Joseph D'Agnese

Formatted exactly like its predecessor, "Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence," this book includes snapshots of each man who signed the US Constitution. It's a fun, brief overview of the lives and fates of these men. There's not much depth here, but that's not the point of the book. Its breezy style is fun to read and there are lots of neat factoids along the way. And the book jacket folds out into a large "poster" of the Constitution, so that's cool. Highly recommended!… (más)

They fought against the idea of a strong central government based in London but decided that a strong central government was needed in the United States. Signing Their Rights Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the United States Constitution by married writers Denise Kiernan and Joseph D’Agnese gives readers a crash course on each signer’s lives up to and after the Constitutional Convention.

Throughout the Summer of 1787 men from 12—not Rhode Island—of the 13 States met in the same building that independence was declared to create a new government before the new nation burned down due to the failures of the Articles of Confederation. Over the course of the hot Philadelphia months, 55 men would participate in what became known as the Constitutional Convention but of those only 39 would sign the document that was sent to the States for ratification and is today in the National Archives. Kiernan and D’Agnese give brief biographical sketches of the 39 men—separated by state—whose signatures adorn the document filled with their life details as several anecdotes from the man who signed twice and who technically did not but is included, who died in a duel but did not get a Broadway bio play created for them, and who is so mysterious that we do not have any clue what he looked like. A illustrated portrait is included with 38 of the biographies to give faces to the signers especially those lesser known by the average American. While each biography is informative, the authors’ choice of off-handed remarks and other stylistic choices are at time annoying and off-putting which as it went on for almost 300 pages resulted in the rating this book received.

Overall, this is a good overview of all the men who created the system of government that we still use today at least if we can keep it.… (más)

Who were the men who decided to stick it King George’s eye in July 1776 and vote for independence? Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence by married writers Denise Kiernan and Joseph D’Agnese gives readers a crash course on each signer’s lives up to and after that momentous day.

In June and July 1776, the men in the Second Continental Congress debated if the Colonies should declare independence from Great Britain. Then on the 2nd of July they took the step to do so and, on the 4th, approved the Declaration written by Thomas Jefferson and edited by the Congress. Finally, on August 2nd the 56 Congressmen from all thirteen states signed the Declaration that we see today in the National Archives. After giving this brief timeline of the creation of the Declaration of Independence, Kiernan and D’Agnese give brief biographical sketches of the 56 men—separated by state—whose signatures adorn the document filled with their life details as several anecdotes from who signed the document even though he voted against independence, who died in a duel, and how many of the men represented states they were not born in. All the signers’ biographies have an illustrated portrait to give a face to those not well known by the average American. While each biography is informative, the authors’ choice of off-handed remarks and other stylistic choices are at time annoying and off-putting which as it went on for almost 300 pages resulted in the rating this book received.

Overall, this is a good overview of all the men who essentially signed their own death warrant if events had turned out differently.… (más)