All the way through this volume I kept wondering why it had never came up in 16 years of schooling, including a degree in Pol. Sci.  Absolutely the best history of early America you will find. Written by a man who was there through those tumultuous times and who established precedences for a rigorous, vital, Supreme Court.  Read this and understand more fully a tradition that has been discarded these days in favor of political hackery, a loss to everyone living in this nation trying to respect our laws.