Excerpt
“The ratification of the Constitution was the most comprehensive and consequential political debate in American history. It is quite amazing that the story has never before been told with the knowledge and flair it deserves. Here Pauline Maier, one of the leading historians of the revolutionary era, at the peak of her powers, tells that story with style, wit, and incomparable mastery of the sources.”
--Joseph J. Ellis, author of First Family: Abigail and John Adams“Pauline Maier has written a magnificent, comprehensive account of the political contests by which the people of America, in James Madison’s words, breathed ‘life and validity’ into the United States Constitution. Her book will stand as the definitive account of the story of the ratification of the Constitution for many decades to come.”
--Richard R. Beeman, professor of history, University of Pennsylvania, and author of Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution
“With the confidence of a master, Pauline Maier has told the story of the ratification of the Constitution in a book that will endure for decades.”
--Joyce Appleby, author of Inheriting the Revolution: The First Generation of Americans“[Pauline Maier] brilliantly tracks the fight over the Constitution’s ratification. . . . A scrupulously even-handed presentation based on impressive scholarship.”
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)“The adoption of the Constitution in 1787-1788 was the first great stroke of popular democracy in America, and perhaps its most successful and momentous as well. Yet surprisingly, the full story of ratification has never been told. Now, at long last, Pauline Maier’s sweeping account of ratification brilliantly describes how this great event took place.”
Jack N. Rakove, author of Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution“I can’t imagine a better subject for Pauline Maier’s storytelling skills than the statewide debates over whether to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Never before or since has such a broad cross-section of Americans addressed such fundamental issues of government. Maier follows the debate beyond the legislative chambers into the taverns and homes of ordinary Americans as they made their momentous decision.”
Woody Holton, author of Abigail Adams and Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution