America’s Secret Reboot: The Making of the U.S. Constitution | The American Story | Ep 8

Summary

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The Glenn Beck Program – “America’s Secret Reboot: The Making of the U.S. Constitution”

The American Story | Ep 8 | May 30, 2026

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Overview

This episode of The Glenn Beck Program (narrated in this special series by David Barton or Tim Barton) tells the gripping story of how the United States veered toward collapse after the Revolution—and how, from crisis and near-anarchy, the nation’s founders gathered to secretly “reboot” America, forging the Constitution. Through vivid storytelling, compelling primary quotes, and sharp political context, the episode explores the chaos of the post-war era, failures of the Articles of Confederation, uprisings like Shays’ Rebellion, and the extraordinary challenges and compromises that created a “more perfect union.”

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Post-Revolutionary Chaos and Crisis

• Mutiny in Philadelphia:
  • June 20, 1783: 400 angry Continental soldiers surround and threaten Congress in Philadelphia, demanding unpaid wages.
  • Congress is trapped in Independence Hall; Alexander Hamilton negotiates their escape but is infuriated when Pennsylvania refuses help.
    • “The conduct of the executive of this state was to the last degree weak and disgusting.” – Alexander Hamilton [02:36]
  • Congress flees, bouncing from city to city—Princeton, Annapolis, Trenton, finally New York.
• America’s Fragility:
  • The new nation has no real power: no treasury, no ability to tax, no effective authority.
  • George Washington, suffering under worthless paper money during the war, voices doubts about the republic’s survival.

2. Failures of the Articles of Confederation

• Structural Weaknesses:
  • One vote per state regardless of size; Congress has no power to tax, only request donations from states (which are refused).
  • Any amendment required unanimity; thus, vital reforms are paralyzed.
  • States feud over currency and trade; foreign threats loom with British, Spanish, and Barbary pirates all testing American weakness.
• Silver Linings:
  • The Articles win the war, establish key departments, and pass the Northwest Ordinance (which bans slavery in the new territories).

3. Shays’ Rebellion – Near Anarchy

• Rebellion in Massachusetts, 1786-87:

  • Farmers and veterans lose their land to foreclosures, feeling betrayed by the government they created.
  • Daniel Shays leads 1,500 rebels to storm courts and seize an armory.
  • No federal troops are available; local militias put down the rebellion, but the event shocks the nation.
    • “My dear general, we are all in dire apprehension that a beginning of anarchy…has approached." – Gunning Bedford [09:38]

• Washington’s Grief:

  • “I am mortified beyond expression when I view the clouds that have spread over the brightest morn that ever dawned in any country... What a triumph for the advocates of despotism to find that we are incapable of governing ourselves...” – George Washington [11:23]

4. The Road to a New Constitution

• Annapolis Convention (1786):
  • Ostensibly about trade, but James Madison and others push for overhauling the whole system.
  • Only five states attend, but Madison and Hamilton secure a call for a wider Philadelphia convention in 1787.
• George Washington’s Reluctance & Acceptance:
  • Initially declines to attend; eventually persuaded by Madison, Knox, and Hamilton.
    • “I declare to you that my assent is given contrary to my judgment...and I will hope for the best.” – George Washington [16:49]

5. The Philadelphia Convention – Secrecy & Drama

• Mysterious Proceedings:
  • Absolute secrecy enforced by Washington; windows and curtains drawn, nothing leaked to the press.
    • “Gentlemen, I am sorry to find that one member of this body has been so neglectful of the secrets of the convention…” – George Washington [19:22]
• Virginia Plan:
  • Madison’s plan, introduced by Edmund Randolph: three branches of government, bicameral legislature, checks and balances.
• Contentious Issues:
  • Slavery: avoided the word, brokered compromises (20-year limit on slavery ban, 3/5 compromise for representation).
    • “The admission of slaves into the representation…comes to this: that the inhabitant of Georgia and South Carolina…shall have more votes…than the citizen of Pennsylvania...” – Gouverneur Morris [22:49]

6. The Great Debate: Representation

• Big States vs Small States:

  • Virginia Plan (population-based) vs. New Jersey Plan (equal state votes).
    • “Can we forget for whom we are forming a government? Is it for men or for the imaginary beings called states?” – James Wilson [27:06]
    • “We are met here as the deputies of 13 independent sovereign states…” – William Paterson [27:24]

• Heated Arguments and Threats:

  • Gunning Bedford: “I do not, gentlemen, trust you…If the smaller states form their own confederation, the fault will be yours…” [29:48]
  • Hamilton: “I fear that we shall let slip the golden opportunity of rescuing the American empire from disunion, anarchy, and misery.” [30:32]

• Benjamin Franklin’s Call for Prayer:

  • “I have lived, sir, a long time…God governs in the affairs of men…except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it…” – Benjamin Franklin [31:29]
  • Franklin’s motion for prayer fails, but “the mood softened, bitterness cooled.” [33:30]

• The Great Compromise:

  • Senate: equal representation for states; House: population-based.
  • This turning point, “when the convention shifted from despair to hope.” [35:40]
    • “We are providing a constitution for future generations and not just for the circumstances of the moment.” – James Wilson (via James Madison) [35:32]
    • “A system which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests.” – Alexander Hamilton [35:44]

7. The New Constitution – Final Debates and Ratification

• Drafting the Document:

  • Gouverneur Morris writes the famous preamble; Madison, Hamilton, and others finalize.
    • “We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union…” – Gouverneur Morris [39:07]

• Signing Day – September 17, 1787:

  • Franklin’s humility:
    • “I expect no better and because I am not sure that it is not the best. I cannot help expressing a wish that every member…would with me…doubt a little of his own infallibility...” – Benjamin Franklin (read by James Wilson) [39:53]
  • Not all sign; personal relationships rupture over the document’s flaws.
  • Franklin looks at Washington’s chair:
    • “I have often…looked at that sun behind the president...but now...I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun.” [42:09]

• The Question of Ratification:

  • Intense public debate; critics like John Lansing denounce it as a “triple-headed monster.” [43:39]
  • Supporters embrace the term “Federalist”; opponents become “Anti-Federalists.”
  • The Federalist Papers, especially Madison’s No. 51:
    • “If men were angels, no government would be necessary…enable the government to control the governed and…oblige it to control itself.” – James Madison [44:59]

• Ratification Achieved:

  • Nine states ratify by June 1788; eventually, all do. The anti-Federalists’ top demand—a Bill of Rights—remains to be fulfilled.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Alexander Hamilton (on Pennsylvania’s refusal of help):
  • “The conduct of the executive of this state was to the last degree weak and disgusting.” [02:36]
• James Madison (on respect for government):
  • “It will soon be of very little consequence where Congress go if they are not made respectable as well as responsible…” [04:35]
• George Washington (on dangers of amendment):
  • “…what may be the consequences of such an attempt is doubtful. Yet something must be done or the fabric must fall.” [08:11]
• Benjamin Franklin (prayer speech):
  • “…I have lived, sir, a long time…without his concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel…” [31:29]
• Franklin on unity and humility:
  • “I expect no better…it is not the best…I would…doubt a little of his own infallibility…” [39:53]
• Franklin, on Washington’s chair:
  • “…now… I know that it is a rising and not a setting sun.” [42:09]
• James Madison (Federalist #51):
  • “If men were angels, no government would be necessary…” [44:59]
• George Washington (on the challenge ahead):
  • “I should consider myself as entering upon an unexplored field, enveloped on every side with clouds and darkness.” [47:44]

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Key Timestamps

• Soldiers’ Mutiny at Independence Hall: 00:04 – 03:42
• Congress on the Run / Dysfunction under the Articles: 04:01 – 08:11
• Shays’ Rebellion: 08:30 – 11:53
• Call for Constitutional Convention: 12:38 – 16:49
• Secrecy and Drama in Philadelphia: 17:03 – 20:01
• Contentious Debates: Slavery, Representation: 22:49 – 33:30
• Franklin’s Prayer Speech and Compromise: 31:29 – 35:54
• Drafting and Signing the Constitution: 38:48 – 42:37
• Ratification Struggles & Federalist Papers: 43:13 – 47:14
• Legacy and looking to Washington’s presidency: 47:19 – 47:54

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Tone and Storytelling

The episode is rich in vivid historic details, personal letters, and stirring recounting of arguments and despair. The narrators capture both the drama and the personalities, with biting wit and respect for the gravity of the moment. The tone is one of admiration, urgency, and a sense of wonder at how the “impossible” American experiment survived its birth pangs.

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Conclusion

"America’s Secret Reboot" masterfully shows that the Constitution was not a foregone conclusion—it was born amid chaos, stubbornness, fear, and reluctant compromise. The delegates’ conflicting visions were resolved not perfectly, but pragmatically, laying the groundwork for a nation that, against all odds, survived and evolved. The promise—still unfinished—was cemented by their willingness to work together for future generations, even when unity seemed out of reach.

Coming up: The struggle to create a Bill of Rights, and George Washington’s acceptance of the presidency, “enveloped on every side with clouds and darkness…”

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Transcript

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

It's June 20, 1783. Philadelphia, the heart of the American experiment. 400 armed soldiers of the Continental army march toward Independence Hall. The war is over. Last shots of the revolution have been fired. But the peace that hasn't quite yet arrived, the Treaty of Paris, that final diplomatic bow tying off the conflict, is still two months from being signed. And now the soldiers who fought for American independence are turning their weapons on the very Congress they once defended. James Madison watches from inside Independence hall and writes later that the soldiers were pointing muskets to the windows. Quote, end quote. He said that they were drunk, angry and becoming increasingly abusive. They want their pay, America. This patchwork of 13 states is buried under a mountain of war debt. Loans from France, obligations to the Dutch bankers, and worst of all, back pay owed to the very soldiers who bled for the nation's freedom. The young republic has no real treasury, no power to tax, and barely the power to function. These men who stared down the redcoats and endured brutal winters of near starvation are now facing a bitter truth. They might never ever see a dime of what was promised. Whispers in the barracks turn to shouts, and suddenly 400 Continental army troops erupt into the soldiers bar the door of Independence Hall. The delegates are now trapped inside, held hostage by their own troops. The crowds outside grow more and more restless, fueled by the rum and their sense of betrayal. It's a full blown mutiny, a powder keg ready to explode. The fragile unity of a nation barely born. It takes Alexander Hamilton himself, a veteran of revolutionary battles, to calm things down. He negotiates, convincing the soldiers to stand down just enough for Congress to leave the building without harm. But when Congress then begs the Pennsylvania state militia for protection, the state refuses without any explanation. Maybe state leaders sympathize with the unpaid troops, or perhaps they're too cowardly to confront armed veterans. So no help arrives. Hamilton's blood boils over at the lack of assistance. He later writes to the governor of his home state, New York.

[Alexander Hamilton]

The conduct of the executive of this state was to the last degree weak and disgusting.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

Two days later, the mutiny still simmers. No sign of soldiers backing down the Confederation. Congress makes a humiliating run for it. They flee Philadelphia entirely, packing up what little dignity they have, and they move the national capital to Princeton, New Jersey. Nation just born. It feels like a breakdown. The revolution has promised freedom and unity, and it now looks like it's eating itself alive. The government that had won the war can't even protect itself from its own soldiers. And yet this moment of near mutiny becomes one of the Sparks that ignites an essential reboot. Because in 1783, America was not a strong union. It was a fragile experiment, one paycheck away from total collapse. The brand new nation was really not off to a great start. And it was about to get worse.

[Narrator/Producer]

This is the American the Beginnings. Adapted from the book of the same title by David Barton and Tim Barton. Episode 8America's Secret Reboot the Making of the US Constitution

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

Picture this, a government on the run, bouncing from one temporary home to another, like a bad house guest who can't find a permanent couch to crash on. After that humiliating escape to Princeton, New Jersey, the Confederation Congress just kept moving. Next to Annapolis, Maryland, then Trenton, New Jersey, and finally it landed in New York City. Each move felt less like progress and more like a symptom of dysfunction. It was a farce, really. And Connecticut delegate Oliver Ellsworth captured the frustration perfectly when he grumbled, it will

[James Madison]

soon be of very little consequence where Congress go if they are not made respectable as well as responsible, which can never be done without giving them a power to perform engagements as well as

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

make them the government's foundation. The Articles of Confederation had been born out of the Revolution itself. The name came from none other than Benjamin Franklin, who sat on the original drafting committee in 1776. Under the articles, each of the 13 states had one vote in Congress, no matter their population. Virginia, with nearly 20 times as many people as Georgia, counted the same. The number of delegates sent to Congress by the states varied over the years. If those delegates disagreed and split their state's single vote, it didn't count at all. They served one year terms unpaid by Congress, relying on their home states to cover the expenses, which many did not. A quorum required seven states just to get any business started, and any matter involving the military, foreign policy or finances needed the approval of at least nine states. It was a government by committee, strangled by procedure. And when it came to money, the Confederation Congress had absolutely no power to tax. It could only ask states for funds, and most of them just said nope. Imagine trying to run a country on donations. Well, George Washington didn't have to imagine. The abysmal funding situation tortured him throughout the Revolutionary War. The states issued their own currencies, had bitter trade wars with each other, and sank under runaway inflation. Congress could declare war, but it couldn't raise an army. It could sign treaties, but it couldn't enforce them. It could appoint ambassadors, but it couldn't pay for any expenses. Just about any of these factors could be fixed by amending the Articles, but any change to the articles required unanimous approval from all 13 states. Even one holdout could kill a vital reform that an overwhelming majority wanted. Foreign threats were still looming large. Britain refused to vacate its forts in the northwest territory and hinted at carving off more land to attach to Canada. Spain schemed in the south, even bribing a retired American general to deliver Tennessee to Spanish control. Spain also closed the lower Mississippi river to all American trade. Meanwhile, the Barbary pirates in north Africa seized American merchant ships, and the United States, having no navy, couldn't do anything but negotiate ransom. So, yeah, plenty of deficiencies yet, and this is something our history books often gloss over. The articles were not a total disaster. They were deliberately weak. They were crafted by men who were deeply suspicious of centralized power after years under Britain's thumb. But this framework did manage to win the war against the world's top military power at the time. It created the first federal departments of foreign affairs, War and finance. And it navigated the complex treaty of Paris. Most impressively, it created the northwest ordinance, which laid out a roadmap for settling western lands, admitting new states, and even banned slavery in those new territories. Still, there was a growing sense that the articles of confederation were not going to cut it long term. As George Washington put it, that it

[George Washington]

is necessary to revise and amend the articles of confederation, I entertain no doubt, but what may be the consequences of such an attempt is doubtful. Yet something must be done or the fabric must fall.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

And fall it nearly did. To pay off crushing war debt, Massachusetts raised land taxes to punishing levels. Farmers, many of them veterans, lost their land in foreclosures. They saw this as betrayal by the government that they had fought to create. In western mass, the protests turned militant. Farmers stormed into courts and shut down the foreclosures. The state supreme judicial court labeled them disorderly, riotous and seditious persons. Their leader was Daniel Shays. He was a revolutionary war captain wounded in battle. He was a man who risked everything for independence. Serving five years in the war now, he led 1500 rebels, calling themselves regulators, determined to bring down what they called the tyrannical government of Massachusetts. Many of them wore their old continental uniforms. They invoked the same revolutionary spirit that once had united the colonies. Many of George Washington's friends wrote to warn him about this movement. One pleaded in one word.

[Gunning Bedford]

My dear general, we are all in dire apprehension that a beginning of anarchy with all its calamities has approached.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

Washington's trusted ally from the war, Henry Knox, told him that these rebels wanted to turn private property into, quote, the common property of all. He feared that the movement could spread and plunge the country into Civil War. In January 1787, Shays rebels marched on the Springfield Armory, intent on seizing its muskets and its gunpowder. Even though the armory was a federal facility, no federal troops came to defend it because Congress didn't have any funds to pay them. So local militias rallied instead. On the eve before the clash that seemed inevitable, a message was intercepted that revealed the rebels plan amid swirling snow. The next day, the state militias opened fire on the rebels. Four Shays men were killed and 20 wounded. Within weeks, the rebellion collapsed. More than 4,000 rebels signed confessions for amnesty. Daniel Shays he was indicted but later pardoned. He lived another 37 years, drinking heavily and scraping by on the small pension he eventually received for his service in the revolution. Shays rebellion. It sent shockwaves across the states, a wake up call that the article's weaknesses could lead to outright collapse. Few felt that fear more than George Washington. He was back at Mount Vernon, and he had tried to settle back into the quiet farm life that he loved. But the reports of the rebellion and unrest pained him. He wrote to a close friend, I

[George Washington]

am mortified beyond expression when I view the clouds that have spread over the brightest morn that ever dawned in any country. What a triumph for our enemies to verify their predictions. What a triumph for the advocates of despotism to find that we are incapable of governing ourselves and that systems founded on the basis of equal liberty are merely ideal and fallacious.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

That letter captured the mood of an entire generation. The revolution had promised liberty, but liberty without order was starting to look a lot like anarchy.

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[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

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[George Washington]

to you that my assent is given contrary to my judgment. I have yielded, however, to what appeared to be the earnest wishes of my friends, and I will hope for the best.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

Washington and his enslaved valet, William Lee, rode north that May. Lee was by Washington's side through every step of the Revolutionary War, even in battle. In Washington's will, he provided for the eventual freedom of all of his slaves at Mount Vernon. But Lee's freedom was immediate. He also gave Lee an annual pension and the right to live in Mount Vernon for life. When Washington arrived in Philadelphia, he stayed in the home of Robert Morris. He was one of the wealthiest men in America and a delegate from Pennsylvania. The city buzzed with rumors about what the secret convention just might do. Twelve states send delegates. Only Rhode island refused. Its citizens were just too distrustful of a strong central government. That defiance earned them the nickname Rogue Island. The Convention met daily 10am to 4pm in the Pennsylvania Statehouse, better known as Independence hall, since that's where the Declaration had been approved and signed almost 11 years earlier. There were 55 delegates, though not all would stick around to the end. The average age was 42. They were planters and lawyers, merchants and judges. 21 of them had fought in the war. Seven had been governors, most had served in the Continental Congress, and eight had signed the Declaration itself. On the convention's first day, Benjamin Franklin, now 81, nominated Washington to serve as president of the Convention. He was once again unanimously elected. It was really a brilliant move. If Washington led the proceedings, it would help the public trust whatever came out of that room. The delegates made a pledge of total secrecy, and Washington enforced it with military precision. The windows were shut tight. The curtains were drawn. No one spoke to the Press. Not a single word of debate leaked out. Americans had no clue as to what was really going on inside of Independence Hall. One day, a delegate accidentally dropped a copy of the proposed resolutions in the hall. Someone found them and brought them to George Washington. Like a schoolteacher, Washington stood at his desk at the front of the hall and addressed the convention.

[George Washington]

Gentlemen, I am sorry to find that some one member of this body has been so neglectful of the secrets of the convention as to drop in the state house a copy of their proceedings which by accident was picked up and delivered to me this morning. I must entreat the gentlemen to be more careful lest our transactions get into the newspapers and disturb the public repose by premature speculations. I do not know whose paper it is, but there it is. Let him who owns it take it.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

No one ever dared admit ownership. Inside that locked room, James Madison took meticulous notes, Often word for word. He vowed never to release them until every delegate had died. True to his word, he outlived them all, dying in 1836. Madison, with approval from the Virginia delegation, had spent months before the convention drafting a master plan. Virginia's governor, Edmund Randolph, presented this plan on opening day. It called for three branches of government. Legislative, executive and judicial, each one with checks and balances on the other. The legislature would have two chambers, both based on proportional representation, giving big states more power than the small ones. It also proposed that Congress could veto any state law it deemed unconstitutional. Only parts of the Virginia plan made it in the final constitution, but Virginia succeeded in setting the agenda for the convention. The delegates realized this convention wasn't about revising the articles. It was about replacing them entirely. This was a bombshell proposal that made smaller states furious. Over the next four months, through sweltering summer heat, they argued they compromised. They slowly invented an unprecedented system of government. Tempers flared, delegates stormed out, and 12 eventually quit altogether. On many days, the experiment seemed seconds away from collapse. Slavery, of course, proved to be a political landmine. The convention blew their opportunity to rid the nation of slavery almost right away. Yet there's no way slave states would have signed on if an outright ban was the only option. Ben Franklin had recently been named the president of the Philadelphia abolition Society. He planned to propose condemning slavery in a new constitution. But the northern delegates persuaded him not to. Instead, the framers avoided the word slavery entirely, tiptoeing around it as if it didn't exist. And every clause that dealt with it was a compromise. They determined that Congress would be blocked from ending the slave trade for 20 years. Until 1808. Then came the notorious Three Fifths Compromise. This was proposed by James Wilson of Pennsylvania, who personally opposed slavery. It counted each slave as 3/5 of a person for the purpose of determining representation in Congress. That proposal drew an angry response from another Pennsylvania delegate, Governor Morris.

[Governor Morris]

The admission of slaves into the representation, when fairly explained, comes to this that the inhabitant of Georgia and South Carolina who goes to the coast of Africa and in defiance of the most sacred laws of humanity, tears away his fellow creatures from their dearest connection and damns them to the most cruel bondages, shall have more votes in a government instituted for protection of the rights of mankind than the citizen of Pennsylvania or New Jersey who views with a laudable horror so nefarious a practice.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

Many people even today misinterpret the compromise as a declaration that enslaved people were three fifths human. The truth was crueler. The slaveholders were the ones demanding that their slaves count fully to increase their political power. The northern delegates didn't want them to be counted at all. The compromise was about political clout, not humanity. And yet, as divisive as the slavery question was, it wasn't the issue that almost ended the convention. That fight was just getting started. Being prepared has always been a good idea, but Jace Medical is taking that idea to the next level with the Jace plus and the Pocket Paramedic. Most people get supplies and then hope they never have to use them. But preparedness doesn't end there. Supplies run low and when something actually happens, you don't want to be figuring it out in real time. I asked Jace to solve this issue for anybody who's like me and is prepared. Jace Plus It's a membership designed to help you stay ready over time. With membership you get 15% off all of their [e-mail] 50% off replenishment medications, free shipping insurance, early access to new product launches and exclusive promotions, and 5% cash back on every purchase as easy to use as store credit. Then there is the Pocket Paramedic. Knowing how to use your kit when it matters is everything. So they have real time guidance for everyday injuries and situations. So you're not guessing, you're responding with confidence. This is all about responsibility and self reliance and being ready without overcomplicating it. Jace plus and the Pocket Paramedic they're available now only at jace.com j a s e.com use the promo code free month for one month free jace.com when an unexpected pregnancy happens, the focus is almost always on the mother and the dads Too often they're overlooked, pushed to the side, left feeling like their voice doesn't matter. Maybe that's how you would feel, too. You want to be supportive. You want to do the right thing. But fear sets in. Questions start racing. Can I really do this? Can I be a good father? That's exactly how John felt. John wrote to me and he said, me, a dad? That didn't even feel possible. I didn't know the first thing about being a good father. But then we found preborn. We talked to people, Glenn, who cared? We got free ultrasound. And that's when it all came together for me. That we could do this, that I could do this. Today, you can help another father experience the same moment of Hope. For $28, you can sponsor an ultrasound through preborn and help expectant parents see a future filled with life and compassion and the hope of God's love. Donate dial £250 say the keyword baby. That's 250 keyword baby or visit preborn.com glenn that's preborn.com glenn. The convention had been simmering for weeks. Nothing came easy. But the issue that almost imploded the convention was proportional representation. Who should hold power in the new Congress? The people or the states? The Virginia plan, with its proportional representation basing congressional seats on population, gave the larger states like Virginia and Pennsylvania much more influence. The smaller states had no intention of surrendering equal power that they'd enjoyed under the Articles of Confederation. So they came back with their own idea. The New Jersey plan. One chamber, one vote per state, no matter the population. Thirteen sovereign entities side by side. James Wilson of Pennsylvania, one of the most articulate men in the room, stood to argue for proportional representation. He was an immigrant from Scotland who spoke with a strong Scottish brogue.

[James Madison]

Can we forget for whom we are forming a government? Is it for men or for the imaginary beings called states?

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

The room erupted. Some applauded. Others groaned. Then William Patterson of New Jersey rose to respond.

[Governor Morris]

We are met here as the deputies of 13 independent sovereign states for federal purposes. Can we consolidate their sovereignty and form one nation and annihilate the sovereignties of our states who have sent us here for other purposes? The people of America are sharp sighted and not to be deceived. The idea of a national government as contradistinguished from a federal one never entered into the mind of any of them.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

To understand this debate, you have to understand what the word federal meant back then. Under the articles, federal meant a partnership, a loose association of equal states. Sovereignty ultimately rested with the states and by extension, the people. The nationalists, like Madison and Hamilton, were redefining that word. They envisioned a shared sovereignty where state and national governments cooperated in parallel, but ultimate authority rested with the national one. In other words, not a partnership, but a hierarchy. Then came the quiet voice from the back of the room. Roger Sherman of Connecticut. He was a man who was on the committee to write both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. He suggested a middle ground. What if the lower house, the House of Representatives, was based on population, while the upper house, the Senate, gave each state equal votes? This had potential, but the delegates set it aside and held a vote for the proportional representation in the House. It passed, yet emotions were still running hot. They weren't ready for Sherman's meet in the middle approach yet. The debate about the Senate raged on. Luther Martin of Maryland, fiery and long winded, took to the floor for a three hour tirade. He accused the big states of scheming for domination. He thundered that if Virginia, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts insisted on control, the smaller states would walk out and form their own confederation. The tension was unbearable. Then Gunning Bedford of Delaware spoke up. Referring to the big states, he said, they insist they never will hurt or

[Gunning Bedford]

injure the lesser states. I do not, gentlemen, trust you.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

Adding that if the smaller states form their own confederation, the fault will be

[Gunning Bedford]

yours and all the nations of the earth will justify us. The large states dare not dissolve the confederation. If they do, the small ones will find some foreign ally of more honor and good faith to take them by the hand and do them justice.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

Bedford was immediately shouted down. Alexander Hamilton, exhausted, slipped away to New York on business. And as he left, he passed Washington a note.

[Alexander Hamilton]

I fear that we shall let slip the golden opportunity of rescuing the American empire from disunion, anarchy and misery.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

One of Washington's former French officers visited him in Philadelphia and said, the expression

[George Washington]

on his face reminded me of its expression. During the terrible months we were in

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

Valley Forge camp, the mood was bleak. Delegates muttered that the convention might collapse entirely. And then, on June 28, the oldest man in the room stood up. That was Benjamin Franklin. He was 81 years old. He was weak from illness. Every day he was transported from his house to the hall in a chair carried by four prisoners from the local jail. When he had something to say during the convention, he usually handed prepared statements to James Wilson, who just read them aloud. But this time, Franklin stood and spoke on his own.

[Benjamin Franklin]

In the beginning of the contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily Prayer in this room for the divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that, powerful friend? I have lived, sir, a long time. And the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings, that except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. And I also believe that without his concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel. We shall be divided by our little partial local interests. Our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance despair of establishing governments by human wisdom and leave it to chance, war and conquest. I therefore beg leave to move that henceforth, prayers imploring the assistance of heaven and its blessings on our deliberations be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the clergy of the city be requested to officiate in that service.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

According to Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey. The doctor sat down. And never did I behold a countenance at once so dignified and delighted as was that of Washington at the close of the address. Nor were the members of the convention generally less affected. Franklin's motion failed. Technically, Hamilton and others objected that bringing in clergy would violate their vow of secrecy. And besides, the convention had no funds to pay for ministers. But Franklin's words changed something intangible. The mood softened, bitterness cooled. And just in time, because the biggest vote of the summer was coming. July 2, 1787. The question before the delegates. Should every state have equal votes in the Senate? The roll was called, and when the final tally came in, it was a deadlock. The solution? A special committee. One delegate from each state to hammer out a deal. Two days later, July 4, the convention recessed for Independence Day celebrations. Cannon fire echoed through the streets. Bells rang out from church towers. The delegates. Delegates were reminded, at least for a day, of what they had fought and sacrificed so much for. When they reconvened, the committee presented its plan. The House of Representatives would be based on population. The Senate would give each state two seats chosen by state legislators. Senators would not be elected by popular vote until the progressive 17th Amendment was passed in 1913. The delegates debated, then they voted and the compromise passed. This was the turning point, the moment when the convention shifted from despair to hope. James Wilson said we should consider that

[James Madison]

we are providing a constitution for future generations and not just for the circumstances of the moment.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

Alexander Hamilton later marveled at how the Constitution came together.

[Alexander Hamilton]

For my own part, I sincerely esteem it. A system which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

After months of chaos, sweat and near collapse, they had finally found common ground. But they still had to get across the finish line.

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[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

For 250 years, Americans have believed in one powerful idea. We're meant to live free. We're free to work hard, free to move, free to enjoy life without being held back. But every day, I don't know about you, my body hurts, aches and pains. If they're slowing you down, it might be time to declare your independence from pain. I started taking relief factor years ago to get my life back to thrive again. And I still take it every day because it works for me. Relief factor is 100% drug free. It's research based formula formula that is designed to help your body fight inflammation, one of the root causes of pain. It's not a quick fix, it's not a temporary mask. It works from the inside out at the source. Relief factor created so people can get back to living life on their own terms. Walking, working, exercising. Enjoy the moments that matter. This year as we celebrate 250 years of American independence. Take a stand for your own freedom. To commemorate, they're offering a special patriotic price, just $17.76. Declare your independence from pain. Take control. 1776 three week quick start ready for you right now. Visit relieffactor.com 800 for relief. For more of the history that inspired this podcast series, be sure to read the American Story the Beginnings by David Barton and Tim Barton. Available [e-mail]. By September of 1787, the heat had finally broken in Philadelphia. But inside Independence hall, the atmosphere was still thick. With exhaustion, tension, and the smell of ink and candle wax. For four long months, the delegates had argued, compromised, and nearly walked out more times than anybody could count. But now, at last, the Constitution was ready. The final draft had been polished by a special committee that included James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Gouverneur Morris. This was the moment that Madison had dreamed of, though he never really wanted credit. Years later, when somebody called him the father of the Constitution, he dismissed the

[James Madison]

title, writing, you give me a credit to which I have no claim in calling me the writer of the Constitution of the United States. This was not like the fabled goddess of wisdom, the offspring of a single brain.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

Morris drafted the preamble that echoes still today through American history.

[Governor Morris]

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

Monday, September 17, 1787. The delegates gathered one final time. George Washington, stoic and reserved as ever, called the meeting to order and recognized Benjamin Franklin. Franklin once again rose from his seat and handed a written statement to James Wilson, who read it aloud.

[James Madison]

I confess that there are several parts of this constitution that I do not at present approve, but I am not sure that I shall never approve them. For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information or fuller consideration to change opinions, even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise. In these sentiments, sir, I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such. I consent, sir, to this Constitution because I expect no better and because I am not sure that it is not the best. I cannot help expressing a wish that every member of this convention who may still have objections to it, would with me on this occasion doubt a little of his own infallibility, and to make manifest our unanimity, put his name to this instrument.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

Franklin's humility set the tone. Many delegates still had deep reservations, but in that moment, unity mattered more than perfection. One by one, the delegates stepped forward to sign. Washington signed first in bold, clear script. Then the others followed. 39 in all. Not everyone could bring themselves to do it. Luther Martin had already stormed out. Elbridge Geary of Massachusetts refused. George Mason and Edmund Randolph, both Virginians, declined as well. Randolph had been one of the two to introduce the Virginia Plan four months earlier, but now he feared the Constitution went too far in creating a powerful central government. The fallout was personal. Washington's 30 year friendship with George Mason collapsed over the disagreement. They never reconciled. As Franklin stepped forward to sign, tears streaked his face. When it was done, he looked towards Washington's chair, which had a carved sun at the top of the high back. He turned to those around him and James Madison recorded his words.

[L]

I have often in the course of the session looked at that son behind the president without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now, at length, I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

Signing the US Constitution was only half the battle. It still had to be ratified by at least nine of the 13 states. About that prospect, Washington wrote, should everything

[George Washington]

proceed with harmony and consent according to our actual wishes and expectations, it will be so much beyond anything we had a right to imagine or expect 18 months ago that it will, as visibly as any possible event in the course of human affairs, demonstrate the finger of Providence.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

The public ratification fight did not proceed with the harmony that he had hoped for. It was another long, heated debate. Within weeks, newspapers all across the states lit up with editorials both for and against the new Constitution. John Lansing of New York, who had walked out of the convention in protest, called the Constitution a triple headed monster, as deep and wicked a conspiracy as

[Benjamin Franklin]

ever was invented in the darkest ages against the liberties of a free people.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

Critics attacked everything the federal court system, the presidency, even the idea of a permanent capital city. Some worried the new executive branch looked too much like a monarchy. Benjamin Franklin had suggested a small executive council instead of a single president to shape the debate. The Constitution's supporters got creative with branding the nationalists, Madison, Hamilton and their allies knew the word national sounded threatening to a lot of Americans. So they rebranded themselves as Federalists, a term that evoked balance and cooperation. Their opponents, who feared centralized power, became known as the anti Federalists. It wasn't entirely accurate as a label, since they weren't opposed to a federal system in the traditional sense. They just simply believed power should rest primarily with the states. To win over skeptics, Hamilton, Madison and John Jay launched a coordinated campaign in New York newspapers under the shared pen of Publius. The essays they wrote are called the Federalist Papers. They became a defense of the Constitution's logic, structure and necessity. In Federalist no.

[James Madison]

51, Madison explained what is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary in framing a government which is to be administered by men over man. The great difficulty lies in this. You must first enable the government to control the governed and in the next place oblige a to to control itself.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

The anti Federalists, meanwhile, warned of tyranny not from a king, but from the new government itself. They worried about the absence of explicit protections for individual rights. But even they agreed that the current system under the Articles could not survive. Ultimately, the argument wasn't over whether to fix the government, but how. Each state held its own ratifying convention. By May 1788, eight states had ratified. In June, New Hampshire became the ninth, pushing the document into law. But everyone knew that without Virginia and New York, the Union might fracture anyway. The vote in Virginia was close, but they did ultimately approve it. So did New York. After Hamilton's religion relentless campaigning, only North Carolina and Rhode island held out. Both, however, would eventually join. The United States had a brand new government. The Revolution had won independence, but now the Constitution had secured survival. In the end, what happened inside that locked, sweltering in 1787 wasn't just a political negotiation. It was a fusion of ambition, vision and insight about human nature that somehow produced something enduring. The United States was finally, hopefully, off and running. But there was one top priority for the anti Federalists, which for many of them was the number one incentive for ratifying the Constitution. The creation of a Bill of Rights.

[Narrator/Producer]

Coming up on the American Story, the beginnings.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

He looks out over his farm. It's the place he loves more than any battlefield, any council chamber, any capital city. And he understands if he says yes, his life will once again no longer be his own. Washington closes his eyes, and in that moment, he knows he's under no illusion about how difficult it will be.

[George Washington]

I should consider myself as entering upon an unexplored field, enveloped on every side with clouds and darkness.

[Narrator (David Barton or Tim Barton)]

America is about to choose its first president. Just a reminder. Reminder. I'd love you to rate and subscribe to the podcast and pass this on to a friend so it can be discovered by other people.