Beyond Confederation: Origins of the Constitution and American National Identity

by Richard Beeman (Editor), Stephen Botein (Editor), Edward C. Carter (Editor)

Overview

Beyond Confederation scrutinizes the ideological background of the U.S. Constitution, the rigors of its writing and ratification, and the problems it both faced and provoked immediately after ratification. The essays in this collection question much of the heritage of eighteenth-century constitutional thought and suggest that many of the commonly debated issues have led us away from the truly germane questions. The authors challenge many of the traditional generalizations and the terms and scope of that debate as well.
The contributors raise fresh questions about the Constitution as it enters its third century. What happened in Philadelphia in 1787, and what happened in the state ratifying conventions? Why did the states--barely--ratify the Constitution? What were Americans of the 1789s attempting to achieve? The exploratory conclusions point strongly to an alternative constitutional tradition, some of it unwritten, much of it rooted in state constitutional law; a tradition that not only has redefined the nature and role of the Constitution but also has placed limitations on its efficacy throughout American history.
The authors are Lance Banning, Richard Beeman, Stephen Botein, Richard D. Brown, Richard E. Ellis, Paul Finkelman, Stanley N. Katz, Ralph Lerner, Drew R. McCoy, John M. Murrin, Jack N. Rakove, Janet A. Riesman, and Gordon S. Wood.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807839324
Publisher:	Omohundro Institute and UNC Press
Publication date:	04/01/2013
Series:	Published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and the University of North Carolina Press
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	376
File size:	694 KB

About the Author

Richard Beeman is professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania.
The late Stephen Botein was professor of history at Michigan State University.
Edward C. Carter II is librarian of the American Philosophical Society and editor-in-chief of The Papers of Benjamin Henry Latrobe.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

This excellent collection offers well-written, updated, scholarly interpretations of the constitutional era by some of the leading authorities in the field.—Journal of American History



A fascinating collection of essays, abundantly illustrating the vigor of current scholarship on the making of the Constitution.—Forrest McDonald

Editorial Reviews

A fascinating collection of essays, abundantly illustrating the vigor of current scholarship on the making of the Constitution.

Forrest McDonald

This excellent collection offers well-written, updated, scholarly interpretations of the constitutional era.

"Journal of American History"

"A fascinating collection of essays, abundantly illustrating the vigor of current scholarship on the making of the Constitution.

Forrest McDonald"

"This excellent collection offers well-written, updated, scholarly interpretations of the constitutional era.

"Journal of American History""

From the Publisher