ARE WE TO BE A NATION? The Making of the Constitution

by Richard B. with Kym S. Rice Bernstein ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1987

From the offices of the New York Public Library, a thoughtful and profusely illustrated coffeetable tribute to the Constitution on the eve of its bicentennial. Bernstein, research curator of the NYPL's US Constitution Bicentennial Project, is responsible for the clear, engaging text here; Rice, a consultant with the NYPL Exhibitions Dept. for the impressive array of pictures. Together, they approach the Constitution by considering it as the result of a long series of experiments in government, tracing its troubled birth from the 1754 Albany Conference, which presaged the Articles of Confederation, to the 1789 adoption of the Bill of Rights. Bernstein concentrates particularly on the many forces--economic, political, religious, cultural--that locked horns for 35 years until making peace in the great compromise of the Constitution. For example, he explores in depth the tortuous process whereby the northern and southern states, deeply divided over slavery, finally reached a ""deal"" in which the South conceded Congress's right to tax imports by a mere majority tin effect restricting the slave trade) in exchange for the North's agreement to apportion delegates to the House of Representatives not only in regard to ""free inhabitants,"" but also in regard to three-fifths of"" 'other persons,' a euphemism for slaves."" At the same time, Bernstein emphasizes that the Constitution was the handiwork of individuals, and weaves within his history well-wrought political biographies of the Founding Fathers. More than 100 illustrations, most full-page, some in color, complement the text by depicting historical figures, documents, maps, and representative 18th-century scenes. An elegant homage--and good history besides.

Pub Date: April 1, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harvard Univ. Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1987

Categories: NONFICTION