Plain, Honest Men Lib/E: The Making of the American Constitution

The Constitutional Convention affected nothing less than a revolution in the nature of the American government. Led by James Madison, a small cohort of delegates devised a plan that would radically alter the balance of power between state and national governments, and then sprung that idea on a largely unsuspecting convention. The success of this bold and brilliant strategy was, however, far from assured, and the ultimate outcome of the delegates' labors--the creation of a frame of government that would enable the fragile American union to flourish--turned out to be very different from that which Madison had originally envisioned. In fact, there was very little agreement among the framers about the nature of the government they had just created. Audiences will come to appreciate the challenges that the Founding Fathers faced in creating a form of government that, while imperfect in many respects, nevertheless approaches, in the words of Benjamin Franklin, "so near to perfection as it does."

About the Author :
Richard Beeman has been on the faculty of the Department of History at the University of Pennsylvania for thirty-six years. He is a historian of the American Revolutionary Era and has written six books and several dozen articles on aspects of America's political and constitutional history in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. His fifth book, The Varieties of Political Experience in Eighteenth Century America, is a wide-ranging, interpretive study of the uncertain and confused origins of democracy in America. His other books include Patrick Henry: A Biography, The Evolution of the Southern Backcountry, and The Old Dominion and the New Nation, 1788-1801. Beeman has served as chair of the Department of History and as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He also continues to serve as chair of the Program and Exhibits Committee of the Board of Trustees of the National Constitution Center. He earned his MA from the College of William and Mary, and his PhD from the University of Chicago. Michael Prichard is a Los Angeles-based actor who has played several thousand characters during his career, over one hundred of them in theater and film. He is primarily heard as an audiobook narrator, having recorded well over five hundred full-length books. His numerous awards and accolades include an Audie Award for Tears in the Darkness by Michael Norman and Elizabeth M. Norman and six AudioFile Earphones Awards. He was named a Top Ten Golden Voice by SmartMoney magazine. He holds an MFA in theater from the University of Southern California. Michael Prichard is a Los Angeles-based actor who has played several thousand characters during his career, over one hundred of them in theater and film. He is primarily heard as an audiobook narrator, having recorded well over five hundred full-length books. His numerous awards and accolades include an Audie Award for Tears in the Darkness by Michael Norman and Elizabeth M. Norman and six AudioFile Earphones Awards. He was named a Top Ten Golden Voice by SmartMoney magazine. He holds an MFA in theater from the University of Southern California.

Review :
[A] masterful account.... Unlikely to be surpassed.-- "Publishers Weekly Starred Review" "Authoritative and readable...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." -- "New York Times Book Review" "Beeman eschews the heroic version of the story in favor of a hard-eyed narrative that in no way diminishes the Framers' achievement...In a motion-by-motion, day-by-day, debate-by-debate fashion, he re-creates the [delegates'] hard bargaining...Masterfully told American history for the scholar and general reader alike." -- "Kirkus Reviews (starred review)" "Engrossing...This minute-by-minute account introduces us to a world, and time, where everything was at stake." -- "Chicago Tribune" "This account is now the most authoritative, up-to-date treatment of the Constitutional Convention since Catherine Drinker Bowen's Miracle at Philadelphia over forty years ago. It's unlikely to be surpassed." -- "Publishers Weekly (starred review)"