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The Great Convention
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13429 |
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BOOK WORLD
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9 / 1987 |
4,072 Words |
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W. Wesley McDonald
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MIRACLE AT PHILADELPHIA
The Story of the Constitutional Convention, May to September 1787,
Catherine Drinker Bowen, new foreword by Warren E. Burger
(Boston: Little, Brown Books, 1966) Republished, Little, Brown and Co., 1986
246 pp., $8.95
1787: THE GRAND CONVENTION
Clinton Rossiter
(New York: MacMillan, 1966) Republished, New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1987
443 pp., $8.95
THE GREAT REHEARSAL
The Story of the Making and Ratifying of the Constitution of the United States
Carl van Doren
(New York: Viking Penguin Inc., 1948) Republished, Penguin Books, 1986
336 pp., $6.95
Ten years ago, when a number of constitutional historians and political scientists began planning for the 200th anniversary of the Constitution, they envisioned a national celebration that would improve not only public knowledge and interest in the document but also stimulate serious original thought on its history, development, and influence on American society and political institutions. But little in the way of important new work has been forthcoming. Although a torrent of bicentennial books has flooded the market, very few offer new perspectives or insights on the Constitution. Most rehash old arguments and retell familiar anecdotes. Discouraged, some scholars have dismissed the bicentennial as an "intellectual bust."
Yet, the occasion of the bicentennial is eliciting noticeable interest among the general public in the Constitution as the founding document of our government. As a result of state and local initiatives, the Constitution is becoming a topic of public discussion. Many successful bicentennial activities are taking place on the grass-roots level. Local communities are organizing a wide variety of activities: reading groups, lecture series, symposia, and films.
The fact that the bicentennial has become a vast civic project is not surprising. By celebrating the Constitution, Americans are expressing their belief in the fundamental values of their form of government. In no other nation of the world has a body of law acquired the nearly sacred status of the Constitution. The Founding Fathers are our national icons lying nearly beyond the realm of critical examination. Debates on constitutional issues seldom question the legitimacy of the document itself but rather center on questions of interpretation. Believing the Constitution to be an integral part of the "American way of life," Americans seek then to celebrate their "Americanism" during the bicentennial by hailing the achievements of the Founding Fathers.
Reissued classics
Likewise, these three classic histories of the Philadelphia Convention, now republished to commemorate the bicentennial, celebrate the men and events that successfully wrought the Constitution. Written primarily
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