Americans revere their Constitution. However; most of us are unaware how tumultuous and improbable the drafting and ratification processes were. As Benjamin Franklin keenly observed; any assembly of men bring with them "all their prejudices; their passions; their errors of opinion; their local interests; and their selfish views." One need not deny that the Framers had good intentions in order to believe that they also had interests. Based on prodigious research and told largely through the voices of the participants; Michael Klarman's The Framers' Coup narrates how the Framers' clashing interests shaped the Constitution--and American history itself.The Philadelphia convention could easily have been a failure; and the risk of collapse was always present. Had the convention dissolved; any number of adverse outcomes could have resulted; including civil war or a reversion to monarchy. Not only does Klarman capture the knife's-edge atmosphere of the convention; he populates his narrative with riveting and colorful stories: the rebellion of debtor farmers in Massachusetts; George Washington's uncertainty about whether to attend; Gunning Bedford's threat to turn to a European prince if the small states were denied equal representation in the Senate; slave staters' threats to take their marbles and go home if denied representation for their slaves; Hamilton's quasi-monarchist speech to the convention; and Patrick Henry's herculean efforts to defeat the Constitution in Virginia through demagoguery and conspiracy theories. The Framers' Coup is more than a compendium of great stories; however; and the powerful arguments that feature throughout will reshape our understanding of the nation's founding. Simply put; the Constitutional Convention almost didn't happen; and once it happened; it almost failed. Even after the convention succeeded; the Constitution it produced almost failed to be ratified. Just as importantly; the Constitution was hardly the product of philosophical reflections by brilliant; disinterested statesmen; but rather ordinary interest group politics. Multiple conflicting interests had a say; from creditors and debtors to city dwellers and backwoodsmen. The upper class overwhelmingly supported the Constitution; many working class colonists were more dubious. Slave states and nonslave states had different perspectives on how well the Constitution served their interests. Ultimately; both the Constitution's content and its ratification process raise troubling questions about democratic legitimacy. The Federalists were eager to avoid full-fledged democratic deliberation over the Constitution; and the document that was ratified was stacked in favor of their preferences. In terms of substance; the Constitution was a significant departure from the more democratic state constitutions of the 1770s. Definitive and authoritative; The Framers' Coup explains why the Framers preferred such a constitution and how they managed to persuade the country to adopt it. We have lived with the consequences; both positive and negative; ever since.
#60210 in Books Klarman Michael J 2016-10-14Original language:English 6.50 x 2.10 x 9.30l; .0 #File Name: 019994203X880 pagesThe Framers Coup The Making of the United States Constitution
Review
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful. Exhautive History of the Formation of the ConstitutionBy John T. HansenThis book is not for the casual reader or faint at heart. Nevertheless; it is an exhaustive and detailed account of how the U.S. Constitution came to be; starting with the failed Confederation and through the ratification process. No stone is left unturned in terms of the debates throughout this entire period. The greatest fault of the book is that; in the author's desire to be thorough; the excerpts from the debates are overly repetitive. However; if one wants an authoritative history of the Constitution's formation; this is it. After reading this book; one understands; more than has been generally understood before; how many; if not most; of the provisions of the Constitution were the result of compromise that often ended ambiguously in exhaustion after interminable debate. It unintentionally make a mockery of "original intent." With a few exceptions; such as where the trade-off was clear; as in two Senate seats for each state; the end result was reached primarily to avoid a breakdown and to move on to the next subject; leaving implementation and interpretation for future generations.13 of 13 people found the following review helpful. A Masterpiece that Will Become a Classic; First Comprehensive History of America's Founding DocumentsBy Q. PubliusThis book is a masterpiece and a must read for anyone seriously interested in American Constitutional government. In a BookTV interview the great historian Gordon Wood was once asked why Americans are so interested in the founding period and the Founders. He responded that it is a matter of knowing our identity as a nation. Unlike many countries; Americans do not have royalty who serve as figureheads for the nation. Our presidents and most of our political leaders are elected for a comparatively short time. Knowledge of the founding period gives us a sense of what it means to be an American by telling us what the first Americans considered citizenship to be. The author of this book; Michael Klarman; a professor of law; has done a great service by thoroughly researching the Articles of Confederation; Constitutional Convention; ratifying debates and conventions; and the Bill of Rights; and writing a book that it the first unified; in depth summary of these Constitutional moments. His research in the sources is deep. His summary of the main events and players is comprehensive and insightful. This book will be a classic in law schools and history classes for many years. Americans are constantly referring to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights because it is the source of their freedoms down to the present day. This book tells how those rights originated and developed; and provides background for much disputed political opinions on what individual rights mean today. I've been reading on the founding period for decades; and yet I learned many new things from the author's comprehensive treatment. Key historical works on the founding such as those of Bernard Bailyn; Gordon Wood; Jack Rakove; and Pauline Meyer; will still be necessary reading to understand this period. But Michael Klarman's new book is likely to become the one indispensable classic history of the period.15 of 16 people found the following review helpful. A Complete Reference-Quality Summation of The Origins; Developments; and Controversies of the U.S. ConstitutionBy John Hamer; Jr.A strong positive recommendation.The title of the book summarizes the narrative: the Constitution was written at an extra-legal meeting to counter the weakness of the Articles of Confederation manifest in the impotence of congress and the excess of democracy in the states that threatened to combine in the new United States and challenge the sacredness of property. In other words; the Constitution is an attempt to quell the fears in the question "what do we do if they vote to take away our money?"What makes this book especially useful is its scope: it covers in a single volume the whole sweep from the attempts to govern while the War for Independence was going on; through Philadelphia; the conflicts of ratification; and the Bill of Rights. It is long and it is dense.The chapters each stand alone so the book is useful as a reference. The references are many and reflect the current state of scholarship. The end notes are interesting and useful.
