Chronicles of America Volume 13 - The Fathers of the Constitution

In the summer of 1787, fifty-five men gathered in a Philadelphia assembly room to deliberate on the future of a young nation. What emerged from that closed-door convention was the oldest written constitution still in use anywhere in the world. Max Farrand, one of the era's most meticulous historians, reconstructs the fractious debates, the brilliant compromises, and the personalities that forged American governance. From Virginia's sweeping proposals to the small-state counterpunch, from debates over slavery to the creation of an executive branch, Farrand shows how the Constitution was not handed down as sacred text but negotiated, fought over, and nearly failed. This is the story of the Fathers of the Constitution not as marble statues but as flawed, ambitious, visionary men wrestling with questions we still ask today: how much power should the federal government hold? How do you balance liberty with order? For anyone seeking to understand the document that anchors American democracy, Farrand's account remains essential reading.