Review of Miracle At Philadelphia

Drinker, Catherine Bowen. Miracle at Philadelphia: The Constitutional Congress.

New York: Book-Of-The-Month Club, Inc., 1986

Catherine Drinker Bowen is the author of many historical, non-fiction, in-depth looks at different events and the personalities and tribulations that forged them. She has written a total of more than 30 books on the United States and its beginnings. Mrs. Bowen has an education in American literature and is a major in literature. She has experience in the field by writing so many books and including so much first-person perspective in her books. She also researches her facts and notes extensively, so her books are very, if not completely accurate.

Miracle at Philadelphia is, plainly, an in-depth look at the forming of the Constitution of the United States from an “onlooker” point-of-view. It chronicles the beginning of the Congress, where the delegates decided to completely rewrite the Articles of Confederation instead of amend them, to the end, where the Bill of Rights was added to persuade opponents of the Constitution to ratify it. It also has the speeches, arguments, and fiery debates of the Congress in a first-person view, and describes the oratories, such as Patrick Henry, with an excellent tenacity.

Mrs. Bowen wrote Miracle at Philadelphia to show the common person that even though the Constitution may seem to be perfect at the present day, the process in w...