{"product_id":"the-summer-of-1787-the-men-who-invented-the-constitution-9780743286930","title":"The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Summer of 1787\u003c\/i\u003e takes us into the sweltering room in which the founding fathers struggled for four months to produce the Constitution: the flawed but enduring document that would define the nation--then and now.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eGeorge Washington presided, James Madison kept the notes, Benjamin Franklin offered wisdom and humor at crucial times. \u003ci\u003eThe Summer of 1787\u003c\/i\u003e traces the struggles within the Philadelphia Convention as the delegates hammered out the charter for the world's first constitutional democracy. Relying on the words of the delegates themselves to explore the Convention's sharp conflicts and hard bargaining, David O. Stewart lays out the passions and contradictions of the, often, painful process of writing the Constitution. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIt was a desperate balancing act. Revolutionary principles required that the people have power, but could the people be trusted? Would a stronger central government leave room for the states? Would the small states accept a Congress in which seats were allotted according to population rather than to each sovereign state? And what of slavery? The supercharged debates over America's original sin led to the most creative and most disappointing political deals of the Convention. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe room was crowded with colorful and passionate characters, some known--Alexander Hamilton, Gouverneur Morris, Edmund Randolph--and others largely forgotten. At different points during that sultry summer, more than half of the delegates threatened to walk out, and some actually did, but Washington's quiet leadership and the delegates' inspired compromises held the Convention together. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn a country continually arguing over the document's original intent, it is fascinating to watch these powerful characters struggle toward consensus--often reluctantly--to write a flawed but living and breathing document that could evolve with the nation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e David O. Stewart\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Simon \u0026amp; Schuster\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/20\/2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 368\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.85lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.10w x 0.90d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780743286930\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/06\/2008 pg. 20\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eStewart, David O.:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - David O. Stewart is an award-winning author and the president of the \u003ci\u003eWashington Independent Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e. He is the author of several acclaimed histories, including \u003ci\u003eMadison's Gift: Five Partnerships That Built America\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eThe Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution\u003c\/i\u003e;\u003ci\u003e Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln's Legacy\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eAmerican Emperor: Aaron Burr's Challenge to Jefferson's America\u003c\/i\u003e. Stewart's first novel is \u003ci\u003eThe Lincoln Deception\u003c\/i\u003e.","brand":"booksdeli.com","offers":[{"title":"David O. Stewart \/ Paperback \/ English","offer_id":47579935703197,"sku":"9780743286930","price":39.97,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0619\/5648\/9373\/files\/img_5f93d62d-9ead-4cc2-8a5f-e3145376ae9f.jpg?v=1768899504","url":"https:\/\/booksdeli.com\/products\/the-summer-of-1787-the-men-who-invented-the-constitution-9780743286930","provider":"booksdeli.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}