Clearly, the author spent a great amount of time researching this book. His comprehensive list of notes and sources spans nearly 50 pages, and he includes additional reading sources, as well. The author uses a variety of primary and secondary sources, from a lengthy list of online primary documents, such as the Constitution itself and other historical documents, to journal articles, memoirs, letters, books, and just about any historical document available related to his subject and to the men who created the Constitution. For many of the most intimate details about these men, he refers to short passages in letters which describe everything from their eye color to their disposition and even the diseases from which they suffer. This is how he makes these historic figures seem real and engaging. Many historical texts can seem dry and scholarly, and give no real feeling of the people behind the history. However, this book blends history and autobiography to create a real feeling for the men who created the Constitution, which makes it much more engaging and interesting for the reader.
David O. Stewart is uniquely qualified to write this book because he is a lawyer, rather than a historian. He is not in love with the ideas that each of these men was great, powerful, and destined to lead. Instead, he looks back at historic documents from a legal point-of-view, showing how these decisions have lasted throughout our history, and critical of them when it was necessary. This is his first book, and if there are any criticisms of it, it...
However, that helps give a more intimate picture of these men who created such a momentous document. Ultimately, he shows the document was not perfect. He writes, "The first generation had no illusions to the Constitution's perfection; they adopted twelve amendments during the first fifteen years, starting with the Bill of Rights" (Stewart 259). Stewart does not present the story of perfect men creating a perfect document. Instead, he presents the very real story of real men struggling to create a document that will endure, and it has done that.
In conclusion, Stewart's book is another look at one of the most pivotal times in American history. It introduces a cast of characters to the reader, in an attempt to make the framers of the Constitution more real and engaging. It also introduces the turmoil facing the country after America defeated the British, but before they established a real, workable government that united all the states. Many history books have covered this period before, but this book makes the men who were behind the Constitution seem more real and engaging, and it helps history come alive for the reader. It is a book that belongs on the bookshelf of anyone who is interested in U.S. history, or in the foundations of our government.
References
Stewart, David O. The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution. New…
