How did the framers draft the Constitution of 1787?
What powers does the Constitution provide the federal government?
Why do we elect the President of the United States by an electoral system rather than by popular vote?
These are some of the many questions you’ve asked since November 2016. And today we’re going to explore some answers.
Michael Klarman, the Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and author of The Founders’ Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution, joins us to discuss the United States Constitution and how and why the framers drafted it.
About the Show
Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.
It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.
Each episode features a conversation with a historian who helps us shed light on important people and events in early American history.
Episode Summary
Michael Klarman, the Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and author of The Founders’ Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution, joins us to discuss the United States Constitution and how and why the framers drafted it.
During our exploration, Mike reveals the state of American governance just after the War for Independence; What caused the Constitutional Convention of 1787 to meet and discuss a new form of government; And, what issues the delegates debated and compromised on in order to create the Constitution of 1787.
What You’ll Discover
- What caused the meeting of the Constitutional Convention of 1787
- The Annapolis Convention of 1786
- The Articles of Confederation
- Shays’ Rebellion
- The Constitutional Convention of 1787
- James Madison and his ideas for the work of the Convention
- The Virginia Plan
- The New Jersey Plan
- The Connecticut Compromise
- How slavery factored into representation debates
- Ideas about slavery at the Constitutional Convention
- The type of government provided by the Constitution of 1787
- Early Americans’ reception of the Constitution of 1787
- The Electoral College and electoral system
- Amendment provisions
Links to People, Places, and Publications
- Michael Klarman
- Mike’s Harvard Law School webpage
- The Founders’ Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution
- From Jim Crow to Civil Rights: The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality
Sponsor Links
Complementary Episodes
- Episode 057: Max Edling: War, Money, and the American State, 1783-1867
- Episode 061: Edward Larson, George Washington in Retirement
- Episode 087: Sean Condon, Shays’ Rebellion
- Episode 098: Gautham Rao, Birth of the American Tax Man
- Episode 107: Mary Sarah Bilder, Madison’s Hand: Revising the Constitutional Convention
- Episode 141: A Declaration in Draft
Time Warp Question
In your opinion, what might have happened if the Philadelphia convention to revise the Articles of Confederation had not taken place in 1787? How would the constitutional history of the United States be different today?
Questions, Comments, Suggestions
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