Introduction : A new beginning ; Shades of the primitive past ; Why Jamestown was different ; Two hundred years later ; What about progress in reverse? ; Time to get back to basics ; The 28 great ideas that are changing the world
Pt. I. Structuring a government with all power in the people ; The founders' political spectrum ; What is left? What is right? ; The founding fathers used a more accurate yardstick ; Ruler's law ; The founders' attraction to people's law ; Characteristics of anglo-saxons and ancient Israel ; Memorializing the two examples of people's law ; The founders' struggle to establish people's law ; First constitution too close to anarchy ; The genius of the constitutional convention in 1787 ; A special device to encourage open discussion ; The balanced center ; America's three-headed eagle ; The two wings of the eagle ; Thomas Jefferson describes the need for balance ; Jefferson's conversation with Washington ; Jefferson's concern about radicals ; The founders warn against the collectivist left ; The need for an "enlightened electorate" ; The founders' common denominator of basic beliefs ; Fundamental principles
Pt. II. The founders' basic principles : The genius of natural law ; A virtuous and moral people ; Virtuous and moral leaders ; The role of religion ; The role of creator ; All mean are created equal ; Equal rights, not equal things ; Man's unalienable rights ; The role of revealed law ; Sovereignty of the people ; Who can alter the government? ; Advantages of a republic ; Protection against human frailty ; Property rights essential to liberty ; Free-market economics ; The separation of powers ; Checks and balances ; Importance of a written constitution ; Limiting and defining the powers of government ; Majority rule, minority rights ; Strong local self-government ; Government by law, not by men ; Importance of an educated electorate ; Peace through strength ; Avoid entangling alliances ; Protecting the role of the family ; Avoiding the burden of debt ; The founders' sense of manifest destiny.
