A few days ago the annotated version of George Washington’s copy of the Constitution sole for nearly $10 million — $9,826,000, to be precise. That price was paid by the very genteel sounding Mt. Vernon Ladies’ Association.
That seems like a lot of money, until you start to think about it. This particular volume was published in 1789, and was prepared specifically for George Washington. George Washington! It’s nice to know that, not only did we once have leaders like George Washington, but they also read and carefully annotated their personal copies of the Constitution. (Of course, the linked article describes the book as being in almost pristine condition, which might mean that George Washington didn’t crack it for leisure reading all that often.)
Wouldn’t you love to know what George Washington wrote in his notes to various provisions of the Constitution? Did he have anything interesting to say about the Commerce Clause? What did he think would ultimately be the role of the Supreme Court? A book with George Washington’s notes on the Constitution would be some fascinating living history