"Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, and James Madison, "Father of the Constitution," were two of the most important Founders of the United States as well as the closest of political allies. Yet historians have often seen a tension between the idealistic rhetoric of the Declaration and the more pedestrian language of the Constitution. Moreover, to some, the adoption of the Constitution represented a repudiation of the democratic values of the Revolution. In this book, Jeff Broadwater explores the evolution of the constitutional thought of these two seminal American figures, from the beginning of the American Revolution through the adoption of the Bill of Rights"-- Provided by publisher.

The coarse and dry study of the law : 1743-1774 -- A happy talent of composition : 1774-1776 -- A friendship was formed : 1776-1781 -- All the world is becoming commercial : 1781-1785 -- Confusion . . . must stifle all enterprize : 1784-1786 -- A new government must be made : 1786-1787 -- Opposition enough to do good : 1787-1788 -- Let us secure what we can : 1788-1789.