Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution 1787-1788 by Pauline Maier

On Sept. 17, 1787, the Continental Convention that had been working, more or less productively, in Philadelphia for months to design a new form of government for the United States. They were headed up by George Washington, and they reached final agreement, a true document made by committee--with all it's strengths and shortcomings--and adjourned, offering its handiwork to the nation. It helps in the reading of this book to have some detailed background of that process--I recommend 'Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution' by Richard Beeman as a good place to start.
There was vigorous and heated debate about the quality of the document produced but allmost a year later, on Sept. 13, 1788, Congress declared that the Constitution had been duly ratified, and prescribed the rules for the first presidential election the following year. Pauline Maier’s delightful and engrossing book shows how America got from the first date to the second--in remarkable and interesting detail.
One caveat: To like this book, you have to have some interest in the political process. There is a lot of manipulating and maneuvering, counter insurgency plans and back room dealing. “Ratification” is a beginner introduction to American Politics. It has process, issues, arguments, local context, major players, minor players — and hoopla. “The popular excitement” that attended the struggle, Maier writes, “reminded me at times of Americans’ obsession with the final games of the World Series. Politics was in a real sense the first national game.”
The United States’ first form of government was the Articles of Confederation, which established a Congress, dominated by the state legislatures that picked its members (there was no national executive or judiciary). The framers of the Constitution thought they were replacing a system that was fractious, irresponsible and broken. But many Americans thought the framers had botched the job. The Constitution as it left Philadelphia had no Bill of Rights. So many things to fix later, it turns out, including the slavery issue--we are the only nation that had to go to war to end slavery--but this is where it started. Great read.