A Narrative History of the Ratification of the Federal Constitution, 1787-1790

FAIN: FA-53440-07

Pauline R. Maier
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA 02139-4307)

Support is requested to complete and revise a narrative history of the ratification of the federal Constitution, which formally began on 17 September 1787, when the Constitutional convention adjourned, and ended when Rhode Island finally voted to ratify in May 1789. The book draws heavily on THE DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE RATIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION (Madison, WI, 1976-; 21 volumes to date), which makes it possible for a single scholar to trace the history of ratification and supports new interpretations of that history. The book will be written for both a general and a scholarly audience.

Associated Products

Ratification: the People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788 (Book)
Title: Ratification: the People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788
Author: Pauline Maier
Editor: Robert Bender
Abstract: A narrative history of the ratification of the Constitution that focuses on the specially elected state conventions that decided the Constitution's fate. The book includes a Prologue that gives background information through the eyes of George Washington, eleven substantive chapters, an epilogue that describes the First Federal Congress's response to state demands for amendments to the Constitution, and a postscript that tells what happened to some leading characters in the story.
Year: 2010
Primary URL: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/555639501
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 978-0-684-868

Prizes

George Washington Book Award
Date: 5/1/2011
Organization: Washington College, the Gilder-Lehrman Institute, and Washington's Mount Vernon
Abstract: The prize is awarded annually for the finest scholarly work in English that contributes to a greater understanding of the American founding era (c. 1760-1820).

Fraunces Tavern Museum Book Award
Date: 4/1/2011
Organization: Fraunces Tavern Museum, NYC
Abstract: The award (which was shared with Ron Chernow's WASHINGTON) is for "the author of the best, newly published work on the American Revolutionary period, combining original scholarship, insight and good writing, published in the preceding year."

Littleton Griswold Prize
Date: 1/6/2012
Organization: American Historical Association
Abstract: For the best book on American law and society

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