The Men Who Made the Constitution
Lives of the Delegates to the Constitutional Convention
By (author) John R. Vile Dean of University Honors College, Middle Tennessee State University
Publication date:
10 October 2013Length of book:
484 pagesPublisher
Scarecrow PressDimensions:
237x160mm6x9"
ISBN-13: 9780810888647
Few events in the history of the United States were of greater consequence than the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Although most histories have focused on the issues and compromises that dominated the debates, the exchanges were also shaped by the dynamic personalities of the fifty-five delegates who attended from twelve of the thirteen states.
In The Men Who Made the Constitution, constitutional scholar John R. Vileexplores the lives and contributions of all delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, including those who left before the Convention ended and those who stayed until the last day but refused to sign. Each biography records the delegate’s birth, education, previous positions or public service roles, homes, family life, life after the Convention, death, and resting place. Drawing directly from Convention debates and a vast array of secondary sources, Vile covers the positions of each delegate at the Convention on both major and minor issues and describes his service on committees and afterward at state ratification conventions.
The Men Who Made the Constitution includes a bibliography of key sources, engravings of delegates for whom portraits were created, a quiz on key facts, and a transcript of the Constitution of the United States. This work is the perfect reference for students and scholars, as well as professional and amateur historians, of colonial and early American history, constitutional law, and American jurisprudence.
In The Men Who Made the Constitution, constitutional scholar John R. Vileexplores the lives and contributions of all delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, including those who left before the Convention ended and those who stayed until the last day but refused to sign. Each biography records the delegate’s birth, education, previous positions or public service roles, homes, family life, life after the Convention, death, and resting place. Drawing directly from Convention debates and a vast array of secondary sources, Vile covers the positions of each delegate at the Convention on both major and minor issues and describes his service on committees and afterward at state ratification conventions.
The Men Who Made the Constitution includes a bibliography of key sources, engravings of delegates for whom portraits were created, a quiz on key facts, and a transcript of the Constitution of the United States. This work is the perfect reference for students and scholars, as well as professional and amateur historians, of colonial and early American history, constitutional law, and American jurisprudence.
Vile previously wrote The Constitutional Convention of 1787: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of America's Founding (2005). He uses the biographical sketches in that encyclopedia as the basis for essays in this new work about the 55 men who served as delegates to the Constitutional Convention–whether or not they signed the document on September 17, 1787. Vile adds biographical information and detailed descriptions of each delegate's documented actions and opinions on the issues debated in the convention. He emphasizes delegates' views on the role and powers of Congress, the presidency, and the judiciary, and also federalism, a standing army, compromise plans related to federal-state powers, slavery, and individual rights. The alphabetically arranged essays include 'further reading' suggestions. Among his sources, Vile relies heavily on Max Farrand's edited The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, a key compilation of documents, notes, and proceedings of the convention written by James Madison. He does not provide much interpretation or evaluation concerning delegates' influence, but instead offers a unique, descriptive guide to their convention participation and sources for further study. A glossary, quiz, and the text of the Constitution conclude the work. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty; general readers.