55 Men: The Story of the Constitution: Based on the Day-By-Day Notes of James Madison

by Fred Rodell

The NoonTide Press Trade Paperback with 281 pgs. 8 x 5 1/2" - Based on the day by day notes of James Madison.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1986

Reviews

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yale Law Professor Fred Rodell prepared this popularizing volume as part of the nation’s celebration of the 150th anniversary of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution. His style is accessible, his tale is engaging – and is an integral part of our tale as Americans.
I’d underline two key elements of that tale: (1) the recognition that those who found the existing Articles of Confederation inadequate, and thus, those who took the initiative to participate in the convention to consider improvements, were primarily ‘men of wealth and substance,’ and men who would benefit from strengthening of the role of a centralized authority to protect property, investment, and trade across a growing new nation; and (2) that Rodell attributes to those men the awareness that it is people, not words, who actually govern. On this latter point, Rodell writes:
“No, the men who wrote the Constitution were no fools. They knew that, not the Constitution, but the men who held office under it would really determine the course of the nation’s destiny. … it would not be the words they put on paper that counted when it came to the actual checking of laws. It would be the men who use those words and the way they used them.” (pp. 221-22)
The spirit of Rodell’s telling (and, one presumes, his teaching and practice of the law) is captured in his closing. Throughout the book, Rodell portrays the Constitutional conventioneers as pragmatic men with strong opinions and differing interests associated with their states of origin and their economic statuses. Out of their arguments, they forged an agreement on how the nation would be strengthened under a new governmental structure. The founding fathers were not, and are not, gods, however. Rodell writes:
“For this much at least is certain. Nobody knows and nobody can know what the founding fathers would think today. They might think something entirely different from what they intended, a long hundred and fifty years ago.
And so it is safe for certain folk to think that the founding fathers would defend today the rights of the separate states. But defending the rights of the states, at the time they wrote the Constitution, was the last thing the founding fathers intended.
It is just as safe for other folk to think that the founding fathers would be strong today for government by all the people. But the founding fathers were not so strong for genuine democracy back in 1787.
And anyone today who has a political axe to grind is safe in claiming the framers would take his side. For it is a long time since fifty-five men from twelve young states got together and hammered out a Constitution.
It is a long time. The founding fathers are dead now. And the mists have gathered around them.”
I’ve enjoyed Rodell’s telling of the forging of the Constitution and appreciate the spirit of it’s understanding and application that he brings to his tale. A worthy read!

[Cherif Jazra · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well written summary account of what happened during the Constitutional convention in 1787 based on James Madison notes. The style flows easily and the voices of many of the 55 delegates are thrown against each other's, fights between north and southern interest, for and against direct democracy, for protection of property, or against the states with their populist legislative assemblies passing paper money laws widely hated by the rich. Without any references however, one must take the interpretation given by Rodell on its face value, as it would have been much better to include the various background sources to either confirm or not the account. Overall easy to read for a first Corey into this topic.

I was struck by one passage of Hamilton describing his preference for a monarchy modeled after the British government rather than a republic, which he thought was "the best in the world". He goes on to say:"their House of Lords is a most noble institution", the American senate should be copied from it. Let its members be elected, but let them be elected by the landed gentry. And once elected, "let them hold their places for life". For an executive, he liked the idea of a king. "The English model" he said, "is the only good one on this subject"." Let the executive also be for life" and even though the president be elected let it again be written in the Constitution that the poor shall have no vote in electing him.

Many such interesting snippets are found in this short book

[John Deardurff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published in 1937 on the 150th anniversary of The Constitution, this is a narrative of the Constitutional Convention based on the notes of James Madison, who was the only person allowed to write down the proceedings "in the room where it happened".

Here is detailed the who, what, and why decisions were made in the creation of The Constitution that was to replace the loosely formed Articles of Conferderation. It is important to note that fifty-five men from 12 States (Rhode Island refused to attend) wrote The Constitution over a period of 5 months with many compromises between small and large States.

A more recent book on this topic is "The Constitutional Convention: A Narrative History from the Notes of James Madison" by Edward Larson and Michael Winship that was published in 2005. https://www.amazon.com/Constitutional...

[Bill Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Rodell has well earned the esteem given to his work which is now 75 years old. Reads like a good novel. Wish more history could be written as clearly. Gave a new appreciation of the Constitution, the mind of the men who wrote it and particularly of James Madison - statesman, President, man of the renaissance.