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Signing Their Rights Away (2011)

by Denise Kiernan(Favorite Author)

3.84 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

159474520X (ISBN13: 9781594745201)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Quirk Books

review 1: This book was very good for what it was, and excellent for what it turned into. As a source of short biographies of each of the signers of the US Constitution, it was interesting. It gave very short(generally 3-4 pages) overviews of who thought what and where they fell in the big states vs small states debate. It also taught me that if you wanted your mortal remains to remain in one place after death, it was probably best to not have signed this document. Chances are your bones would've been moved a few times.However, I really enjoyed this book as it gave me a list of people I became really interested in learning more about. For example, even though John Jay didn't sign, he kept popping up throughout the book. I'm now reading a biography of him. Gouvernor Morris (yes, tha... moret's his name) is next on my list. No, not all our founding fathers were heroes, just read this book and you'll be rid of that misconception. But the signers of the Constitution comprised a roster of fascinating, complex, even conflicted men.
review 2: Signing Their Rights Away, written by Denise Kiernan and Joseph D’Agnese, introduces readers to the 39 statesmen (including more than a few wastrels, scoundrels, drunks, debtors, swindlers and others of questionable morality) who met in the summer of 1787 to craft and eventually put their names to a revolutionary document one destined have world-wide repercussions………Americans know this document as the “U.S. Constitution”. Signing Their Rights Away chronicles a unique moment in United States history, one where men from all over the country, from all different walks of life, in all different professions and all with different ideas about what type of constitution the new nation needed met one hot summer in 1787. What is monumental in this, is that these 39 individuals all came together, for the good of the United States and “compromised”, ultimately doing what was best for the American people. But as interesting as the story is of the creation of the Constitution, the stories of the individual delegates who helped create it are even more fascinating. For example, Nicholas Gilman, delegate from New Hampshire, was a pretty boy who never said a single word during the entire convention, but who's enthusiasm for and promotion of the new Constitution helped ensure that New Hampshire became the ninth state to sign. Then there is Connecticut delegate Roger Sherman, who was the "only" founder to sign the four most important documents in the early history of the United States: the "Articles of Association", the "Declaration of Independence", the "Articles of Confederation" and the "Constitution". While Pennsylvania delegate, Thomas Mifflin, might have drunk more alcohol than the entire legislature of Pennsylvania, the man was a patriot, helping to raise troops to quell the Whiskey Rebellion. Finally, while Robert Morris, Pennsylvanian delegate and financier of the Revolution, wisely counseled all parties to “compromise” (something that both the GOP and the Democratic Parties should heed). Signing Their Rights Away is an engaging and enlightening chronicle, one appealing to both armchair history buffs and historians alike. ***First Draft of Review***"Signing Their Rights Away" was beyond fabulous! I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the lives of our nation's Founding Fathers. It even encouraged me to begin writing about what I call our "Forgotten Founding Fathers" on my Facebook account and Blog. The minutia of the lives of public figures is fascinating. For a few of the interesting quotes and people, see the comments I posted about this book or my blog/Facebook. less

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