1787: The Grand Convention

by Clinton Rossiter

Book Overview

In this masterly account of the Philadelphia summer when our Constitution was born, Clinton Rossiter establishes his claim that the year 1787 is preeminent in American history. Bringing to life the setting and the challenge, he shows how the delegates hammered out the document on which our government and institutions rest today.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393304043
• ISBN13: 9780393304046
• Release Date: May 1987
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.9" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A Third Person Historical Account by a Political Scientist

Overall, I found the book to be an interesting account of the men and the events of the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia during the Summer of 1787. The first third of the book is spent by Rossiter providing a brief outline of the biographies of the 55 men who participated (or were nominated to participate) at the convention. Rossiter describes these men as the elites of the American colonial societies. In some cases his assignment is accurate, yet strangely in several cases, many of the men as he described were not elites at all. Generally, he was correct in this assignment, although most notably, he points out that the architect James Madison was clearly not. Like several other points the author makes, he seems to be conflicted and contradictory in his assessments of events and the men involved. The middle third of the book is an account of the goings on of the convention. I found this portion of the book to be well researched and scholarly, but leaving me wanting for a more careful description of the actual dialogue (deliberations) of the men at the Grand Convention. Certainly this want is based on the fact that the only detailed account made of the proceedings was recorded by Madison and later acquired by the Library of Congress - but it still left me thinking it would be more interesting as the reader 230+ years later to be able to read the exact deliberations, the exact debate, the rhetoric, the negotiations during the convention, in order to more accurately understand what the intentions of the Framers were when establishing the excellent system of checks and balances the United States of America has enjoyed for more than 230 years. The short insights into the character of George Washington that Rossiter provides were quite interesting to me and I shall reflect on his actions and his style of management for some time to come. Rossiter portrays Washington as a sort of removed deity presiding over the convention as largely a silent witness to the debates, the negotiations, and rhetoric - only to intercede with the lightest or most appropriate gentlemanly exercise of his authority, in the genuine interest of the nation and in moving the convention to conclusion. The last third of the book is the account of the deliberations of the 13 states in accepting and ratifying the Constitution, with some liberal or progressive analysis by Rossiter. The injection of the progressive or liberal analysis by Rossiter is the only flaw (from my perspective/opinion) in the work. Rossiter takes the Hamiltonian position that the Framers intended for the Constitution to be interpreted liberally with respect to the powers of the new central and federal republic the Constitution provides for. Rossiter further asserts that the Framers had the progressive intent that the Constitution be adapted to meet the needs of future generations. I could not disagree more with this analysis, having the opinion that the Framers intention was to divide the