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b"Dennis Rasmussen\\u2019s new book,\\xa0The Constitution's Penman: Gouverneur Morris and the Creation of America's Basic Charter\\xa0(UP of Kansas, 2023), is a propulsive analysis of one of the key members of the Founding generation, Gouverneur Morris of New York and Pennsylvania. Morris is quite a character\\u2014from his reputation as a lady\\u2019s man to his brilliant speeches at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. Rasmussen has pulled together archival research on Morris along with historical and political context to understand the Constitution\\u2019s penman, since Morris was responsible for writing the draft of the document that would become the\\xa0U.S. Constitution.\\nGouverneur Morris was a fascinating fellow\\u2014and his exploits were well known among his peers and colleagues. Morris, who had been educated at King\\u2019s College (now Columbia), and had become a lawyer, made much of his fortune in land speculation. He was active during the Revolutionary War, especially in helping to manage payment and supplies to the troops fighting for the new country. Morris, like Jefferson and Adams, also represented the United States abroad, particularly in France during the revolutionary period there. His capacity to negotiate through the factions during the French Revolution was vital to the United States since he was able to protect both American citizens and U.S. interests in France. Morris\\u2019s diplomatic and political expertise was in sharp relief during this period in France. As a Federalist Morris also served in the U.S. Senate, elected in 1800 as the Jeffersonians were coming into office. He was at Alexander Hamilton\\u2019s deathbed with him after Hamilton\\u2019s duel with Burr. But the central action of\\xa0The Constitution\\u2019s Penman\\xa0is during the constitutional convention in Philadelphia in 1787.\\nRasmussen lays out all of the ways that Morris had a hand in the creation of the American constitutional system, even though he was absent from the convention in the early going in June. The bulk of\\xa0The Constitution\\u2019s Penman\\xa0focuses on each section of the governing structure of the U.S. national system and draws out Morris\\u2019 role in shaping these parts of the American system. While some of Morris\\u2019 ideas were more extreme than others\\u2014including his thinking on the form that the U.S. Senate should take\\u2014his ideas and influence are clear throughout the document itself. Rasmussen digs into Morris\\u2019 speeches on the floor of the convention, his role in writing up the document\\u2014in which he pulled 23 articles into the seven articles that compose the\\xa0United States Constitution\\u2014and his authorship of the\\xa0Preamble\\xa0itself. Rasmussen also focuses on Morris\\u2019 strident denunciation of slavery at the Convention and elsewhere, becoming, on some level, the Framers\\u2019 conscience on the issue of slavery.\\nDennis Rasmussen has written a book where the story truly dances off the page\\u2014and while Gouverneur Morris himself provides much of the content because of his cosmopolitan approach to life, his sharp wit and intelligence, and his interesting lifestyle\\u2014this is quite a compelling read.\\nLilly J. Goren\\xa0is a professor of political science at Carroll University in Waukesha, WI. She is co-host of the\\xa0New Books in Political Science\\xa0channel at the New Books Network. She is co-editor of\\xa0The Politics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe\\xa0(University Press of Kansas, 2022), as well as co-editor of the award winning book,\\xa0Women and the White House: Gender, Popular Culture, and Presidential Politics\\xa0(University Press of Kentucky, 2012).\\xa0She can be reached\\xa0@gorenlj.bsky.social\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law"