Bibliography of the United States Constitution

The Bibliography of the United States Constitution is a comprehensive selection of books, journal articles and various primary sources about and primarily related to the Constitution of the United States that have been published since its ratification in 1788. Many of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention set out to improve on the inadequate Articles of Confederation,Bowen, 1986, pp. 5, 37-38 but after much deliberation over state's rights a new Federal Constitution was approved.Bowen, 1986, pp. chapter xxv To allow delegates to make compromises and changes without speculation from the public and newspapers it was decided that the debates and drafting during the Convention be conducted in secret,Lutz, 1988, p. 139Kaminski, 2005 p. 15 which is why definitive accounts of the Convention did not appear until 1840,Slez & Martin, 2007, p. 46Bloom, 1986, p. 21Farrand, 1904, p. 479 while many books on the Constitution begin after the Convention of 1787.Bowen, 1986, p. xiii On September 17, 1787, the new Constitution was signed by the delegates, and ratified the following year, which established the government of the United States in March 1789.Lansing & Yates, 1821, pp. 9-13Maier, 2010, pp. 27-28, 35, Since then, many historians and political scientists, some of them critical and controversial, have written about the Constitution, and the Founding Fathers who framed it.

Preliminary notes Books published before 1970 have no ISBN. Historical journals have no ISBN and usually possess a DOI number. Various works have been reprinted – any year dates enclosed in [brackets] denote the original year of publication Primary sources are works authored by individuals closely associated with the event or idea in question and are listed separately in the Primary sources section. Many general biographies of James Madison, often considered the Father of the Constitution, exist, which cover his involvement with that document to one extent or another. Such works can be found in the Bibliography of James Madison article and are not included in this bibliography. Encyclopedia articles and essays found on web pages are not listed here.

18th century publications Constitution related works authored in the eighteenth century are typically Primary sources and are listed in the Primary sources section. Works of this era that were highly influential to the Founders are listed in the Works influential to the Founders section

19th century publications

At the Library of Congress.

(Reprinted 1941, 1945, 1948, 1950, 1952, 1956)

(Reprinted in 1888, 1890, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1902, 1916)

Journals 1

20th century publications

— Three volumes in one work, 2013

Pulitzer Prize for History, 1974

Hoffer, Peter C. (1937). The Constitutional crisis and the rise of a nationalistic view of history in America

(Lowell Institute lectures, delivered at Boston, October–November 1907)

Journals 2

21st century publications

Journals 3

Primary sources

– (This is a work composed of numerous volumes. For complete listing go to Archive.org)

Works influential to the Founders Many of the works in this section were authored by members of the Scottish Enlightenment and the English Enlightenment, who were highly influential in the realms of moral and political philosophy and political science. Along with the Bible, their works were routinely cited by James Madison, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and other Founding Fathers before and during the drafting of the U. S. Constitution, and during the ratification process.Tanaka, 2010, p. 16Wood, 1979, p. 21Lutz, 1988, p. 146 In the years leading up to the framing and signing of the Constitution, Blackstone, Hume, Locke and Montesquieu were among the political philosophers often referred to. Historian Jack P. Greene maintains that by 1776 the early Americans drew heavily upon Magna Carta and the later writings of "Enlightenment rationalism" and English common law, while also citing David Hume, an eighteen century Scottish philosopher, who advanced the idea that the lower class was a better judge of character when it came to choosing their representatives.Greene, 1994, pp. 182, 187, 272 The framers also studied the political philosophies of Plato, Socrates and Aristotle of ancient Greece and those found in ancient Roman Law who advanced the idea of balance of powers.Pauley, 2014, pp. 39, 42-43Paulucci, 2004, p. 6-7

The Bible was also a major source of influence during the formation period. In an effort to establish an overall perspective of the influence that prevailed among the Founding Fathers, political science professors at the University of Houston engaged in a ten-year study and analyzed over 15,000 writings and speeches by the Founding Fathers to determine the primary source of ideas that went into drafting the Constitution.The study revealed that of all the sources referred to, the Bible and passages from biblical sermons were quoted more than any of the philosophers mentioned above: four times more than Montesquieu, six times more often than Locke, and twelve times more than Blackstone. Approximately ninety-four percent of the quotes taken from the Founders quoted the Bible directly or made analogies to specific chapters and verses and various quotes taken from religious sermons.Congressional Record, Vol 147, pp. 20220-20225Lillback, 2008, pp.30-31 John Adams specifically credited Reverends Jonathan Mayhew alongside George Whitefield, Samuel Cooper, and others such clergymen as foundational in awakening the American principles that led to independence.Adams, 1819, pp. 234-235

Volume I, Volume II, Volume III, Volume IV

Volume I, Volume II

Volume I, Volume II Some historians hold that the laws and principles in the Great Law of Peace governing the Iroquois Confederacy, admired by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, had a significant influence in shaping the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of the United States, a theory often referred to as the Iroquois Thesis.Grinde & Johansen, 1996, pp. 621-636Ablavsky, 2014, pp. 999-1089 While similarities exist, there is no established consensus, however, to support any significant influence the Iroquois may have had on the founder's thinking.Armstrong, 1971, p. 14 while there is significant disagreement among other historians and archeologists as to the extent of any such influence.Levy, 1996, pp. 588-604Tooker, 1988, pp. 305-336Starna, 1996, pp. 427–452

James Madison

James Madison is widely recognized among Constitutional scholars for his key role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.Feldman, 2017, pp. 625–626Rakove, 1990, pp. x, 13Brant, 1950, pp. 154-155 Gouverneur Morris also played a significant role, writing the Preamble and various other provisions.Wright, 1987, p. 92 Historians Saul Padover and Jacob Landynski maintain that "...the American Constitution, for which Madison, more than any other single individual, was mainly responsible. It was Madison who gave the Constitution its basic shape, its essential conservatism, and yet flexibility sufficient to meet the changing needs of future times."Padover & Landynski, 1995, p. 8 For his key role Madison is commonly known as The Father of the Constitution.Bowen, 1986, p. 4 However, some historians don't share this view entirely, based on various issues.Wood, 2006, p. 127Gutzman, 2012, p. 136 In his own lifetime Madison was hailed as the "Father of the Constitution".

Journals 4

Madison correspondence

During the period just prior to and during the Constitutional Convention James Madison corresponded with Thomas Jefferson, who was in Paris serving as American Minister to France,McCullough, 2001, p. 330Bowers, 1945, pp. vii–viii, xxii and who.had requested that Madison keep him informed of the proceedings during the Constitutional Convention.Koch, 1964, p. 15 During this time Madison also corresponded with John Adams, in London,McCullough, 2001, pp. 145, 333-335 George Washington,Madison to Washington, September 30, 1787 James Monroe,Madison to Monroe, June 10, 1787 and others, about general developments during the convention and other related matters. Because Madison, like others at the convention, was bound by the secrecy rule, which Jefferson found disquieting, only reports about the arrival of delegates, the general progress of the convention, general recommendations and other such nominal information was exchanged through correspondence.Koch, 1964, pp. 6, 34, 185 Correspondence of this nature is included in this section.

Slavery and the Constitution

According to James Madison, the source of greatest disagreement between the states in framing the U.S. Constitution was the issue of slavery.Rakove, 1996, p. 77Wiecek, 1977, pp. 62-64Kaminski, 1995, pp. 42-43 The differences profoundly affected the final document, which included five provisions that protected slavery directly and another five, indirectly.Finkelman, 1996, pp. 2-4 So deep was the division that it threatened the Constitution's passage, in fact, the union itself, and over the next 70 years, slavery would grow into the nation's defining issue, eventually resulting in the American Civil War.Ellis, 2015, pp. 17, 88Bernstein, 1987, pp. 100, 177-178Rakove, 1996, pp. 58, 73Amar, 2005, pp. 262, 267, 371

As various states refused to ratify a Constitution that prohibited slavery, various provisions were adapted to assure ratification by all the states.Kaminski, 1995, pp. 18, 202Klaman, 2016, pp. 7-8 Though Congress was allowed to prohibit the foreign slave trade, beginning in 1808, the issue of slavery did not become a Constitutional mandate over the states, with each state deciding whether it would allow the institution of slavery to exist within its borders. Emancipation gradually continued in the northern and middle states, however, slavery would thrive and expand in the southern states.Kaminski, 1995, pp. vii-viii As a result, the number of slaves in the U.S. would increase from about 700,000 in 1790 to nearly four million at the outbreak of the Civil War.Hacker, 2020, pp. 840-855

Journals 5

Bibliography of the United States Constitution

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