Richard Beeman (1942–2016)

I never added this to my currently reading because I've been reading this slowly over the last couple of months for my U.S. government and politics class. It had very good annotations that made of the documents written in a very high style a little more simple. Very good for people a little intimidated my those oldish documents and also very informative.

Edit 1/24/20:
Reread this for a class. Still interesting but I’ve removed my four star rating because this isn’t really a type of book that can be rated and I have different views on that sort of this as a reviewer now.… (more)

A little dry in parts, and a little long, but certainly a definitive work on the founding fathers and the development of our current system of government. Beeman really gets into the nature and depth of discussions among the delegates on settling issues of small states interests vs. large states, the nature of a chief executive, or even if there should be one, how he would be elected, and how we ended up with the Electoral College system. The book contains many interesting insights into the writing of the Constitution, and how it was much more complex than I ever considered. Of minor interest, but relevant to recent Glen Beck university discussions on the religious foundations of our Constitution, were the discussions on this topic. Beemans research indicates that while the delegates to the constitutional convention may have been religious as individuals, religious influences, opening prayers, preacher sermons, etc., were not only missing from discussions, but specifically and intionally separated from meetings and discussions. Separation of church and state appears to have been much more deliberate than some modern religious leaders would have you believe.… (more)

Another excellent book by Richard Beeman. "Plain, Honest Men" is a blow-by-blow account of the development of the US Constitution during the summer of 1787. This is a wonderfully written narrative that proves how difficult it was for our Founders to create our government. But while Beeman honors the men who created the Constitution, he pulls no punches on those who fought to keep slavery a viable practice. However, he also recognizes and emphasizes the context of the times. This doesn't absolve these men, but it does explain why they justified such an immoral and hypocritical system.… (more)