James Wilson was an important though lesser-known Founding-era figure. David Ferkaluk discusses persuasively and in detail how Wilson's political thought was shaped by the Scottish philosopher Thomas Reid. This enabled Wilson to think differently about popular sovereignty than his better-known contemporaries, Madison and Jefferson, and to place the new American republic on the 'broader and deeper foundation' featured in this book.

James H. Read, College of St. Benedict and St. John's University, USA

A Broader and Deeper Foundation is a sympathetic account of James Wilson's political thought and of its influence on American political history. Many of the insights are fresh, and the comparison of Wilson to the constitutional thought of Daniel Webster and Abraham Lincoln is original and revealing. This book will certainly be read by specialists, but is admirably well written and will be accessible to a broad audience.

William Ewald, University of Pennsylvania, USA