"The Constitutions Penman merits the careful attention of students of Gouverneur Morris, the Constitutional Convention, and American constitutionalism more generally. Readers will be reminded that now forgotten founders, too, made vital contributions to the nations founding. The book will prompt even seasoned scholars to rethink their understandings of the Philadelphia Convention and the American constitutional tradition."Review of Politics
"Rasmussen has done all student of the founding and constitutional history a valuable service by laying out in detail Gouverneur Morriss many efforts to help create a more perfect union, as he put it, to replace the immature union under the Articles of Confederation."American Political Thought
"A long-overdue study of Morriss 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 Constitutions 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 Rasmussens pathbreaking and superb study illuminates the full range of Morriss thinking on subjects ranging from slavery to the electoral college to the judiciary. At a time when the Constitutions original meaning is of profound importance for law and politics, The Constitutions 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 Constitutions Penman deftly demonstrates the constitutional vision of Gouverneur Morris, one of the half-dozen dominant delegates in the Constitutional Convention. Rasmussen focuses on Morriss 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 Morriss 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 Rasmussens The Constitutions Penman: Gouverneur Morris and the Creation of Americas Basic Charter is the first book-length study of Gouverneur Morriss 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
