James Madison and the Struggle for the Bill of Rights

by Richard Labunski Narrated by Richard Poe

Overview

Today we hold the Constitution in such high regard that we can hardly imagine how hotly contested was its adoption. Now Richard Labunski offers a dramatic account of a time when the entire American experiment hung in the balance, only to be saved by the most unlikely of heroes--the diminutive and exceedingly shy James Madison. Here is a vividly written account of not one but several major political struggles which changed the course of American history. Labunski takes us inside the sweltering converted theater in Richmond, where for three grueling weeks, the soft-spoken Madison and the charismatic Patrick Henry fought over whether Virginia should ratify the Constitution. Madison won the day by a handful of votes, mollifying Anti-Federalist fears by promising to add a bill of rights to the Constitution. To do this, Madison would have to win a seat in the First Congress, which he did by a tiny margin, allowing him to attend the First Congress and sponsor the Bill of Rights. Packed with colorful details about life in early America, this compelling and important narrative is the first serious book about Madison written in many years. It will return this under-appreciated patriot to his rightful place among the Founding Fathers and shed new light on a key turning point in our nation's history

Editorial Reviews

Gary Rosen

A virtue of Labunski's account is the generous attention he gives to Anti-Federalist luminaries like Henry, George Mason and Richard Henry Lee - figures too often overlooked in our reverential regard for the founding. For those used to thinking of the Bill of Rights as carved in stone, it is also instructive to see just how large a role accident played in its creation. The 10 amendments familiar to us started off as 17 in the House and were reduced to 12 by the Senate. The first two of these - on the size of the House and Congressional pay - didn't pass muster in the states, and so the third recommended amendment became, as if by fate, our famous First.
— The New York Times

From the Publisher

"This book benefits from the hitherto widely scattered and unavailable contemporary manuscripot and printed documents recently published in documentary histories....This portrait in ten essays is learned, succint, and judicious."—Paul K. Longmore, The Journal of Southern History

"Watch the wig powder fly as James Madison and Patrick Henry slug it out over the constitutional freedoms we take for granted today."—Atlantic Monthly

"This is a hair-raising book. It shows how, at stage after stage, the fight to draft and ratify the Constitution, to draft and pass the Bill of Rights, could have failed. It proves again that the tiny Madison was a giant."—Garry Wills, Professor of History Emeritus, Northwestern University

"Worth checking out for those of you who are interested in all things legal....A good book about how the Bill of Rights came to be and perhaps what those first ten amendments to the Constitution may mean in this age of terrorism. This is the sort of book that ends up being cited by politicians on one side of the argument or the other so if you want to be ahead of that game, read it yourself."—Washington Post

"A virtue of Labunski's account is the generous attention he gives to Anti-Federalist luminaries like Patrick Henry, George Mason, and Richard Henry Lee—figures too often overlooked in our reverential regard for the founding. For those used to thinking of the Bill of Rights as carved in stone, it is also instructive to see just how large a role accident played in its creation."—Gary Rosen, The New York Times Book Review

"This engaging study views the Bill of Rights as the crowning achievement of America's constitutional architect....An interesting story, full of sonorous oratory and colorful details of 18th-century politicking. The result is a lively look at the rickety early republic and Madison's great balancing act."—Publishers Weekly

"Carefully and lucidly examines how Madison and his political supporters and opponents (mostly Anti-Federalists) shaped the initial parameters of the Constitution and then further expressed their constitutional philosophies in the amendments that followed....A highly recommended analysis that will be useful for public and academic libraries."—Library Journal (starred review)

"Richard Labunski's skillfully researched and highly readable historical narrative dramatizes the critical events surrounding the ratification of the Constitution and the subsequent adoption of the Bill of Rights. James Madison quickly emerges as the nation's most profound governmental scholar and the central figure in the critical debates that divided the country and threatened its very existence. With intricate detail and historical precision, Labunski shows that Madison was the indispensable man, the person most responsible for the nation's political survival, as crucial as George Washington had been to its independence. A truly outstanding book and a must read."—Philip Bigler, Director, The James Madison Center, James Madison University

"Richard Labunski's account of James Madison's pivotal role in drafting the new federal constitution and the ratification of the Bill of Rights is an important addition to Oxford University Press's Pivotal Moments in American History series. Beautifully written, the book effectively recounts the drama of a critical moment in American history, one that is not fully understood by most Americans. Scholars and general readers alike will enjoy Labunski's well-crafted narrative. I have no doubt that his fresh interpretation of the ratification saga will influence the thinking of future scholars of the period."—Charles F. Bryan, Jr., President and CEO, Virginia Historical Society

"A clear, dramatic, and accessible account of the long and tortuous process by which the U.S. Constitution was framed, ratified, and amended to provide the essential protections of individual freedom that Americans enjoy today. Labunski's focus on James Madison's central role in this process is apt, since it was his hard work in Philadelphia, Richmond, and New York that provided the impetus at critical points to achieve that result. Without Madison there would very likely be no Bill of Rights. Written with verve and charm, Labunski brings arguments over the inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation and the debates over the Constitution in the Virginia Ratifying Convention to life through vivid descriptions of the passions and idiosyncrasies of the Founding generation."—David B. Mattern, Senior Associate Editor, James Madison Papers, University of Virginia

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169331202
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	02/27/2008
Edition description:	Unabridged

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