The Origins of the American Constitution: A Documentary History - Paperback

by Michael Kammen (Editor)

The complete story of the American Constitution, told in the words of those who created it.

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Michael Kammen has gathered together the fundamental documents needed to understand the genesis and evolution of the United States Constitution--from the exploratory notions concerning the nature of constitutions in 1776, the Articles of Confederation in 1777, and various constitutional plans proposed at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787, to the advocacy position of "Publius" in the 21 most important Federalist papers and contrasting views offered by leading Anti-Federalist dissenters.

Kammen also includes private correspondence that passed between prominent founders during the crucial years 1787 to 1789 (58 revealing letters), along with the Judiciary Act of 1789 and the Bill of Rights, which completed the basic structure of government and provided essential security for its citizens.

Taken together, these are the great state papers that illuminate America's brilliant and unique contribution to the history of political thought and democratic values.

Author Biography

MICHAEL KAMMEN, the Newton C. Farr Professor of American History and Culture at Cornell University, was a president of the Organization of American Historians. He was the author or editor of numerous works, including People of Paradox: An Inquiry Concerning the Origins of American Civilization, which won the Pulitzer Prize for History, and A Machine That Would Go of Itself: The Constitution in American Culture, awarded the Francis Parkman Prize and the Henry Adams Prize. Kammen lectured throughout the world. He died in 2013.