Minotaur Book Club: We the People by Jill Lepore

The Minotaur Book Club
Our next "book" will be "We the People" by Jill Lepore

From the Publisher:
"The U.S. Constitution is among the oldest constitutions in the world—and one of the most difficult to amend. At what cost? In this landmark, lavishly illustrated book, Harvard professor of history and law Jill Lepore argues that the philosophy of amendment is foundational to American constitutionalism. Challenging both originalism and the Supreme Court’s monopoly on constitutional interpretation, Lepore argues that the framers never intended for the Constitution to be kept, like a butterfly, under glass, but instead expected that future generations would be forever tinkering with it, improving the machinery of government. At the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding and in an account as radical as Charles Beard’s An Economic Interpretation of the United States, Lepore offers a sweeping, lyrical, and democratic constitutional history, telling the stories of generations of Americans who have attempted everything from abolishing the Electoral College to guaranteeing environmental rights, hoping to mend America by amending its Constitution."

Previous Book Club:
November was "The Invisible Hook" by Peter Leeson. You can see that video and our previous book clubs on our YouTube Channel.

Date and Time:
Thursday, January 8th, 6:30pm – 8:30pm EST

Chosen Book:
"We the People" by Jill Lepore
Available for purchase wherever you buy books
Or check your local library

The Minotaur Book Club delves into timeless questions and contemporary challenges, inviting participants to explore the roots of governance, liberty, and democracy through the lens of history and philosophy. The discussions will provide a fertile ground for examining how the principles of justice, equality, and collective responsibility have evolved and where they still fall short.

Purpose: The purpose of the book club is to counteract our country’s Historical Amnesia and strengthen our democracy. To that end, we will read and discuss books that help us to understand the American Project, diagnose persisting problems, and suggest ways to fulfill the mission of the Preamble to the Constitution.

"We the People of the United States, to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

The Minotaur is one of the key archetypes representing the threat to social order when government leaders threaten democracy by converting public goods to private purposes. The best defense for a democracy is educated citizens.

“A society ignorant and free, never was, never will be.” – Thomas Jefferson
“We have given you a republic, if you can keep it.” – Benjamin Franklin