The Constitution's Penman

"A long-overdue study of Morris’s life and thought, drawing on the smattering of extant studies as well as a close reading of his major speeches and letters. Rasmussen shows how Morris shaped the Constitution with a combination of practical politics and a bold vision for the future we would do well to imitate today."—Claremont Review of Books

"Rasmussen has produced an instructive and timely work of scholarship. The Constitution’s Penman offers an edifying study of the American Founding and a revealing look at one of its most consequential and unjustly neglected participants."—Law & Liberty

“Of all the delegates at the Constitutional Convention, Gouverneur Morris has the strongest claim to the title ‘Father of the Constitution,’ but, remarkably, his constitutional thought has been all but ignored. Dennis Rasmussen’s pathbreaking and superb study illuminates the full range of Morris’s thinking on subjects ranging from slavery to the electoral college to the judiciary. At a time when the Constitution’s original meaning is of profound importance for law and politics, The Constitution’s Penman is a must-read.”—William M. Treanor, dean and executive vice president, Georgetown University Law Center

“The first book-length venture on the subject, The Constitution’s Penman deftly demonstrates the constitutional vision of Gouverneur Morris, one of the half-dozen dominant delegates in the Constitutional Convention. Rasmussen focuses on Morris’s thoughts on the concept of federalism, the structure and powers of the Senate, the House of Representatives, the presidency, and the judiciary, as well as his abolitionist attitude toward slavery. Examining Morris’s arrangement of the final version of the Constitution and his authorship of the preamble, the book goes a long way in describing the founders’ motivation in drafting a new constitution for their struggling nation.”—John P. Kaminski, director of the Center for the Study of the American Constitution

“Dennis Rasmussen’s The Constitution’s Penman: Gouverneur Morris and the Creation of America’s Basic Charter is the first book-length study of Gouverneur Morris’s contributions to the framing of the Constitution. The book belongs to that genre of historical writing on the ‘forgotten founders,’ and its introduction is a lament that so consequential a figure as Morris has fallen into obscurity. Rasmussen means to right that wrong. Written in engaging prose, the book is brimming with insights and valuable background information.”—Patrick Coby, Esther Booth Wiley 1934 Professor Emeritus of Government at Smith College