5 out of 5 stars. If you only read one book about the framing of the US Constitution in the sweltering summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, this is the book. Ellis has spent a lifetime reading the primary and secondary sources of this period. The book reads like a distillation of the wisdom from someone who has traveled back in time to that era but also knows the arguments of our day.
The main argument he advances is that the Quartet (Washington, Madison, Hamilton, and Jay) each played a key role in both planning the Constitutional Convention, shaping the institutions, and shepherding it through the ratification debate. Washington brought prestige and popularity. Madison brought intellect and political savvy. Hamilton brought a nationalist mentality. (Hamilton was not born in the colonies and therefore had no allegiance to one particular state.) And Jay brought a knowledge of how a coherent foreign policy was impossible without a strong central government.
Yet, each also shared a traumatic experience in waging war under the Articles of Confederation. The Continental Congress was so inept, ignoble, and shameless in not compromising for national interests that the Army itself was chronically under-funded and neglected. All four of them knew that if something revolutionary was not done to revitalize the government, the grand experiment would fail before it ever began. Thus, while each had unique talents and perspectives, they all shared a scarring experience that allowed them to coordinate like a musical quartet of the highest order. Ex quattuor, unum.
