effected a revolution in the nature of the American government. That revolution occurred neither by accident nor by divine intervention. It was, in its inception, the work of a small group of men who had become convinced that America's experiment in liberty was in jeopardy and that bold action was necessary if that experiment was to flourish. Those men set the revolution in action by introducing a bold, even audacious, plan for an entirely new form of government. But their attempt at revolutionary change, once launched, proved difficult both to sustain and to control.

PLAIN, HONEST MEN takes readers behind the scenes and beyond the debate to show how the world's most enduring constitution was forged through conflict, compromise, and eventually, fragile consensus. Virtually all of the issues the delegates debated that summer--the extent of presidential power, the nature of federalism, and, most explosive of all, the role of slavery--have continued to provoke conflict throughout the nation's history.

Plain, Honest Men is a fascinating portrait of another time and place, a bold and unprecedented book about men, both grand and humble, who wrote a document that would live longer than they ever imagined. Moreover, it is an indispensable work for our own time, in which debate about the Constitution's meaning still rages.