Fairmont State University Library: Constitution Day: History

The Issues

The Revolutionary Era by Carol Sue Humphrey
Beginning with an extensive overview essay of the period, this book focuses on 26 pressing issues of the war and the early republic. Each issue is presented with an introductory essay and multiple primary documents from the newspapers of the day, which illustrate both sides of the debate.
A Slaveholders' Union by George William Van Cleve
After its early introduction into the English colonies in North America, slavery in the United States lasted as a legal institution until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. But increasingly during the contested politics of the early republic, abolitionists cried out that the Constitution itself was a slaveowners' document, produced to protect and further their rights.
Redeeming the Republic by Roger H. Brown
A fresh and searching study of the hard questions that divided Americans in these critical years and still do today, Redeeming the Republic shows how local failures led to federalist resolve and ultimately to a totally new frame of central government.
Exiled in the Land of the Free by Oren Lyons et al.
This powerful work on American history focuses on the Iroquois Confederacy & the contributions of Native American political traditions to the democratic process establishing itself in the "New World." It is unique because it is the compilation of the writings of eight scholars & Native American leaders, each an expert in a specific area of history.

The Convention and Beyond

Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis
In this landmark work of history, the National Book Award-winning author of American Sphinx explores how a group of greatly gifted but deeply flawed individuals-Hamilton, Burr, Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, Adams, and Madison-confronted the overwhelming challenges before them to set the course for our nation.
The Founding Fathers Reconsidered by R. B. Bernstein
In The Founding Fathers Reconsidered, R. B. Bernstein reveals Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton, and the other founders not as shining demigods but as imperfect human beings - people much like us - who nevertheless achieved political greatness.
Miracle at Philadelphia by Catherine Drinker Bowen
This book is a history of the Federal Convention in Philadelphia that resulted in the Constitution of the United States.
Plain, Honest Men by Richard Beeman
From distinguished historian Richard Beeman comes a dramatic and engrossing account of the men who met in Philadelphia during the summer of 1787 to design a radically new form of government.
The Forging of the Union, 1781-1789 by Richard B. Morris
A history of the immediate events leading up to the drafting of the Constitution.
The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 by Max Farrand (Editor)
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
Constitution Making by Calvin Jillson
This study explores both the empirical and the substantive validity of the traditional historical and philosophical interpretations of the creation of the American Constitution.
Soldier-Statesmen of the Constitution by Robert K. Wright; Morris J. MacGregor
This volume represents an important part of the U.S. Army Center of Military History's contribution to the celebration of the Bicentennial of the Constitution.
Witnesses at the Creation: Hamilton, Madison, Jay, and the Constitution by Richard B. Morris
Leading the bitter, explosive fight over the Constitution were three brilliant, very different statesmen: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.
Origins of the Bill of Rights by Leonard W. Levy
Levy offers a panoramic view of the liberties secured by the first ten amendments to the Constitution -- a penetrating analysis of the background of the Bill of Rights and the meanings of each provision of the amendments.
America's Constitution by Akhil Reed Amar
In America’s Constitution, one of this era’s most accomplished constitutional law scholars, Akhil Reed Amar, gives the first comprehensive account of one of the world’s great political texts. Incisive, entertaining, and occasionally controversial, this “biography” of America’s framing document explains not only what the Constitution says but also why the Constitution says it.