Forge of Union, Anvil of Liberty: A Correspondent's Report on the First Federal Elections, the First Federal Congress, and the Bill of Rights

This is the final volume of St. John's you-are-there trilogy, which includes Constitutional Journal and A Child of Fortune, on the founding of the U.S. government. St. John describes historical events as though he were a political correspondent of the time. A series of ``monthly reports,'' with such titles as ``Surgery Saves Life of President'' and ``Bill of Rights Stalled in Virginia,'' follows the process of establishing the first federal government from July 4, 1788, to January 1790. As he emphasizes the importance of the Bill of Rights in securing the Constitution's ratification, St. John's Jeffersonian tilt appears: he characterizes the Constitution as a ``living document,'' interpreted from its beginnings in social and political contexts. While neither his arguments nor his research here are notably original, undergraduates and advanced high school students will find this book a useful introduction to its subject. (July)