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    Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution
    Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution
    Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution
    Audiobook19 hours

    Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution

    Written by Richard Beeman

    Narrated by Michael Prichard

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The Constitutional Convention affected nothing less than a revolution in the nature of the American government. Led by James Madison, a small cohort of delegates devised a plan that would radically alter the balance of power between state and national governments, and then sprung that idea on a largely unsuspecting convention. The success of this bold and brilliant strategy was, however, far from assured, and the ultimate outcome of the delegates' labors-the creation of a frame of government that would enable the fragile American union to flourish-turned out to be very different from that which Madison had originally envisioned. In fact, there was very little agreement among the framers about the nature of the government they had just created.

    Audiences will come to appreciate the challenges that the Founding Fathers faced in creating a form of government that, while imperfect in many respects, nevertheless approaches, in the words of Benjamin Franklin, "so near to perfection as it does."
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateMay 21, 2009
    ISBN9781400179855
    Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution
    Author

    Richard Beeman

    Richard Beeman is professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania.

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    Reviews for Plain, Honest Men

    4.5/5

    43 ratings8 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Superb account of the constitutional convention in Philedelphia. Well written and researched. Should be in the collection of anyone interested in government, law, politics or history.
    • 5/5
      Another excellent book by Richard Beeman. "Plain, Honest Men" is a blow-by-blow account of the development of the US Constitution during the summer of 1787. This is a wonderfully written narrative that proves how difficult it was for our Founders to create our government. But while Beeman honors the men who created the Constitution, he pulls no punches on those who fought to keep slavery a viable practice. However, he also recognizes and emphasizes the context of the times. This doesn't absolve these men, but it does explain why they justified such an immoral and hypocritical system.
    • 4/5
      Good account of the Constitutional Convention. Written in a narrative style. At times a bit of a page turner! If Hollywood ever decided they wanted to make a movie about the creation of the Constitution they could do worse than using this book as the basis. ALso, don't be put off by the title...the author is not afraid to expose the flaws in those involved!!
    • 4/5
      The history of the making of the Constitution is presented here as it was created by an impressive group of individuals. Richard Beeman's excellent detailed account of the summer of 1787 relates the revolutionary results of these individuals in the context of their time. I was impressed with the character of the men who were able to work in secrecy for months even though their views were passionate and varied from state to state and even within some delegations. Holding the group together were the well-known personages of Washington, Madison and Franklin. But there were many others who made major contributions and put forward ideas that, even when rejected, spurred the debate. Some of the other notables included Gouvernor Morris who shaped the language of the document, Roger Sherman, Alexander Hamilton, James Wilson, Edmund Randolph and others.The character of the delegates was impressive as was their camaraderie, for the time spent socializing was important as well. The partisan debates, especially between the small versus large states, mirrored partisan politics that is still with us today. The resolution of the structure of the Constitution was not always assured but achieved through compromise and hard work. This is a scholarly yet readable history that succeeds in providing you with the feeling as you read it that you are there with these plain, honest men.
    • 5/5
      Too often these days, the meaning of the Constitution is bandied about without a real understanding of how it was created and the real intent behind it. This book shows that our government is a decidedly human endeavor and this important document is a working plan, not an ideological tract.
    • 5/5
      This book is a well done narrative history of the writing of the Constitution. I do not understand the title. I am sure the delegates would would be glad to be referred to as honest but plain does not seem a description they would prefer.I have read several books on the Constitutional Convention. I read this one more for two reasons. First I am fascinated by the topic. 55 men spent the summer writing a document which is the blueprint for a nation that has changed immensely and is the longest lasting constitutional republic in the world. That is the type of accomplishment that is worthwhile to study. Second the author has excellent academic credentials and lived up to them in writing a very informative book..After reading the book I can say that it added to my knowledge and understanding of how the Constitution was written and added details that added to my understanding of how that summer was spent by the 55 delegates.This book provides an excellent description of the process of writing the Constitution. The first item of business was to establish a committee to fashion rules for the convention. The most important contribution of the rules committee was the use of a parliamentary mechanism known as the committee of the whole. This committee was made up of all of the delegates present but allowed for a more informal debate and decision process. In the committee of the whole any matter could be brought up and reworked at any time without the formalities required if the delegates were sitting as the convention. The delegates spent much of their time sitting as the committee of the whole discussing the same issues over and over until there was an agreement.Two other committees were used in writing the document. The first was the committee of detail, elected on July 24. It was composed of five delegates and was given the task of writing the Constitution. The members of the committee went through all of the resolutions which had been passed by the convention and using some supplementary materials delivered a draft of the Constitution to the convention on August 6.On September 8, after additional debate and changes to the document, a committee of style was elected which included James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and Gouverneur Morris. This committee gave the final polish to the Constitution producing a very concise document. For example they wrote in seven articles the material that the committee of detail had written in twenty-three articles. In addition they rewrote the preamble substituting "We the people of the United States" for "We the people of...." followed by a list of the thirteen states. Gouverneur Morris in a letter written years after the convention claimed primary authorship of the finished product. Somehow this author helped me to understand this procedure more clearly than in other books with emphasis on the work done by the committees. It showed me how important a good plan is for a project like this.The book describes a wider scope of events than what occurred in the meeting hall. There is a discussion of the social life of the delegates with particular attention paid to George Washington. He developed a strong friendship with Elizabeth Powell, the wife of a Philadelphia businessman. During the convention she regularly had elaborate dinner parties for some of the delegates in a fashion similar to a French salon. She was well educated and intelligent and her friendship with Washington lasted until his death. The author must have read Washington's diary because he also includes how many times Washington went to church that summer, four. Even the problems of the delegates paying their bills is addressed. Many of the states did not provide enough funds and some delegates had to borrow money to pay their boarding house bill when they left.Some details described go beyond the scope of the average history book. There is a description of an elaborate privy referred to as "The Necessary" capable of occupancy by 16 persons. Benjamin Franklin could not walk because of gout and used a sedan chair described as a miniature carriage which was carried by four prisoners.The discussion of the debates is also very thorough. The Virginia plan, the New Jersey plan and the Connecticut compromise are discussed in detail. While I have a working knowledge of these matters the author did provide additional details of the debates and how the final compromise on the question of representation was reached. The author emphasized the problems presented to the convention in working out the details of the chief executive position. The Articles of Confederation had no executive and having just overthrown a monarch there was a fear of a strong executive power. This issue was debated until September 4 before a final resolution was reached. This author more than some others wrote about the problems presented by the topic of slavery in several parts of the Constitution. The delegates avoided the use of the word slavery and adopted the three-fifths compromise i. e. counting slaves as three-fifths of a person for purposes of representation. I should point out that this compromise changed the results of a number of presidential elections.The Committee of Style submitted their draft to the convention on September 12. There was a brief discussion of a Bill of Rights that day which the delegates quickly decided was not necessary. This quick decision may have been due to fatigue but the lack of a Bill of Rights presented problems during the ratification process. On September 17 the Constitution was ready for signing. Three of the delegates decide they would not sign all citing different reasons. There was one additional change proposed requiring a representative for each 30,000 people instead of 40,000 people. For the first time that summer Washington rose to speak and in favor of this change which was passed unanimously.The book does continue through the ratification process which is not discussed in detail. I have left out many items which I found interesting. To date this is the best book I have read on this topic.
    • 5/5
      Superb account of the constitutional convention in Philedelphia. Well written and researched. Should be in the collection of anyone interested in government, law, politics or history.
    • 5/5
      Plain, Honest Men is an excellent history of the Constitutional Convention which wrote the U.S. Constitution in 1787. I have always been a fan of the Founding Fathers, but after reading this book I admire them even more, and admire a broader set of men than simply Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, and Washington.. Consider what these men had to contend with. The Confederation Congress directed them to make improvements to the Articles of Confederation, not create a whole new government. It was James Madison, more than any other, who provided the energy for such an effort and who wrote much of the document.The convention was called because the Articles of Confederation were simply not strong enough a foundation for the young United States. State power was superior to federal, international commerce was not working well, nor was taxation. Shay's Rebellion in Massachusetts raised fears that national defense was inadequate.The task was daunting. No republican government of this size had existed before. England was a constitutional monarchy, and its Parliament provided something of a model, but it was still a monarchy. Many of those in the United States knew the Confederation was not working well, but they were very afraid that too much executive power would lead to tyranny.Madison, James Wilson, and Governeur Morris each extensively studied previous governments and their studies helped inform the deliberations of the Constitutional Convention. Besides the real problem of creating a balance between national and state governments, the writers of the Constitution had to deal with how to create a government with separation of powers and checks and balances so that no one branch was too powerful. They also had to balance the interests of the large states and the small states, and the slave states vs. the free states. All of these could have been deal breakers. The author's discussion of the slavery issue adds to my belief that ending slavery was simply not possible, at least that it would have destroyed the young country.Beeman believes that the secrecy in which the deliberations were conducted was essential to the success of the Convention, that it allowed free debate and the ability to keep trying out different solutions. Unfortunately it also means we don't have as full an account of the Convention as one would wish.The Constitution that resulted was not perfect, but that it came into being at all was a miracle. Beeman gives a readable account of the issues and personalities involved. It was interesting to find out about some of the people who aren't as well known. Madison, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin were essential to the effort, but many others such as Robert and Governeur Morris, James Wilson, John Dickinson, and John Rutledge all added greatly. The entire Connecticut delegation, led by Roger Sherman, provided essential compromises.A wonderful history that makes me more than ever grateful to live in the United States.