The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789, by Joseph Ellis, examines the role of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison in the creation of the Constitution.
For those unfamiliar with American history, it seems as if a national sense existed in 1776, when we declared independence from Britain. But as Ellis shows, the picture was far more complex. The document for a common government following 1776, the Articles of Confederation, in many ways recapitulated the dysfunction of the Continental Congress. It was more about the rights of the states than some overarching national government.
The quartet of the title had born the brunt of this system either in the Continental Army, or by serving in the Confederation Congress and sought to redress its shortcomings.
By the end of the Constitutional convention in 1797, the tide had decisively moved away from the moribund confederation, to the structure of government we more or less have today. Ellis is correct in calling this a second American Revolution. The quartet sought to enshrine the revolutionary spirit of 1776 in the Constitution. The Articles threatened to tear the country apart, creating little republics or dictatorships at war with each other. The Constitution sought to balance blocks of power against each other to promote comprise and prevent tyranny.
Ellis makes fascinating observations about the outcome of the Constitution. It was felt by all delegates, especially by James Madison and Gouverneur Morris, who more or less framed the document, that it was incomplete in many ways. They believed it would grow and evolve to meet the times. So much for “original intent” conservative jurists who see the constitution as having some basic and unchanging meaning, as if frozen in amber.
For those unfamiliar with American history, it seems as if a national sense existed in 1776, when we declared independence from Britain. But as Ellis shows, the picture was far more complex. The document for a common government following 1776, the Articles of Confederation, in many ways recapitulated the dysfunction of the Continental Congress. It was more about the rights of the states than some overarching national government.
The quartet of the title had born the brunt of this system either in the Continental Army, or by serving in the Confederation Congress and sought to redress its shortcomings.
By the end of the Constitutional convention in 1797, the tide had decisively moved away from the moribund confederation, to the structure of government we more or less have today. Ellis is correct in calling this a second American Revolution. The quartet sought to enshrine the revolutionary spirit of 1776 in the Constitution. The Articles threatened to tear the country apart, creating little republics or dictatorships at war with each other. The Constitution sought to balance blocks of power against each other to promote comprise and prevent tyranny.
Ellis makes fascinating observations about the outcome of the Constitution. It was felt by all delegates, especially by James Madison and Gouverneur Morris, who more or less framed the document, that it was incomplete in many ways. They believed it would grow and evolve to meet the times. So much for “original intent” conservative jurists who see the constitution as having some basic and unchanging meaning, as if frozen in amber.
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