Beyond Confederation
Origins of the Constitution and American National Identity
Edited by Richard Beeman, Stephen Botein, Edward C. Carter II
376 pp., 6 x 9
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Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8078-4172-3
Published: March 1987 -
E-book EPUB ISBN: 978-0-8078-3932-4
Published: April 2013 -
E-book PDF ISBN: 979-8-8908-8227-1
Published: April 2013
Published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and the University of North Carolina Press
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Published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and the University of North Carolina Press
The contributors raise fresh questions about the Constitution as it enters its third century. What happened in Philadelphia in 1787, and what happened in the state ratifying conventions? Why did the states--barely--ratify the Constitution? What were Americans of the 1789s attempting to achieve? The exploratory conclusions point strongly to an alternative constitutional tradition, some of it unwritten, much of it rooted in state constitutional law; a tradition that not only has redefined the nature and role of the Constitution but also has placed limitations on its efficacy throughout American history.
The authors are Lance Banning, Richard Beeman, Stephen Botein, Richard D. Brown, Richard E. Ellis, Paul Finkelman, Stanley N. Katz, Ralph Lerner, Drew R. McCoy, John M. Murrin, Jack N. Rakove, Janet A. Riesman, and Gordon S. Wood.
About the Authors
Richard Beeman is professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania.
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The late Stephen Botein was professor of history at Michigan State University.
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Edward C. Carter II is librarian of the American Philosophical Society and editor-in-chief of The Papers of Benjamin Henry Latrobe.
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Reviews
"This excellent collection offers well-written, updated, scholarly interpretations of the constitutional era by some of the leading authorities in the field."--Journal of American History
"A fascinating collection of essays, abundantly illustrating the vigor of current scholarship on the making of the Constitution."--Forrest McDonald