
The First Congress
How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government
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Narrated by:
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Sean Runnette
The First Congress was the most important in US history, says prizewinning author and historian Fergus Bordewich, because it established how our government would actually function. Had it failed - as many at the time feared it would - it's possible that the United States as we know it would not exist today.
The Constitution was a broad set of principles. It was left to the members of the First Congress and President George Washington to create the machinery that would make the government work. Fortunately, James Madison, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and others less well known today rose to the occasion. During two years of often fierce political struggle, they passed the first 10 amendments to the Constitution; they resolved bitter regional rivalries to choose the site of the new national capital; they set in place the procedure for admitting new states to the union; and much more. But the First Congress also confronted some issues that remain to this day: the conflict between states' rights and the powers of national government; the proper balance between legislative and executive power; the respective roles of the federal and state judiciaries; and funding the central government.
©2016 Fergus Bordewich (P)2016 TantorListeners also enjoyed...




















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outstanding!
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What a great Story!
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In my experience, many of us today take our modern democracy as a given, but that is not the case.
The United States was a huge real life experiment. It easily could not have worked, but it did.
In all fairness, I learned a lot of this content in school, but it he author does an excellent job of revealing the information and making it feel dramatic - almost to the point where I could imagine that I didn’t know how it ended.
In summary, while not novel (at least not for me) very interesting and well written.
Interesting and informative
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Story telling style of writing and a great narration to boot.
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Much of the story of the First Congress involves reconciling the conflicts inherent in the two lessons, one looking internally and the other externally. The theoretical answer, contained in the Constitution, is the division of power. The monumental achievement of the First Congress was breathing life into our system of checks and balances.
Bordewich also makes emphasizes how much slavery was already a divisive issue--one with no apparent solution and already threatening to become the defining issue in the new nation. Because the politicians could not envision a solution, it became easier for them to ignore the issue than to address it. This of course would make the problem worse and eventually mean that only force could resolve the issue.
Intricate Analysis of Novel Challenges
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that said the reading is masterful and I highly recommend this narrator, it's almost as if this recording was actually recorded synchronous with the events of the congressmen of the 18th century.
a must for any student of the early American Republic period.
narrator has a painful rising intonnation
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A critical story, well-told
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Lots of new information here about lesser known but nonetheless important founding fathers. Mercy, what a magnificent achievement for so eclectic and divergent a group of brilliant, idealistic insurgents.
Revelatory.
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This book is well written and meticulously researched. Bordewich has the ability to place the reader right into the scene. I felt as if I was suffering the hot cramped meeting rooms right alongside Madison, Adams and Washington debating each Amendment and the Bill of Rights. I found the section about how they determined the amount of power the president should have most interesting. They said they trusted George Washington but what about some president in the future who wants to become a dictator. It became clear to me that the issues that the men wrestled with in 1790 still have resonance today. The book is easily readable and I found it most enlightening. I have read other books by Bordewich and find him great at writing descriptive details.
The book is thirteen hours. Sean Runnels does an excellent job narrating the book. Runnels has won five Earphone Awards and has narrated a number of Audie Award winning audiobooks. He is also an actor.
Compelling
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The 1st Congress
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