"The prizewinning author of Founding Brothers and American Sphinx now gives us the unexpected story--brilliantly told--of why the thirteen colonies, having just fought off the imposition of a distant centralized governing power, would decide to subordinate themselves anew. The triumph of the American Revolution was neither an ideological nor political guarantee that the colonies would relinquish their independence and accept the creation of a federal...

The thirteen ORIGINAL colonies! Together again! One night only! The children of Forest Lake Elementary School trod the boards in a dramatic reenactment of how the United States Constitution came to be. After the Revolution, the young United States was anything but united. The states acted like thirteen separate countries, with their own governments, laws, and currencies. It took bravery, smarts, and a lot of compromises to create a workable system...

A biography of Benjamin Franklin.

On September 17, 1787, at the State House in Philadelphia, thirty-nine men from twelve states, after months of often bitter debate, signed America's Constitution. Yet very few of the delegates, at the start, had had any intention of creating a nation that would last. Most were driven more by pragmatic, regional interests than by idealistic vision. Many were meeting for the first time, others after years of contention, and the inevitable clash of personalities...

The best one volume biography of Madison's life, Ketcham's biography not only traces Madison's career, it gives listeners a sense of the man. As Madison said of his early years in Virginia under the study of Donald Robertson, who introduced him to thinkers like Montaigne and Montesquieu, "all that I have been in life I owe largely to that man." It also captures a side of Madison that is less rarely on display.

Examines the events and personalities involved in creating the Constitution of the United States in 1787, a document which has been the foundation of American democracy for over 200 years.

What are the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the U.S. Constitution? They're important documents that helped to shape our country. But what's the story behind how these documents were created? And what exactly do they say? Read this book to find out.

Have you ever wondered about the events that laid the foundations of the United States of America? This title investigates the people involved with and the events leading up to the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. Special features include sidebars, infographics, on-page definitions, online search sidebar, further evidence sidebar and primary sources. This title also includes a timeline, glossary, Web links, index, and common core activities. Core...