Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution by Richard Beeman

The Barnes & Noble Review

Books about the men who crafted the Constitution over the hot Philadelphia summer of 1787 tend to be either overly reverential or hypercritical. Constitutional historian Richard Beeman's account is, happily, neither. While he lauds the Founders for their achievement in establishing a workable framework for a strong, centralized American government, he also raises some necessary criticisms, such as the Founders' "collective indifference" to the immorality of slavery and their very real anxieties about direct democracy. As Beeman describes the daily debates in Philadelphia, from how to elect members of Congress to the powers of the president to the role of the judiciary, it becomes clear that passionate, ideological disagreements were commonplace. Beeman details the major divide between the interests of big states, which wanted Congressional representation by population, and small states, which wanted representation to be apportioned equally by state. He also describes the deep fissures between slave states and non-slave states. Because the Convention's deliberations were secret, Beeman is forced to focus on the one man who took copious notes, James Madison. Beeman shows how Madison's deeply held ideas about good government set the agenda in Philadelphia and fueled discussions among the Founders. Beeman does an especially fine job exploring "the most emotionally charged debate of the summer": the paradoxical status of slavery in a nation extolling liberty. Beeman's exhaustively researched and accessibly written account will appeal to anyone looking to understand the passionate intellectual conflicts that led to our Constitution. --Chuck Leddy

From the Publisher

In May 1787, in an atmosphere of crisis, delegates met in Philadelphia to design a radically new form of government. Distinguished historian Richard Beeman captures as never before the dynamic of the debate and the characters of the men who labored that historic summer. Virtually all of the issues in dispute—the extent of presidential power, the nature of federalism, and, most explosive of all, the role of slavery—have continued to provoke conflict throughout our nation's history. This unprecedented book takes readers behind the scenes to show how the world's most enduring constitution was forged through conflict, compromise, and fragile consensus. As Gouverneur Morris, delegate of Pennsylvania, noted: "While some have boasted it as a work from Heaven, others have given it a less righteous origin. I have many reasons to believe that it is the work of plain, honest men."
 

The New York Times - Walter Isaacson

Richard Beeman…offers a scholarly yet lively account of the Constitutional Convention that emphasizes the craftiness and craftsmanship that went into each of the compromises. This saga has been often told, most recently in David O. Stewart's novelistic narrative The Summer of 1787, but Beeman's work is distinguished by a gently judicious tone that allows us to appreciate, and draw some lessons from, the delicate balances that emerged out of that passion-filled Philadelphia crucible.

Publishers Weekly

A day-by-day account of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia can't yield up much drama or fireworks, or even much sparkling talk, at least as recorded by a few participants, especially James Madison. But in this masterful account, Beeman (Patrick Henry), a noted historian of the late 18th century, does his best to dramatize the writing of the American Constitution. As the convention's hot summer weeks rolled on, tensions built, agreements were reached and compromises (especially, alas, about slavery) were made. Beeman gives each decision, each vote, the weight it deserves and, in brief sketches, brings the delegates alive. The result may not be an exciting story, but, after all, it concerns the writing of the world's longest-lived written national constitution. It's also a story freighted with world-historical significance-and one as well told here as can be imagined. This account is now the most authoritative, up-to-date treatment of the Constitutional Convention since Catherine Drinker Bowen's Miracle at Philadelphia over 40 years ago. It's unlikely to be surpassed. Illus., map. (Mar. 17)

Brian Odom - Library Journal

Beeman (history, Univ. of Pennsylvania; Varieties of Political Experience in Eighteenth Century America) here again delves deeply into the tumultuous world of 18th-century politics, constructing a work of first-rate scholarship. Not since Catherine Drinker Bowen's Miracle at Philadelphia(1966) has there been such a superb, comprehensive account of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Beeman's lucid prose takes readers beyond the modern mythical perceptions of the founders and into a turbulent world of fierce backroom debates and deal making. Through excellent use of available primary and secondary sources, Beeman skillfully traces the debates over representation in Congress, the powers of the executive, and the lamentable compromises over slavery. While avoiding the usually controversial issues such as economic motives, as examined in Woody Holton's Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution and original intent, as in Jack Rakove's Original Meanings, Beeman provides readers with an understanding of just how fragile the consensus emerging from Philadelphia really was. Those seeking a more concise treatment of the convention should try David Stewart's Summer of 1787, but Beeman is highly recommended for all public and academic libraries.

Kirkus Reviews

A judicious history of "one of the most important gatherings in modern history."Talk of "demigods" and "miracles" surely flatters the Framers and their posterity, but it fails meaningfully to explain what transpired in Philadelphia during the summer of 1787. Beeman (History/Univ. of Pennsylvania; The Varieties of Political Experience in Eighteenth-Century America, 2004, etc.) eschews the heroic version of the story in favor of a hard-eyed narrative that in no way diminishes the Framers' achievement. He efficiently establishes the historical context-the shadow of Shays Rebellion, a Congress unable to raise money to pay the nation's debts-in which the delegates met for the limited purpose of considering changes to the Articles of Confederation. The thumbnail sketches of the delegates-including the bombastic Luther Martin, the imperious Gouverneur Morris, the learned James Wilson, the strange Roger Sherman, the even stranger Elbridge Gerry and many others-usefully illustrate the degree to which individual personalities and backgrounds shaped the result. Principally, however, Beeman concentrates on the business of the convention. In a motion-by-motion, day-by-day, debate-by-debate fashion, he re-creates the hard bargaining over issues, including proportional versus equal representation; the nature of the presidency; the composition of the electoral college; divided sovereignty between the states and the federal government; and even the seemingly simple matter of the creation of a federal district, which some delegates feared would become a "sanctuary of the blackest crimes." In demythologizing the event-he criticizes the sainted Madison, and he gently upbraids the delegates for their moralobtuseness over slavery and for their refusal to concede the need for a Bill of Rights-Beeman also effectively evokes the sheer drudgery of it all, the weariness and tedium that threatened to overwhelm those who toiled though that humid Philadelphia summer. Masterfully told American history for the scholar and general reader alike. Author tour to New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. Agent: John Wright/John Wright Literary Associates

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