This Constitutional Podcast, follows upon the 2016 podcast “Presidential” - which, each week discusses each US president and examines the leadership style exemplified by each President. Well worth listening to but not necessary to listen to this podcast. Strongly suggest you listen sometime!
What we learned was that the presidents that we think of as great are those that achieved what WE as a nation wanted to achieve. Those presidents that embraced the mission, set forth in the Constitution, to lead us toward a more perfect union. It is “We the People” that have shaped the values of America.
Background
We go back to the hot Philadelphia summer of 1787 in this first episode. Independence Hall. The Declaration of Independence was signed here about 10 years before. It's May 25th (HOT and windows are closed so no one would her the deliberations.
Freedom to work. NO Leaks.
The country was under the articles of confederation. Shay’s rebellion showed how unstable the situation was. A need for a united country with a strong federal gov’t. (Madison/Hamilton)
Some of the key participants:
- James Madison - Researched what previous Republics were. (Rome, Greece.)
- George Washington is the chair of the convention. His presence and stature ensures the conventions success. He rarely speaks.
- James Wilson: The key voice (and vision) from Pennsylvania. A constitutional philosopher ("We the people of the US". NOT "we the people of the individual states”)
Goal - To develop A practical framework of government which required compromise and patience.
Some of the key takeaways of interest from this first podcast.
The legislature - Finding a balance of representation between small and large states by population. Connecticut compromise.
The executive - What type and how much power?
Madison wanted a President elected by the legislature. Views of the populace filtered by the elected legislature. Hamilton wanted a elected “monarch”. Very powerful. Wilson wanted the executive elected by the people.
The “Frankenstein compromise” of the Electoral College. See my blog post about the electoral college.
At the time the constitutional convention was the most radical body ever assembled. A time when the world was ruled by Kings and Monarchs.
The framers were concerned about populism vs constitutionalism. (Basic values of rule of law, limited government , individual rights. Can a true republic survive?)
This is exactly what we are concerned about today. Populism out of control being led by a demagogue who uses fear and lies to reach his objectives. Madison studied the failure of ancient democracies of Greece and Rome Unchecked democracies that led to demagogues and the mob that would threaten liberty.
Many debates about slavery - its future in the new nation. 25 of 55 delegates were slave holders. ALL the delegates were WHITE MEN who owned property. Nowhere in the constitution does the word “Slave” appears. But their bodies are counted (the infamous 3/5 compromise). That gave white slave holders in the South more power. A massive inequity.
The priority was NOT to end human bondage. It was to create a legal structure. Anything else took a back seat. Moral values were put on the back burner for expediency (The fugitive slave law; The trans-atlantic slave trade)
The delegates write in a protection for the slave trade - that the trade could not be ended by Congress for 20 years (until 1807). Hope for movement for change in the future.
A grave moral injustice. A compromise that kicked the issue to the future. Enslaved people were 20% of the population, 700,000 men women and children. Treated with total lack of regard for them as human beings. Perpetuates human bondage.
Whether there should be a Bill of Right in the constitution. Last major debate. Anti-Federalists wanted to protect individual liberty. 39 of the 55 original delegates sign. Was added because the States (as it came time to ratified) demanded the Bill of Rights. 17 amendments were adopted since the first 10. (11,000 attempts to amend the constitution since ratification)
Andrea Nicole Baker
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