Creating the Constitution: The Convention of 1787 and the First Congress

Thornton Anderson

Published by Penn State University Press 1993

Creating the Constitution

The Convention of 1787 and the First Congress

Thornton Anderson

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780271071336

Overview
Contents

About this book

Creating the Constitution presents a different interpretation of the Convention and the First Congress, derived largely from a close reading of Farrand's Records and the Annals of Congress. Among its special features are a critical perspective on the Framers, an examination of Court Whig influence on the Federalists, the identification of a third group—the state Federalists—between the nationalists and states' righters, and a view of the First Congress as distorting the aims of the Convention.

Author / Editor information

Anderson Thornton :

Thornton Anderson is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Maryland and author of several books, including Russian Political Thought (1967) and Brooks Adams: Constructive Conservative (1951).

Reviews

“In a lucid discussion that compares the debates in the Constitutional Convention with those in the First U.S. Congress, Anderson very effectively combines factor analytical techniques with close textual analysis to uncover the presence of a hitherto undetected group in the Convention that he labels ’state Federalists.’ This third group, which defended a middle ground between the state sovereignty and nationalist positions, was highly influential and largely responsible for the creation of a balanced federal system. The weakness of this group in the First Congress, Anderson argues, led to legislation and an evolved ideology that irrevocably changed the operation of the U.S. Constitution to a system significantly at variance with that agreed upon at the Convention. This is an original, interesting, and useful analysis of the role of the First Congress in the founding of the American political system. Anderson’s book will undoubtedly engender some controversy, but it should also lead to a reconsideration of the Constitutional Convention as the defining moment in the creation of the American republic.”
—Donald S. Lutz, University of Houston

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Convention Chronology Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
The Delegates Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Preface Thornton Anderson Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
1. Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. Ideas from England Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	17
3. Political Motivations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	43
4. Economic Motivations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	85
5. An Anti-Democratic Convention? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	117
6. The Convention Congress Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	173
Appendixes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207
Works Cited Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	239
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	251

Language: English
Publisher: Penn State University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 272
Keywords: Anderson; The Convention of 1787; The First Congress; Farrand’s Records; Annals of Congress; Framers; Court Whig; Federalists; nationalists

eBook

Published: May 26, 2021
ISBN: 9780271071336