The Constitution's penman : Gouverneur Morris and the creation of America's basic charter
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references (pages [193]-244) and index.

"Strikingly few Americans know who wrote their nation's basic political charter. Even fewer know that he was a peg-legged ladies' man with a wicked sense of humor, a staunch opponent of slavery, and an unabashed elitist. Gouverneur Morris has been called "the most colorful man in North America" at the time of the founding, and he was a dominant figure at the Philadelphia Convention of 1787. In fact, he spoke more often, proposed more motions, and had more motions adopted than any other delegate. He also put the Constitution into its final form, choosing the arrangement and much of the wording of its provisions, not to mention composing the famous preamble ("We the people of the United States . . .") nearly from scratch. The Constitution's Penman is the first book to explore the constitutional vision of this fascinating and neglected figure" --,Provided by publisher.