An Assembly of Demigods: Word Portraits of the Delegates to the Constitutional Convention by Their Contemporaries

Edited by John P. Kaminski & Timothy D. Moore

The Center for the Study of the American Constitution at the University of Wisconsin-Madison announces the publication of An Assembly of Demigods. The editors of this delightfully entertaining and informative collection have searched thousands of Revolutionary-era letters, diaries, and newspapers in compiling these descriptions of the fifty-five men who drafted the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia in 1787. A few of these delegates (George Washington and Benjamin Franklin) had continental reputations. Most were prominent and well known within their home states. Some were well acquainted with each other because of their service in the army or in Congress, while others were just barely acquainted.
The “word portraits” painted in this volume focus on character and personality traits, physical descriptions, intellectual prowess, and everyday-life routines. Intimate vignettes reveal much that has been veiled by the fog of history. This book provides a more personal understanding of these Founders and what their contemporaries thought of them.
Alexander Hamilton
“Hamilton is really a colossus of the antirepublican party.” (Thomas Jefferson)
“I have thought with respect to that Man, ‘beware of that spair Cassius.’” (Abigail Adams)
“I lose all patience when I think of a bastard brat of a Scottish pedlar.” (John Adams)
George Washington
“He is polite with dignity, affable without familiarity, distant without Haughtiness, Grave without Austerity, Modest, Wise & Good.” (Abigail Adams)

“General W. was deficient in that mark of true greatness which so preeminently characterized Julius Caesar, Henry the 4th of France, and Frederick the 2nd of Prussia—the talent to forgive.” (Benjamin Rush)

James Madison
“He blends together the profound politician, with the Scholar.” (William Pierce)
“Madison is a man of sense, reading, address, and integrity, as ’tis allowed. Very much Frenchified in his politics. He speaks low, his person is little and ordinary. He speaks decently, as to manner, and no more. His language is very pure, perspicuous, and to the point. Pardon me, if I add, that I think him a little too much of a book politician and too timid in his politics.” (Fisher Ames)

An Assembly of Demigods is available for purchase through Parallel Press.

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