Summary of Joseph J. Ellis's The Quartet is an historical account of the debates and events leading up to, during, and immediately following the creation of the Constitution of the United States of America. The quartet is four politicians that played an integral role in the creation, shaping, and implementation of the Constitution and early federal government in the US. These include George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay.

Each man had some involvement in the American Revolution, which lent credence to the worthiness of their cause and ability to establish a national government. Washington served as the head of the Continental Army. Hamilton served as Washington's aide de camp and later served as commander of his own troops. Madison was a commissioned colonel of the Orange County militia from Virginia and served on the Continental Congress. Jay also served on the Continental Congress and negotiated the terms of the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolutionary War...