Madison's hand : revising the Constitutional Convention Mary Sarah Bilder

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bilder, Mary Sarah, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Constitutional Convention (1787). Journal of the Federal Convention.

United States.

Constitutional history--United States--Sources.

Constitutional history.

Madison, James, 1751-1836.

Madison, James.

Physical Description:

viii, 358 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2015.

Summary:

"New digital technologies and traditional historical investigation suggest that James Madison did not finish his famous Notes until after the Convention. The Notes are the most important, and most misunderstood, account of the 1787 Constitutional Convention. This biography of the Notes follows Madison as he created and then repeatedly revised a remarkable manuscript of American history. Originally a diary kept in part for the absent Thomas Jefferson, the Notes highlighted his fascination with the political strategy of drafting. But when the Convention began to draft the details of the Constitution, the complicated process led Madison to abandon his Notes. Only after serving in Congress and drafting new constitutional amendments did Madison return to complete them. By the time the Notes were published a half-century later, the layers of revisions made the Notes appear--inaccurately--to be an objective record of the writing of the Constitution"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

About Madison's notes

Introduction

PART I. NOTES BEFORE THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. The genre of legislative diaries

The practice of working notes

PART II. LEARNING TO KEEP A CONVENTIONAL DIARY. The success of the opening days

Struggling with speeches

PART III. RECORDING THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. An account of failed strategies

Acquiring a new role

PART IV. ABANDONING THE NOTES. The complexity of drafting

The Convention's changing relevance

PART V. COMPLETING THE NOTES. Correcting and revising the notes

The influence of Mr. Jefferson

Conclusion

The evidence.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780674055278

0674055276

OCLC:

906121517