On July 4th, we mark our country’s declaration of independence from Britain in 1776. It was another 11 years before we’d draft the framework of laws that guide our country today: During a humid summer in Philadelphia 1787, 55 delegates from a dozen states gathered to write our constitution. Some of those men tower in our memories to this day. Virginia’s delegation, for example, included James Madison, George Mason, and George Washington. And, Maryland? Historian David O. Stewart writes in his book “The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution”, that Maryland did not send her most distinguished citizens to the convention. Sheilah Kast spoke with him about it in August 2007.
We also spoke with Stewart last fall about his novel, The Lincoln Deception, which explored who bankrolled John Wilkes Booth. Stewart’s next book about the fourth president, "Madison's Gift: Five Partnerships That Built America," will be published next spring.
This segment originally aired on August 13th, 2007.