Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787
- ISBN-10
- 0821407651
- ISBN-13
- 9780821407653
- Category
- History / United States / Revolutionary Period (1775-1800)
- Pages
- 695
- Language
- English
- Published
- 1987
- Publisher
- Ohio University Press
- Authors
- James Madison, United States. Constitutional Convention
Description
James Madison's record of the Constitutional Convention traces day by day the debates held from May to September, 1787, and presents the only complete picture we have of the strategy, interests, and ideas of the founding fathers at the Convention itself.
In this indispensable primary document, Madison not only provides detailed insights into one of the great events of our history, but clearly sets forth his own position on such issues as the balance of powers, the separation of functions, and the general role of the federal government. More than in the Federalist, which shows the carefully formalized conclusions of his political thought, we see in the Debates his philosophy in action, evolving in daily tension with the viewpoints of the other delegates. It is for this reason that the Debates are invaluable for placing in perspective the incomplete records of such well-known figures as Rufus King and Alexander Hamilton, and the constitutional plans of such men as Edmund Randolph and Charles Pinckney.
Madison's contemporaries regarded him as the chief statesmen at the Philadelphia Convention; in addition to this, his record outranks in importance all the other writings of the founders of the American Republic. He is thus identified, as not other man is, with the making of the Constitution and the correct interpretation of the intentions of its drafters.
New to this edition of the Debates us a thorough, scholarly index of some two thousand entries.
Get the book
Other editions
Similar books
-
The Quotable Jefferson
By Thomas Jefferson"Succeeding admirably in condensing the best quotes from around twenty thousand letters, this book will awaken some readers to the wit and wisdom of Jefferson, and enable others to rediscover it.
-
1775: A Good Year for Revolution
By Kevin PhillipsThe distress of the Boston garrison was treated as a temporary difficulty which would end as soon as an adequate ... S. enior alarm North British sounded America. officials over King illicit generally George's arms heeded own and ...
-
Benjamin Franklin
By Edwin S. Gaustad, Professor Emeritus of History and Religious Studies Edwin S GaustadAn engaging biography of Benjamin Franklin, published on the tricentennial of his birth, offers a marvelous portrait of this towering colonial figure, who, with only two years of formal education, managed to lead one of the most ...
-
1781: The Decisive Year of the Revolutionary War
By Robert L. TonseticThe bloody raid reinforced the hatred and distain that his former countrymen held for Benedict Arnold, but it did little lasting damage. The town of New London was rebuilt, and American privateers soon resumed their operations against ...
-
Winter Quarters: George Washington and the Continental Army at Valley Forge
By Noel Fairchild BuschWinter Quarters: George Washington and the Continental Army at Valley Forge
-
1774: The Long Year of Revolution
By Mary Beth NortonJohn Bullman and , 144-46 committee of observation and , 275 Continental Congress and , 150-51 , 207 Brockenbrough , Austin , 283 , 447n Brookfield , Massachusetts , 158-59 Brown , Wallace , 348n , 38on Bruce , Capt .
-
The Papers of Robert Morris, 1781-1784: Volume 4
By Robert Morris, John Catanzariti... Serge Corvington, and Jerome Stoker of the American History Division, Maude D. Cole, Francis Mattson, ... Virginia Historical Society: Howson W. Cole; Archivo General de Indias, Seville: Rosario EDITORS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xxxvii Parra ...
-
1776
By Thomas FlemingOn the day that Lee and Clinton arrived, Thomas Lynch called on William Smith. This fifty-one-year-old grandson of an Irish immigrant was one of the wealthiest men in South Carolina. Yet his Irish ancestry had prompted him to take the ...
-
1776
By David McCulloughWakin, Daniel J. “Pastor's Call to Arms in 1776 Has Echoes in 2003.” New York Reportin New York Times, March 16, 2003. Warren, ———. “Uniform of the Revolutionary Army.” Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Vol.
-
1775: A Good Year for Revolution
By Kevin PhillipsJohn C. Miller, Sam Adams (Stanford, Calif.; Stanford University Press, 1936), pp. 343–44. Details on this historiography can be found in Maier, Old Revolutionaries, op.cit., pp. 3-50. Irvin, op.cit., pp. 103-4. Miller, Sam Adams ...