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If you want to study American government from a limited government, strict constructionist interpretation of the Constitution, this is the book for you. Author Clarence B. Carson, who also wrote the series A Basic History of the United States, makes no bones about his belief that limited government is beneficial, while a growing, encroaching government can be quite dangerous. While the book contains all the information that a textbook would, it is not in the form of a textbook; there are no review and discussion questions or tests. The author makes his viewpoints clear right off the bat in Chapter 1 with the title “Introduction: The Political Crisis.” The crisis, as Carson sees it, is ignorance about the nature and character of government, and how to limit, restrict and restrain it.

Chapter 2 gets into an overview of the Constitution and highlights of our governmental system. The next section of five chapters discusses various ideas from history on political thought; this covers Judeo-Christian, Greek, and Roman ideas and experiences as well as those from the Renaissance, Reformation, and Enlightenment. A chapter is devoted to the British concepts of government, then we learn about the experiences of the American colonies, and finally the process by which our government came into being.

Section III traverses the 19th century; setting up a working government, the rise of political parties, Jeffersonian and Jacksonian ideas, establishment of the Supreme Court, state and local government, and changes brought about by the Civil War and Reconstruction. Interestingly, Carson sees no lasting change brought about by the Civil War and Reconstruction, although he believes that during this era the actions of the government were completely out of sync with constitutional principles.

In the 20th century, however, big government, or the Leviathan as he call it, continues to grow and extend its reach into more and more areas. Chapters 15 through 19 discuss the particulars of how this is occurring. The last part of the book includes the Declaration of Independence, Virginia Bill of Rights, Articles of Confederation, Federalist No. X, Constitution, Washington’s Farewell Address, and Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address.

How will our government, and people’s attitude toward it, change in the 21st century? Carson does not give his opinion, except to say that “observance of the Constitution is essential to the survival of the Republic and the well being of Americans, their lives, liberties, and property.” Let us pray that this will happen. hc, 591 pgs.