The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution, Volume 17: Commentaries on the Constitution, Public and Private: Volume 5, 1 April to 9 May 1788

The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution, Volume 17: Commentaries on the Constitution, Public and Private: Volume 5, 1 April to 9 May 1788

John P. Kaminski (Editor), Gaspare J. Saladino (Editor), Richard Leffler (Editor), Charles H. Schoenleber (Editor)
$118.75
Publication Date: December 15th, 1995
Publisher:
Wisconsin Historical Society Press
ISBN:
9780870202759
Pages:
496

Description

Commentaries on the Constitution: Public and Private, a six volume set, is an integral but autonomous part of the Ratification series. The documents in this volume present the day-by-day regional and national debates over the Constitution that took place in newspapers, magazines, broadsides, pamphlets, and private letters. This volume contains nearly 110 documents covering a six week period, April and May 1788, near the end of the struggle, but nonetheless demonstrating that debate remained rich and vigorous until the final moments.
This documentary series is a research tool of remarkable power, an unrivaled reference work for historical and legal scholars, librarians, and students of the Constitution. The volumes are encyclopedic, consisting of manuscript and printed documents-contemporary newspapers, broadsides, and pamphlets-compiled from hundreds  of sources, copiously annotated, thoroughly indexed, and often accompanied  by microfiche supplements.
 Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Michael Kammen has noted that The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution series "will be of enduring value centuries hence" and described it as "one of the most interesting documentary publications we have ever had."  The American Bar Association Journal has stated, "Each new volume now fills another vital part of the mosaic of national history."

About the Author

John P. Kaminski, Gaspare J. Saladino, and Richard Leffler have been editing The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution series since 1970. Charles H. Schoenleber joined the staff in 1987.

Praise for The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution, Volume 17: Commentaries on the Constitution, Public and Private: Volume 5, 1 April to 9 May 1788

"The most important editorial project in the nation." (Leonard W. Levy, constitutional historian)

“Such documents give us a glimpse of America in 1787–88, of its people in their homes, taverns, and streets, their convictions, rituals, and customs. The DHRC captures that moment in all its complexity and powerfully demonstrates how the great documentary editions being published today can, by extending our command of the historical record, transform our knowledge and understanding of the past. It might well be, as the historian Leonard Levy once said, the most important documentary record being published today. Certainly it is the only one dedicated to uncovering the democratic component of the American founding. It is also a monumental scholarly achievement and a gift to all Americans, now and in the future, who want to know how our nation came into being.” (Pauline Maier, historian and author of Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788)

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