Becoming America: The Constitutional Convention of 1787

Meet your three hosts, Dr. Jo Ellen Chatham (the “Professor”), The Honorable Bijan Kian (the “American”), and The Honorable Jim Gray (the “Judge”) and why they decided to embark on a series of conversations with noted scholars and experts on the Constitution, its origins and principles, all based on an exciting new musical, “Convention: The Birth of America” composed by Judge Gray, Joel Henry Stein and Steve Lawless.

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Concordia University Irvine Professor Bryan Santin discusses what life and politics were like in the 1780’s as delegates gathered in Philadelphia to improve the Union by amending the Articles of Confederation. Thirteen new, independent States stretched along 1200 miles from north to south and about two hundred miles east to west was home to approximately three million people who considered their State to be their “country.” Travel, transportation, and lifestyles were among challenges to be overcome before “a more perfect union” could be established.

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Anti-Constitutionalists accused Constitutional Convention delegates of exceeding their power by proposing an entirely new form of government rather than merely amending the Articles of Confederation. Dr. Larry Arnn, historian and President of Hillsdale College, addresses whether such an accusation was warranted as well as whether the Constitution’s lack of a bill of rights was an impediment to its ratification.

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James Madison wrote in Essay #51 of The Federalist that government is needed because men are not angels, and because government is composed of men, it is essential to also place restraints on government. In this episode, President James Madison shares his role at the Constitutional Convention, his relationships with other delegates, and why the Convention avoided as much as possible discussing the issue of slavery.

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While the Constitution provided a “new birth of freedom” and democracy, some people were not afforded equal status with those who wrote and ratified the Constitution. Among these were slaves and most women and native Americans as well as many non-propertied men. Political science professor and past Chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, Dr. William B. Allen offers special insights into the historical consequences of those decisions and the evolution of rights in our nation.

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As thirteen American colonies edged ever closer to declaring independence from Great Britain, Abigail Adams admonished her Patriot husband and revolutionary agitator John Adams to “remember the ladies.” Recognizing the significant role of the Supreme Court in expanding rights of women in the United States, former Congressman and law school dean Tom Campbell discusses the role of the judiciary and its checkered history regarding rights and liberty as well as diverse approaches to interpreting the Constitution, including “judicial activism” and “judicial restraint.”

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Debates at the Constitutional Convention were often heated. Compromise was difficult and on more than one occasion the Convention almost broke up. Dr. John Kaminski, Founder and Director of the Center for the Study of the American Constitution, shares the complexity of issues and interests motivating delegates representing individual states and how they were able to arrive at a near-unanimous consensus. He also clarifies the single most important shared goal which made consensus possible.

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Author of Liberty’s Secrets: The Lost Wisdom of America’s Founders, former Vice-Presidential speechwriter Joshua Charles shares his thoughts on religious freedom, virtue, and the role of religion in a constitutional republic. As the United States becomes increasingly diverse, has the role of religion in public discourse changed and is a common definition of “virtue” even possible?

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Dr. Bryan Santin visits with us again to explain how the Convention itself operated, including how the delegates were chosen, the rules they drafted to govern their proceedings, and why they decided to work “behind closed doors,” with no public reports or observers. We discuss why the delegates voted against including a Bill of Rights.

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Cato Institute’s Trevor Burrus guides us through the most difficult divisions among the delegates, especially as they related to different interests of small versus large states, a more energetic national government and creation of a national executive officer. He shows how separation of powers and checks and balances help to alleviate some of these differences.

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Aware that “the devil” is often “in the details,” Tom Campbell returns to dive further into specific enumerated powers of the Congress, separation of powers, checks and balances, and other features of the Constitution designed to create a stronger national government while restraining it from exercising too much power. Our conversation inquires into whether the Anti-Constitutionalists’ fears of an overbearing federal government and an “administrative state” have been realized.

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The issue of slavery was not resolved until after the Civil War when the 13th Amendment was ratified, finally outlawing slavery. However, slavery could not be completely ignored at the Constitutional Convention, especially when two States resolved to leave the Convention and the Union if slavery was threatened. Major General James Williams (USMC) joins the conversation to discuss race in America, concepts of justice, and how we should teach history to our children.

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General George Washington was elected as President of the Constitutional Convention and presided over its proceedings in that capacity. His presence was considered to be essential to its success, although he seldom spoke during the proceedings. We are uniquely honored to have a conversation with him about his views about the proceedings, his fellow delegates, and the Constitution itself.

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Constitutional expert and professor Gordon Lloyd takes a deeper dive into the Constitution’s division of powers between the federal and state governments as well as specific enumerated power of the federal government. Our conversation includes the importance of the “necessary and proper clause” and other less-known constitutional clauses.

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The authority of the Constitution rests on “We the People” and represents a profound change in the governance of nations. Retired federal court judge Andrew Guilford shares profound thoughts on the importance of this concept and how it has made the United States an exceptional nation and why its principles must be taught to each succeeding generation.

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As the Constitution was being signed, Benjamin Franklin commented that the carving on the back of the President’s chair to be “a rising and not a setting sun,” signifying his optimism of the Convention’s work. Seven citizens, several Americans by choice, join us for a conversation about what being an American means to them and to identify a specific part of the Constitution which has special meaning to each of them.

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Our final conversation is with David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States. He shares not only his responsibilities to protect our nation’s most sacred documents and millions of other records but why civics education must be a priority to sustain a viable form of government in which “we, the people” are ultimately responsible for the success or failure of our nation. As the song proclaims, you and I are the “we.”

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