Lecture 3 - Page 1

THE CONSTITUTION:
THE RULES OF THE POLITICAL
GAME
 I. Introduction: Philadelphia,
1787
For months, the public of Philadelphia had wondered what was going on
behind closed doors in the Pennsylvania State House. Delegates from 12
states (Rhode Island refusing to attend) had been given the task of offering
suggestions to Congress as to how to amend the ineffective Articles of
ConfederationLinks to an external site.They had been in session for 5
months with the participants sworn to secrecy. Guards had been placed at
the doorway, and despite the stifling heat, the windows had been closed
and shuttered.
When the 42 members in attendance finally emerged with their task
completed on September 17, 1787, an observer asked Benjamin
FranklinLinks to an external site., "Well Doctor, what have we got, a
republic or a monarchy?"
"A republic," he replied, "if you can keep it."
Many of the Founding Fathers wondered if the American people could keep
it. Since its declaration of independence from Britain in 1776, the new
nation's weak and decentralized Congress had struggled to conduct foreign
relations, to pay its debts, and to stabilize a faltering economy. Men of
property were in agreement that something had to be done to secure the
financial health of the country, while American nationalists sought to
strengthen a central government and give it a clearly defined role in
governing the nation. The Miracle of Philadelphia was that they were able
to achieve the compromises necessary to create a constitution that would
do this.
But perhaps the question posed to Franklin should have been whether we
had a "democracyLinks to an external site. or a republicLinks to an external
site." - because the founding fathers had clearly sacrificed the principle of
democracy through the creation of a federal system that would not be held
directly accountable to the people. The most vocal opponents of the
Constitution argued that it would create a national government with the type
of powers that the states had just fought a revolutionLinks to an external
site.against England to secure for themselves.
So in this lecture we analyze what the events were which led to the calls for
a stronger central government. What were the compromises that
negotiations entailed in creating the Constitution, and why was it adopted?
One historian has argued that the Revolution concerned more than just
home rule from England; it was also about who would rule at home. So
who were the winners and losers in the debate to ratify the Constitution?