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Enough Wise Men: The Story of Our Constitution
The trials of the Revolutionary War taught thoughtful Americans that they must bind together the small, weak colonies of the seaboard under a central government if they would retain independence. But surprisingly, not everyone wanted that. We tend to think of the Constitution as something that came together easily due to the efforts of a few brilliant men. In reality, it was anything but easy.
The men who stepped forward to tackle this daunting task--or to prevent it from bearing fruition--ranged from genuinely great to utterly mediocre. They were men who would have found it difficult to work together under the best of circumstances. The conditions were, in fact, rather less than ideal. They worked in a small room with few windows, and the first half of the summer was the hottest and stickiest that even old Benjamin Franklin could remember.
And yet, the delegates in the Philadelphia Convention performed this task so well that, afterward, it became common to think of them as supermen, little less than the gods. But to think of them that way is to belittle them, not to praise them. What they did becomes all the more impressive when you realize that they were ordinary human beings, with ordinary strengths and weaknesses and ordinary human problems. All that was superhuman about them was the size of their job.
Vividly and dramatically, author Forrest McDonald tells the story of a group of extraordinary men—some wise, but others foolish, proud, even selfish. Fortunately there were enough wise men to ultimately bring into being in 1787 that great living document of freedom, the U.S. Constitution. Its creation is perhaps the most exciting event in our history. It could not be matched today.
If you want insights into both our early days as a country as well as the Constitution itself, this riveting story is for you. Originally written for the young adult audience, the book is engaging for all audiences who want to understand and support our Constitution. This version has been lightly edited and updated, with a foreword by the author's daughter, Marcy McDonald.
The men who stepped forward to tackle this daunting task--or to prevent it from bearing fruition--ranged from genuinely great to utterly mediocre. They were men who would have found it difficult to work together under the best of circumstances. The conditions were, in fact, rather less than ideal. They worked in a small room with few windows, and the first half of the summer was the hottest and stickiest that even old Benjamin Franklin could remember.
And yet, the delegates in the Philadelphia Convention performed this task so well that, afterward, it became common to think of them as supermen, little less than the gods. But to think of them that way is to belittle them, not to praise them. What they did becomes all the more impressive when you realize that they were ordinary human beings, with ordinary strengths and weaknesses and ordinary human problems. All that was superhuman about them was the size of their job.
Vividly and dramatically, author Forrest McDonald tells the story of a group of extraordinary men—some wise, but others foolish, proud, even selfish. Fortunately there were enough wise men to ultimately bring into being in 1787 that great living document of freedom, the U.S. Constitution. Its creation is perhaps the most exciting event in our history. It could not be matched today.
If you want insights into both our early days as a country as well as the Constitution itself, this riveting story is for you. Originally written for the young adult audience, the book is engaging for all audiences who want to understand and support our Constitution. This version has been lightly edited and updated, with a foreword by the author's daughter, Marcy McDonald.
Published January 1, 1970
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About the author
Forrest McDonald
41 books28 followersDr. McDonald was a Distinguished Research Professor of History at the University of Alabama, where he was the Sixteenth Jefferson Lecturer in the Humanities in 1987. He was awarded the Ingersoll Prize in 1990. Professor McDonald is the author of several books including Novus Ordo Seclorum (University Press of Kansas, 1985), and The American Presidency: Roots, Establishment, Evolution (University Press of Kansas, 1994).
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