Constitutional Signers

Constitutional Signers

Elementary students reenact the signing of the Constitution.

The authors of Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence (Philadelphia: Quirk Books, 2009), Denise Kiernan and Joseph D’Agnese, have come up with a new book to be released in September: Signing Their Rights Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the United States Constitution (same publisher, 2011).

The concept and organization of the second book (I haven’t read the first one) is formulaic. Organized first by state and then by the signers in that state, the authors provide a brief biography of each of the 39 men. The biographies are short (4–5 pages each) and include interesting facts presented in a well-written way. For example, George Clymer of Pennsylvania is described as an “unassuming moneybag,” “cool cucumber,” and “big shot from a big state.” The title of this chapter, “The Signer Whose Home Was Destroyed by the British,” draws one in, though we are soon told that the destruction of his home did not affect Clymer much, and that he went on to serve as a U.S. Representative and to manage excise taxes for the Washington administration and negotiate treaties with the Creek and Cherokee.

A Good Read? I cannot imagine anyone reading Signing Their Rights Away in one or two sessions, even though the book is short. The stories are too similar to one another, though the authors do provide a twist to each biography, such as “The Underachieving Signer” for John Blair of Virginia, a man who said nothing at the Constitutional Convention and served on no committees. Furthermore, except in the short Introduction, the authors do not attempt to synthesize their findings or draw conclusions about the men as a group. Some of the most interesting facts are found in the Second Appendix. Here we find tidbits of history such as who did the calligraphy for the Constitution, who printed it, who was the 40th signer, and who attended the Constitutional Convention but did not sign the document.

I see this book more as a reference work than a history book. One might consult the book if one was interested in a particular signer or if one wanted to know who signed the Constitution from his or her state. But these days, it would be much quicker to consult an online encyclopedia for that kind of information.

Classroom Use? U.S. history or government teachers might want assign each of their students a chapter in the book to stimulate classroom discussion of the Constitutional Convention. Let the students synthesize the many facts in the book. Questions that might arise are “Why were there no women delegates?” and “Why were there no racial minorities attending this convention?”