Review: What Would the Founders Do? by Richard Brookhiser
Interested in putting today’s political debate and dialogue into the perspective of America’s founders? Have I got a book for you. What Would the Founders Do? by Richard Brookhiser is just what you’re looking for. Subtitled (Our Questions Their Answers), What Would the Founders Do? helps to view modern day issues through the lenses of those who founded this land.
One of the things that lends to a book’s readability is how the author and its editors have laid it out for presentation. Some books are presented in a long form that requires heavy reader investment to make headway, others are designed in convenient bite size morsels so that the reader can consume pieces and parts as their time allows. The latter is the case with Brookhiser’s What Would the Founders Do? and the book is laid out in exactly the format that the subtitle offers - our questions, their answers. Because of this, I’ve had this book on the shelf in my bathroom (perhaps the finest reading room known to man) for the last few months and I was able to spend a few minutes, reading a little bit each day and then move on.
Along with it’s convenience, What Would the Founders Do? is written with a modern voice that utilizes the founders actions (in the form of their own activities and writings) to shed light on how they would deal with today’s hot button issues.
In his chapter on War and Peace, Brookhiser asks the question - “What Would the Founders Do about Rogue States?” The author relies on the the actions of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison during their presidencies in handling a system of Mediterranean piracy supported by the rogue Muslim states of North Africa: Morocco, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli (modern day Libya).
Brookhiser describes how Jefferson sent almost the entire U.S. Navy to the shores of the Barbary Coast to confront these aggressor states. In the end when faced with the appearance of overwhelming force, the bashaw of Tripoli gave in. Similarly, in 1815 Madison sent an American squadron to the Mediterranean, “compelling Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli to forswear piracy and to pay damages for past offenses.” In both cases, 
Brookhiser shows how the founders would deal with rogue states - the use of overwhelming force to reach a negotiated settlement. From a modern perspective it gives the reader a glimpse of how the founders might relate to Afghanistan, Iraq, North Korea and Iran. Could it be the historic version of today’s Bush doctrine?
Finally, Brookhiser closes the book with an humorous chapter entitled Founderblogs. Founderblogs (there really is one) is Brookhiser’s take on how the founding fathers would relate to the medium of the internet and our blogosphere. With imagined websites ranging from Dirtyoldman (Benjamin Franklin) to the never offending George Washington’s email claiming “While I am deeply sensible of the honor of your request that I submit a Web log (though I deny that my daily thoughts or doings would possess any interest to the generality of readers)…” The closing chapter leaves the reader wondering how our founding rabble rousers would operate in today’s medium of self-publishing and a never ending news cycle.
Based on what I found in the book, I think they would do just fine… and so would you should you decide to read Brookhiser’s book. It’s now on the shelf in my library and something tells me I’ll be using it as a reference in the future.
You can learn more about Richard Brookhiser through his website. His book What Would the Founders Do? is available at fine booksellers everywhere and online here. For a little levity, you can check out the Founderblogs here.
