In 1787 a fourteen-year-old slave, anxious to buy freedom for himself and his mother, escapes from his dishonest master and tries to find help in cashing the soldier's notes received by his father for fighting in the Revolution.

The title, taken from the Great Seal of the United States (which is seen on the reverse side of the dollar bill), means "a new order for the ages." In this major new interpretation of the framing of the US Constitution, Forrest McDonald brilliantly explains the philosophical origins from which this "new order" was born.

McDonald deftly recreates the intellectual world of the amazing fifty-five men whose genius and passion gave to us the United

...

George Washington rescued the nation three times: first by leading the Continental Army to victory in the Revolutionary War, second by presiding over the Constitutional Convention that set the blueprint for the United States and ushering the Constitution through a fractious ratification process, and third by leading the nation as its first president. After the War of Independence, the states were no more than a loosely knit and contentious confederation...

This book is a history of the Federal Convention in Philadelphia that resulted in the Constitution of the United States. A review of the events and personalities surrounding the Constitutional Convention of 1787 concluding with the debate and the final product.

Examines the Founding Fathers' feelings and thoughts as they entered the Constitutional Convention, emphasizing their limited expectations in the wake of the national crises they faced.

Describes how the Constitution was drafted and ratified.

Provides an account of the making of the U.S. Constitution, discussing the meetings that took place in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 to design a new government, and examining the ideas brought by such men as James Madison, George Washington, Roger Sherman, and other delegates.

The successful creation of the Constitution is a suspense story. This book takes us into the sweltering room in which delegates struggled for four months to produce the flawed but enduring document that would define the nation. George Washington presided, James Madison kept the notes, Benjamin Franklin offered wisdom and humor at crucial times. At different points, more than half of the delegates threatened to walk out, and some actually did. It was...