Rate this book

Plain, Honest Men: The Making Of The American Constitution (2009)

by Richard Beeman(Favorite Author)

4.03 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1400065704 (ISBN13: 9781400065707)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Random House

review 1: I read this some time ago but only thought of it recently. What I recall about this book is how interesting I found the revelation that the issues that divided our Founding Fathers over 200 years ago in the drafting of our Constitution are still with us and are still dividing us as a nation today. Our country was forged by a delicate series of compromises. Our country today, stands as a delicate series of compromises. Extremism on either the right or left threatens this delicate balance and thus our country as a whole. The answers to the issues that challenge us as a people will always be somewhere in the middle. Beware of extremists who portend dramatic, extreme, and simplistic solutions to complex issues. They act out of self-interest, not in the interest of moving us to... morewards the kind of society we aspire to be.
review 2: This book was quite impressive in giving a realistic and well researched explanation of the writing to the US Constitution. It shows the depth of disagreement, personalities, and battling world views that went into this world changing document. It is very detailed in its explanation of the truth that constitution was not a holy writ handed down from God or the gods as some would have us believe but rather it was a document forged in dispute, debate, argument, and above all political compromise. On February 21, 1787 delegates began to trickle into Philadelphia to propose a plan of government for the United States of America. However it would not be until May 25th of that year that they’d come produce a document that would take 74 delegates would produce and then seek to get ratified. It is an amazing task that took longer then i would have ever imagined and involved more vast difference opinions then our current two arty system could ever embrace. In fact some of the delegates did not plan to be away so long and literally ran out of funds for lodging and food because the document took that long to create. Some even went in to personal debit to see the document through.What i loved about this book is it did not shy away from telling the truth about about the conflicting views of the Federalists, Republican-Democratics, Nationalists, and Monarchist. Yes, there were those present who wanted the US to be a monarch because they honestly did not believe that the average person was smart enough to be able to vote for what was best for them. Other’s wanted an executive committee rather then a President because they did not trust that much power in one man. Others could careless about government structure if they could keep their slaves. The whole 3/5 person debate is covered in great details and Richard Beeman does not shy away of spilling the beans on who said what, and who pushed for and against the 3/5 clause and why. The only down side of this book is it is long, and often quite repetitive and in parts of it Beeman could have summarized debate rather then to give a blow by blow of every single debate and argument. However, if you are looking for scholarly details this is the book for you. In fact, I highly recommend this book to anyone who really wants to understand this amazing chapter in both US history and the progress of democracy in the west. less

Download links for: Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution

Advertising