Now in paperback, Lynne Cheney's New York Times bestselling illustrated history of how the Constitution came to be.

"I am mortified beyond expression when I view the clouds which have spread over the brightest morn that ever dawned upon any country." --George Washington

America had won the Revolution, but our troubles were far from over. The thirteen states were squabbling, the country could not pay its bills, and in Massachusetts farmers had taken up arms against the government. Was our country, which had fought so hard for its independence, going to survive?

In May...