Today, most Americans are familiar only with the obig nameso associated with the Founding - Washington, Adams, Madison, Hamilton and so on. Because we have forgotten so many of our lesser-known Founders, many of whom warned of the dangers of centralized federal power, we have also strayed from the system of limited government prescribed by our Constitution. The resulting imbalance of power, allowed to get worse over decades, has created the problems with executive overreach and the expansive federal bureaucracy that plague America today. Senator Mike Lee, a champion of constitutionally limited government, now seeks to give these nearly forgotten but far-sighted early American thinkers their proper due. He will introduce readers to the influential, liberty-minded Americans who may not be household names but should be, including- Mercy Otis Warren, one of revolutionary America's most prominent female writers and protUgU of John Adams who engaged in vigorous debate against the encroachment of federal power and broke with Adams over the Constitution Canasatego, an Iroquois chief who taught Benjamin Franklin the basic principles behind the separation of powers in government Aaron Burr, whose otrial of the centuryo in the early 1800s defined the limits of executive power and warned of its potential for abuse Elbridge Gerry, who championed individual rights and greater power for the states over the newly formed federal government - and without whom there would be no Bill of Rights. Our Forgotten Founders is not simply a history lesson. By channeling voices from the past, this book will inject renewed passion into the debate over what the Constitution means to us today, and the limits it sets on a power-hungry federal government.
