Tempest at Dawn Review

Mike Reads has reviewed Tempest at Dawn. Link

"I found this novel to be an interesting read.  I thoroughly enjoyed it."

If you would like to read the real story of our nation's founding, pick up a copy of Tempest at Dawn.

Tempest at Dawn by James D. Best

A Dramatic Reading of Tempest at Dawn

SAGE in Northridge, CA is doing a dramatic reading of Tempest at Dawn. The SAGE Society is a learning-in-retirement organization sponsored by California State University, Northridge. The group has adapted the novel to a play-like script and members assume the roles of various framers of the Constitution. The readings will extend over many weeks, but yesterday I had the privilege of attending the first reading of chapters 1-4. The society members did a wonderful job and it was a kick to hear other people read my words aloud. This was a fun group and the performance and banter showed that the members were learned, full of life, and welcoming to new members and experiences. After Tempest at Dawn, they will do a reenactment of the Virginia Ratification Convention, which they will script from other sources. I felt honored that SAGE has dedicated their time and meetings to Tempest at Dawn.

Eutychus the Scribe Reviews Tempest at Dawn

"Tempest at Dawn is a novel. Fiction. Historical fiction. It does adhere closely to Madison’s notes when describing what occurred in the Assembly Room. But James Best uses the imagination of the novelist to construct what might have occurred in the taverns, salons, dining rooms and inns. He also draws on historical data to present us with the personalities of the major participants in the convention. The result is a readable, engaging story of the creation of our Constitution."

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Coming soon to a bookstore or website near you

Prior to 1776, world history was primarily written about kings and emperors. The American experiment shook the world. Not only did the colonies break away from the biggest and most powerful empire in history, they took the musings of the brightest thinkers of the Enlightenment and implemented them. The Founding of the United States was simultaneously an armed rebellion against tyranny and a revolution of ideas—ideas that changed the course of world history. 

Mr. Madison Writes a Letter to Mr. Jefferson

Prior to championing a Bill of Rights in the First Congress, James Madison wrote a revealing letter to Thomas Jefferson in October of 1788. Interestingly, much of the letter was written in a secret code only the two of them shared. The following extract from the letter gives insight into Madison's mindset and the thinking of many of the Founders.


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The Founders’ Fear

We often hear laments that our politicians no longer honor their pledge to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. This is backward. The Constitution was never written for politicians. Our political leaders have no motivation to abide by a two hundred year old restraining order. Americans must enforce the supreme law of the land. The first outsized words of the Constitution read We the People. It’s our document. It was always meant to be ours, not the government’s. It is each and every American’s obligation to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

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Good Book

Just finished The Dirty Dozen, How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom. I barely got a B in my only law course, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.



Read my review at What Would the Founders Think?

New post at What Would the Founders Think

Our Constitution created a limited representative republic.  A republic is different from a democracy.  In a democracy, the majority can directly make laws, while in a republic, elected representatives make laws.  Basically, in a pure democracy, the majority has unlimited power, whereas in a republic, a written constitution limits the majority and provides safeguards for the individual and minorities.

In the United States, we actually have both systems.  There is no way for Americans to directly enact legislation at the national level, but half of the states allow ballot initiatives which, if passed by a majority of the voters, have the force of law.

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The Federal Convention of 1787

It was an unusually hot summer for Philadelphia, and for a few weeks there was an infestation of big black flies that buzzed around the delegates eyes.  To facilitate deliberation, the delegates voted for secret proceedings.  The intent was to promote open debate and allow the delegates to change their minds, but it also meant that the windows were nailed shut and the doors remained closed.  The stench of stale sweat and absence of any air circulation made the chamber extremely unpleasant.


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Path to Tyranny Reviews Tempest at Dawn

"Using vivid narrative and expressive dialogue, Tempest at Dawn presents all the major issues the Founding Fathers struggled with. More impressive, you get to know the character of the men who created our great nation."


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Constituting America Guest Essayist: James D. Best

Article II, Section 1, Clause 5

5:  No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

The president of the United States must meet three eligibility requirements. He or she must be a natural born citizen, be at least thirty-five years old, and have resided within the United States for fourteen years.

Read the essay

What would the Founders Thinks?

I accepted an invitation to write articles for the What Would The Founders Think? blogsite. This is an interesting site where multiple contributors look at current events through the eyes of the Founders.

What Would the Founders Think?

Founding Principles at Beck University

Professor Dr. Peter Lillback and I will be conducting a course on Founding Principles for Beck University. The course premiers on October 13th at 8:00 PM EST.

Dr. Lillback is author of George Washington's Sacred Fire and a great speaker. I'll review the Five Founding Principles and how they've been eroded over time.

Beck University is one of the exclusive features for subscribers to glennbeck.com Extreme Insiders. The course will be available for viewing at any time after this evening.

Who Wrote the United States Constitution?

The infant periods of most nations are buried in silence, or veiled in fable, and perhaps the world has lost little it should regret. But the origins of the American Republic contain lessons of which posterity ought not to be deprived.—James Madison

The Articles of Confederation proved barely adequate during the imperative of war and a failure after independence. It looked as if the American experiment was doomed. Then in May of 1787, delegates came to Philadelphia with a congressional charter to revise the Articles of Confederation. They didn’t revise the Articles. Instead, they wrote a constitution from scratch for a totally new government. These men carried out a bloodless coup that replaced an existing government without a shot.

Who were these men? Who wrote the Constitution of the United States?

The short answer is that Gouverneur Morris wrote the Constitution, with editing help from other members of the Committee of Style. In truth, all of the delegates, to a greater or lesser degree influenced the substance of the Constitution. There were fifty-five men that attended the Federal Convention, what we now call the Constitutional Convention. When Thomas Jefferson read the list of attendees, he called them an “assembly of demi-gods.”

Not exactly, but they were staunch revolutionaries and patriots. They were also highly successful, well educated, and unswerving in their support of the republican form of government. They came to Philadelphia committed to rescuing American from its slide into anarchy.

A few are household names. George Washington presided over the convention. James Madison, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, James Wilson, and George Mason were all key delegates. Many of the rest have been forgotten.

Most of these men knew each other from years of politicking or war. Twenty-nine served in a military capacity during the Revolution and another twenty-three risked their fortunes and lives by taking an active political role during the war. Eight committed treason by signing the Declaration of Independence.

In colonial America, college degrees were rare, yet twenty-nine held college degrees and many others were self-educated in the classics and modern political thought. Almost all of the delegates were knowledgeable about Aristotle, Locke, Hume, and Montesquieu. Ten had degrees from the College of New Jersey (later to become Princeton), six from European universities, four from Harvard, four from Yale, four from William and Mary, two from the College of Philadelphia, and one from Kings College (later to become Columbia University).

Forty-five delegates were rich. Thirty-one had the good fortune of being born to wealthy or prominent families. Twelve were self-made and two married into money. Ten struggled to make ends meet and to support their families.  Eight were born in other counties and many were second generation. Eleven were businessmen, eight owned large plantations, three were physicians, one was a professor, and six could be called professional politicians.

Thirty of the delegates were lawyers in an age that revered the rule of law and reason. All of them had extensive political experience and many went on to take substantial roles in the government they created. Two became president, twenty-five served in Congress, five gained appointments to the Supreme Court, four became foreign ministers, and four held cabinet positions.

Not every delegate went on to further success. Six wealthy delegates died impoverished, fleeing creditors. One was indicted, but not tried, for treason. One barely escaped impeachment from the Supreme Court and another was expelled from the Senate. Two died in duels, another mysteriously disappeared in the middle of New York City, and another was rumored murdered by a grandnephew impatient for his inheritance.

These were not demi-gods, but real men with human frailties and weaknesses. The story of the Constitution’s creation is incredible, but what makes this work as a novel is the cast of characters. The Founding Fathers were bigger than life, but they were also real human beings—men and women that I wanted to bring into the reader’s living room.

It was fun getting to know them as I researched and wrote Tempest at Dawn—well, all of them except for possibly Elbridge Gerry.  

Andrew Klavan Explains the Constitution

The Federalist Papers at Constituting America

Tempest at Dawn is a dramatization of the constitutional convention of 1787. The recent publication of my novel has gotten a lot of attention, especially by people concerned about focusing the country's attention on the United States Constitution.

I wrote two essays for Constituting America. Janine Turner and Cathy Gillespie founded Constituting America to "reach, educate and inform America's youth and her citizens about the importance of the U.S. Constitution."

This is an except from my essay on Federalist 60:

"One is struck by the recurrence of the checks and balances theme—in Madison’s convention notes, the Constitution itself, the Federalist Papers, and the minutes of the ratification conventions. There can be no doubt that the Founders believed that liberty depended on one part of the government acting as an effective check on all other parts of the government, and that meant between the national branches and between the states and the national government. The Founders abhorred concentrated power. They believed that only through judiciously balanced power—constituted by dissimilar modes—could liberty survive the natural tendency of man to dictate the habits of other men."

These links will take you to the full essays.

Federalist 56

Federalist 60

Book trailer for Tempest at Dawn