Miracle at Philadelphia is Catherine Drinker Bowen's narrative account of the Constitutional Convention that is held in 1787, during which delegates from 12 of the 13 newly independent American states hammer out what will become the United States Constitution, which is still in effect today. Bowen works from the diaries and notes of delegates, including James Madison, and includes contemporary newspaper accounts to paint a human portrait of the Convention, complete with the tensions and dissensions between states that threaten to tear apart the Convention and perhaps even the young country.
Bowen focuses on a very specific slice of American history in her book, condensing nearly five months of almost continuous meetings into approximately 300 pages. The Constitutional Convention, although it was not called this at the time, takes place during one of the hottest Philadelphia.....
