Status
Available
Call number
Call number
342.73 Stj
Genres
Collection
Publication
Jameson Books Inc. (1987), Edition: 1st, 294 pages
Description
You are there, in 1787, at America's constitutional convention, with the inside story that reads like a modern-day account of the secret proceedings in Philadelphia. Veteran print and broadcast journalist Jeffrey St. John "reports" each day's proceedings, flavoring his dispatches with quotes from private correspondence and notes of the delegates. He captures the frustration, conflict, hope, and despair of America's founders during that long, sweltering summer session, as the political future of the country hangs in the balance. It is an enthralling story, never before told in this journalistic form.
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User reviews
LibraryThing member wildbill
There have been many books written on the Constitutional convention. This author presents the story of what took place from May 25, 1787 to September 17, 1787 as daily newspaper stories. It was first published as a daily series in the Christian Science Monitor in 1987. I did a project in college
I have some general knowledge of the subject and the people involved. The author brought out details of what happened and was able to introduce the parties through their speeches and actions. The fact that Luther Martin had a drinking problem and Gouverneur Morris had a wooden leg. The changing of the preamble to leave out the names of the States as the final draft of the document was written. The fact that the street outside the meeting room had to be covered with dirt and the windows closed so everyone could hear each other. All of these details give the reader a you are there feeling.
There is also a good discussion of the issues involved and how the different interests represented at the convention worked their way to a conclusion they could all agree on. The discussions of the Virginia Plan, the New Jersey Plan and Roger Sherman's compromise are presented in the way they happened.
I think the reason that the final document came out so well is that all of the different aspects of the government, such as all of the details of the office of the President, were gone over time and time again. There were probably eight to ten resolutions on the length of the President's term in office. That is how this very short document that is the framework of our government was crafted with such precision. This process is presented very well in the day by day narration used by the author.
The result is an interesting story that provides a lot of historical information.
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using this format and it requires a lot of research and organization of the material. The book is a well written and interesting narration of a very important event.I have some general knowledge of the subject and the people involved. The author brought out details of what happened and was able to introduce the parties through their speeches and actions. The fact that Luther Martin had a drinking problem and Gouverneur Morris had a wooden leg. The changing of the preamble to leave out the names of the States as the final draft of the document was written. The fact that the street outside the meeting room had to be covered with dirt and the windows closed so everyone could hear each other. All of these details give the reader a you are there feeling.
There is also a good discussion of the issues involved and how the different interests represented at the convention worked their way to a conclusion they could all agree on. The discussions of the Virginia Plan, the New Jersey Plan and Roger Sherman's compromise are presented in the way they happened.
I think the reason that the final document came out so well is that all of the different aspects of the government, such as all of the details of the office of the President, were gone over time and time again. There were probably eight to ten resolutions on the length of the President's term in office. That is how this very short document that is the framework of our government was crafted with such precision. This process is presented very well in the day by day narration used by the author.
The result is an interesting story that provides a lot of historical information.
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Pages
294