The Five Thousand Year Leap

Title: The Five Thousand Year Leap

Author: W. Cleon Skousen

Pages: 356

Genre: Non-fiction, Law

Grade: B+

Synopsis: Oringinaly published more than 30 years ago, this book lays out 28 principles that the Constitution was built upon. Included in the book was the text of the Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Paine's pamphlet, Common Sense, and 100 questions to ask your elected politicians to gauge their stance on the Constitution. Skousen takes a literal interpretation of the Constitution and argues that if the founders did not expressly give the federal government a duty, then it is one that should be left up to state and/or local governments. A sampling of the 28 principles (ok, I couldn't decide which ones to leave out, so I left them all in):

1. The only reliable basis for sound government and just human relations is natural Law.
2. A free people cannot survive under a republican constitution unless they remain virtuous and morally strong.
3. The most promising method of securing a virtuous and morally stable people is to elect virtuous leaders.
4. Without religion the government of a free people cannot be maintained.
5. All things were created by God, therefore upon Him all mankind are equally dependent and to him and to Him they are equally responsible.
6. All men are created equal.
7. The proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not provide equal things.
8. Men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.
9. To protect man's rights, God has revealed certain principles of divine law.
10. The God-given right to govern is vested in the sovereign autority of the whole people.
11. The majority of the people may alter or abolish a government which has become tyrannical.
12. The United States of America shall be a Republic.
13. A constitution should be structured to permanently protect the people from the human frailties of their rulers.
14. Life and liberty are secure only so long as the right to property is secure.
15. The highest level of prosperity occurs when there is a free-market economy and a minimum of government regulations.
16. The government should be separated into three branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.
17. A system of checks and balances should be adopted to prevent the abuse of power.
18. The unalienable rights of the people are most likely to be preserved if the principles of government are set forth in a written constitution.
19. Only limited and carefully defined powers should be delegated to government, all others being retained in the people.
20. Efficiency and dispatch require government to operate according to the will of the majority, but constitutional provisions must be made to protect the rights of the minority.
21. Strong local self-government is the keystone to preserving human freedom.
22. A free people should be governed by law and not by the whims of men.
23. A free society cannot survive as a republic without a broad program of general education.
24. A free people will not survive unless they stay strong.
25. "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations -- entangling alliances with none."
26. The core unit which determines the strength of any society is the family; therefore, the government should foster and protect its integrity.
27. The burden of debt is as destructive to freedom as subjugation by conquest.
28. The United States has a manifest destiny to be an example and a blessing to the entire human race.

My Review: If this book had a title more fitting of the material in the book, then it would be more popular than it is. Nothing in the title indicates that it is a book about the Constitution. The book is a fascinating look at the writings and vision that the founder's had as they framed the Constitution. I've never considered myself a Constitutionalist, but that was because I didn't understand them. Now, my support for every politician and bill will be determined by how it fits in with the Constitution. I don't consider myself a strict Constitutionalist, but I would love to see our country move back to the way the founder's intended things. My biggest complaint with the book is that everything is framed as being one-sided, when even the founders interpreted the Constitution slightly different from each other (i.e. Jefferson, vs. Adams). This book makes me proud to be an American, but is also a little depressing when you realize how far we've fallen.

From the Book: "(P. 61) Here is my creed: I believe in one God, the Creator of the universe. That he governs it by his providence. That he ought to be worshipped. That the most acceptable service we render to him is in doing good to his other children. That the soul of man is immortal, and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental points in all sound religion." (Benjamin Franklin - 4th Principle)

"(p. 66) I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there; in her fiertile fields and boundless prairies, and it was not there; in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there. Not until I went to the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great." (Alexis de Tocqueville - 4th Principle)

"(p. 91) 5. Strictly enforce the scale of "fixed responsibility." The first and foremost level of responsibility if with the individual himself; the second level is the family; then the church; next the community finally the county, and, in a disaster or emergency, the state. Under no circumstances is the federal government to become involved in public welfare. The Founders felt it would corrupt the government and also the poor. No Constitutional authority exists for the federal government to participate in charity or welfare."(Principle 7)