History of the Origin, Formation, and Adoption of the Constitution of the United States, Vol. 2 / With Notices of Its Principle Framers

A detailed, chapter-by-chapter account of the constitutional convention and subsequent adoption process, analyzing how delegates organized proceedings, debated representation and suffrage, and constructed legislative, executive, and judicial powers; it examines specific constitutional provisions — commerce, revenue, war, militia, territories, admission of states, patents and copyrights, and restraints on federal and state authority — addresses slavery-related questions and fugitive provisions, discusses supremacy and treason, outlines amendment and ratification mechanisms, and traces public reception and the actions of state conventions during the instrument's establishment.