The Framing of the Constitution of the United States

by Max Farrand

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Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction, Law

281 pages, Hardcover

First published September 10, 1962

About the author

Dr. Max Farrand was a professor and writer of American history. He graduated from Princeton (A. B., 1892; Ph.D., 1896) and was the first director of the Huntington Library.

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listen to any American political debate today and at some point the argument will turn to the “founders’ intentions.” Often the rationales have nothing to do with history or reality, but ideological agendas. One clue is to conflate “the founders” with “the framers.” The former were about the Declaration of Independence, the latter the Constitution, which is also why many conflate and confuse the two. Another popular method is to invest some sort of destiny, divine or otherwise, into the proceedings. Writings, interpretations, or some combination of both receive Talmudic scrutiny. Thankfully, this classic, more than a century old, still reminds us that more than anything, the framers were human beings, with human foibles, interests, misconceptions, and all the late 18th century ignorance one would expect with the with hindsight of history.

They were far wealthier and more privileged than their fellow citizens. But the weather, as Farrand reminds us, affected their outlooks and moods as much as anyone alive then or today. Far from meeting to create some infallible treatise, they convened to fix fundamental problems with the Articles of Confederation, which had governed the nation since the defeat of the British. They decided they need to do something new. But that didn’t prevent them from taking large parts of the Articles and inserting them—sometimes with little to no editing—into the new Constitution. Or from using parts of existing state constitutions. And rather than knowingly create an infallible document to guide the future, they were trying to fix a contemporary problem and avert future ones. They were people trying to come to terms with with their times. They were pretty successful in the task of laying out the mechanisms and functions of the newly created federal government.

This book is based on a far more comprehensive archive Farrand created. Now, more than 100 years on, his short, fluid narrative has one great value that should be timeless as long as the United States continues to exist. The framers were not demigods with divine insight. It takes people living in their times to make governing functional. Since at least 45% of today’s American voting public refuse to do so, this book might well be a historical anomaly one day.

[Joel Everett · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting summary and interpretation of the Constitutional Convention that lead to the Constitution. This book was originally written and published in 1913.

Of special note is the various compromises between the various States in formulating the Constitution; the appendix which provides the Articles of Confederation, the Virginia Plan, the New Jersey Plan, the Constitution and the first sixteen amendments; Amendment 16 being the Amendment that introduced the income tax which was ratified Feb. 1913 was highly helpful and important reading.

It would be highly interesting if an anthology of the State Constitutions at that time were available in one collection since they, as well as the Articles of Confederation, influenced aspects of our current Constitution.

A worthwhile read for another perspective.

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise description of the drafting process.

[Boone Ayala · Rating 2 out of 5]

Farrand offers an extremely dry chronicle of the constitution’s framing. Nothing here is wrong, but little is of interest. Farrand argues that the motivation for the constitution was in the defects of the articles - that there was no coherent plan or theory behind the document, but a series of contingent responses to specific issues. “Every provision of the federal constitution can be accounted for in American experience between 1776 and 1787” (204). While this is certainly true for the document as a whole, Farrand worsens things by stripping ideology from his actors. It is one thing to say that the constitution represents no single voice; it is another to suggest that few of the framers had a voice. This is particularly striking given the deeply ideological aftermath at the ratifying conventions.

Ultimately a handy book for recounting the progress of the convention, but it fails to understand the framers’ beliefs and so fails to hold my interest.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

A subpar overview of the proceedings of the Constitutional Convention with far too much emphasis on individuals instead of the conditions and circumstances surrounding the issues of the day. Slavery is given passing mention despite being fundamental to the establishment of the United States, while Farrand gives little to no analysis of the events themselves. Hardly worthy of a high school research paper, let alone a book published by Yale.

[Samuel R · Rating 4 out of 5]

The constitution seen from 1900 ‘a

An interesting short history of the people and ideas that were together in 1787 in Philadelphia to improve the ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION written before the United States became a world power. Readers familiar with the constitution will find it moves very quickly and an enjoyable leisurely book.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was, in its day, a classic on the Constitutional Convention, held in 1787. Farrand was, indeed, an expert. He had published a four volume set on key records of the Convention, with the fourth volume representing corrections of his original three volumes. Much has happened since in 1913, so this cannot be regarded as the "last word" in scholarship of the Constitutional Convention. But it is an important point on the historical analysis of the founding document of American government.

The work is pretty straightforward in its structure. It begins by laying out the background to calling the Convention in 1787. It proceeds to examine the members selected to represent their states in Philadelphia. Why the desire for a convention to explore the country's governmental structure? It had been claimed that the then-existing constitution, the Articles of Confederation, were not up to the task. Thus, a "revision" was needed. Needless to say, the Constitutional Convention was a "runaway convention" as it went beyond its mandate to create an entirely new Constitution.

There follows the work of the Convention, considering the Virginia Plan, the New Jersey Plan, and the Compromise that brought contentious debate to a compromise. Then, other issues, such as the nature of the presidency, are explored.

All in all, a useful work for understanding the changing views of the Constitution. And, even though it was written long ago, this book still has some value in illuminating the dynamics of the Constitutional Convention.

[Stacy]

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