The First Congress

December 14, 2015
Historian and journalist Bordewich (America’s Great Debate) addresses a less-discussed institution of the Revolutionary period in this mainstream history of America’s first Congress. Tasked with making the promise of the recently minted U.S. Constitution a functioning reality, the first Congress began its work in 1789. At the time the Constitution, still absent the Bill of Rights, was a work in progress, with a long list of difficult questions lurking in its aspirational text. The legislator players included Madison, Hamilton, Jefferson, John Adams, and Washington, as well as a colorful mix of others, many of whom Bordewich skillfully brings to life through brief biographical sketches. Bordewich doesn’t tie then-dominant issues to current politics, but the constancy of fundamental political issues is striking: the question of congressional power versus presidential power, the nature of the federal courts, the powers that the Constitution respectively conveys to federal and state governments, taxes and finances, citizenship, and the intractable challenges of slavery and race. Additionally, the first Congress also debated the pivotal issues included in the Bill of Rights. Bordewich’s noteworthy exploration of the foundation for a working constitutional government provides an important perspective on American history. Agent: Elise Cheney, Elise Cheney Literary Associates.

December 1, 2015

By 1789, 11 states had ratified the U.S. Constitution, yet no mechanism existed for the government's operation. Historian Bordewich (America's Greatest Debate; Bound for Canaan) expertly conveys the excitement of how the first U.S. Congress (1789-91) created a government. The group produced an overwhelming amount of legislation despite sectional and personal animosities, self-interest, and heated deliberations over contentious issues that are still hotly debated today. Legislators and cabinet members argued over the threat of big government, power of the presidency, influence of big money, flexible or strict interpretation of the Constitution, government funding, national debt, states' rights, the location of the capital, and more. Each issue had profound regional and ideological implications. This Congress skirted, however, the most looming issue: slavery. Participants sacrificed some strongly held positions rather than risk endangering the government and shattering the union. Through journal entries, letters, and other documents, Bordewich records how major players strategized, deliberated, and compromised to establish precedents, processes, and protocols. James Madison's genius for government, Alexander Hamilton's financial expertise, George Washington's tactical discretion, and John Adam's acerbic disposition contributed to defining the government for years to come. VERDICT This engaging and accessible book sheds new light on the meaning of constitutionality. It will fit into any collection.--Margaret Kappanadze, Elmira Coll. Lib., NY

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