This book is a substantial, stand-alone history of the drama and debate that went into the drafting and ratification of the U.S. Constitution. It offers an in-depth examination of the state of the new American nation after the Revolution; the fatal weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation; the growing clamor to draft a new plan of government; the impassioned debate between the big and small states; the rocky road to compromise; and the ratification of our government's founding the document.