holders
of
public
securities,
Madison
headed
the
opposition,
becoming
the
real
&dquo;father&dquo;
of
the
Democratic-Republican
party.
The
book
ends
with
an
account
of
Madison’s
Virginia
Resolutions
of
1798.
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