Description
Book SynopsisGouverneur Morris, who has been described as ‘the most colorful man in North America’ at the time of the founding, was a dominant figure at the Philadelphia Convention of 1787. Dennis Rasmussen demonstrates that it is impossible to fully understand the US Constitution without appreciating the central role that Morris played in shaping it.
Trade Review"Of all the delegates at the constitutional convention, Gouverneur Morris has the strongest claim to the title ‘Father of the Constitution,’ but, remarkably, his constitutional thought has been all but ignored. Dennis Rasmussen’s pathbreaking and superb study illuminates the full range of Morris’s thinking on subjects ranging from slavery to the electoral college to the judiciary. At a time when the Constitution’s original meaning is of profound importance for law and politics, The Constitution’s Penman is a must-read."—William M. Treanor, dean and executive vice president, Georgetown University Law Center
"The first book-length venture on the subject, The Constitution’s Penman deftly demonstrates the constitutional vision of Gouverneur Morris, one of the half-dozen dominant delegates in the Constitutional Convention. Rasmussen focuses on Morris’s thoughts on the concept of federalism, the structure and powers of the Senate, the House of Representatives, the presidency, and the Judiciary, as well as his abolitionist attitude toward slavery. Examining Morris’s arrangement of the final version of the Constitution and his authorship of the preamble, the book goes a long way in describing the Founders’ motivation in drafting a new constitution for their struggling nation."—John P. Kaminski, director of the Center for the Study of the American Constitution
"Dennis Rasmussen’s The Constitution’s Penman: Gouverneur Morris and the Creation of America’s Basic Charter is the first book-length study of Gouverneur Morris’s contributions to the framing of the Constitution. The book belongs to that genre of historical writing on the ‘forgotten founders,’ and its introduction is a lament that so consequential a figure as Morris has fallen into obscurity. Rasmussen means to right that wrong. Written in engaging prose, the book is brimming with insights and valuable background information."—Patrick Coby, Esther Booth Wiley 1934 Professor Emeritus of Government at Smith College
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Forgotten Yet Unforgettable
- 1. The Penman’s Story: A Brief Biography
- 2. A Most Splendid Part: Morris at the Convention
- 3. A Representative of America: Federalism
- 4. Checking America’s Aristocracy: The Senate
- 5. Property and the People’s Branch: The House of Representatives
- 6. A Reluctant Architect of the Electoral College: Presidential Selection
- 7. An Office Fit for Washington: The Presidency
- 8. That Fortress of the Constitution: the Judiciary
- 9. The Curse of Heaven: Slavery
- 10. A Declaration of Motives: The Preamble
- Epilogue: From Constitution-Maker to Aspiring, Constitution-Breaker
- Appendix: Morris’s Great Convention Speeches
- Notes
- Index
