Writing the Constitution: Miracle in Philadelphia | 5 Minute Video

Spring 1787. The American revolution had been won, but no one seemed to know how to govern the new nation. There was no chief executive, no agreement on taxes, or even how they should be collected. The country was teetering on the edge of anarchy. Something clearly had to be done, and quickly. What happened next is nothing short of a miracle. Historian Jay Cost tells the incredible story.

#constitution #prageru #history

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Script:

Spring 1787. The American Revolution had been won.

But there was no peace.

Because there was essentially no government. There were states. But they weren’t united. Not even close.

There was no mechanism to collect taxes.

No way to provide for the national defense.

The nation was living on the edge of anarchy.

George Washington understood this. So did James Madison and Alexander Hamilton. So did many others.

Something clearly had to be done. And fast.

The word went out across the land. A new Constitutional Convention was called for. When Washington announced he would be there, the meeting gained instant credibility.

Fifty-five men from twelve states arrived in Philadelphia in 1787 to draft the framework of a national government. There was no guarantee that they would succeed. And even if they did, there was no guarantee that the American people would accept their plan.

Failure was a real possibility. And everybody knew it.

The different interests of the states were just too pronounced—over trade, taxes, and slavery to name just three of a dozen points of conflict.

Yet, they all knew that they had to succeed. Or there would be no country—just a loose collection of individual territories sharing the same continent, easy prey for the European powers.

Not only was America’s future on the line, so was the glorious principle of self-government as stated in the Declaration of Independence, the reason for the Revolutionary War.

So, these fifty-five men locked themselves in a room for four months, working six days a week, through the middle of a hot Philadelphia summer to get it done. They all agreed they would say nothing to the press about their deliberations.

They even closed the window shutters so that no one could look in, making a very hot room even hotter.

As the temperature rose outside, tempers rose inside. Still, they persevered.

On September 17 they finished, and the country and the world learned what they had produce—the Constitution of the United States, 4,500 words of collaborative genius.

How did they do it? There are many answers, many happy accidents, perhaps even divine intervention. But here are three reasons that stand out.

First, they knew the stakes.

The Articles of Confederation under which the country had been operating since the Revolution were clearly inadequate. This was dramatically demonstrated in 1786 when a group of New England farmers took up arms in a tax dispute. Known as Shays’ Rebellion, the rebels came close to overturning the state government of Massachusetts.

No one wanted anarchy. But anarchy was staring the country in the face.

Second, these were very capable men.

They were both learned and pragmatic. Many, like James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Gouverneur Morris, and James Wilson were steeped in the great works from classical antiquity—from Thucydides to Aristotle, from Livy to Cicero—and, of course, they knew their Bible.

They were also men of the Enlightenment and saw politics as a kind of science. They studied what had worked in the past and what had failed.

[EatLeadPal]

I wish every person in this country would become more versed in the TRUTH of the Founders and the Founding Documents.

[Awww]

The Constitution wasn't just written for the time, it was also written to stand the test of time. It makes me proud to be an American. 🇺🇸

[justawitness]

here in 2022, the Constitution needs to be protected and preserved more than ever before.

[quin]

I'm not as versed on this history as I should be so I'm looking forward to it. I know the authors of the US Constitution were heavily influenced by philosophers such as John Locke who were originally inspired by political solutions like the Magna Carta. The idea of somewhat inverting the power structure to keep tyranny at bay makes sense.

As we've seen in recent US history though, mob rule slowly chips away at this structure and changes like the 17th Amendment undercut the protections the founders had laid. We are clearly nowhere close to what the founders had intended, especially with all of the changes to the central bank and mandatory spending added in the early 1900s.

[terrymorton]

I didn't learn anything new from this video but that doesn't mean that this video wasn't worth while. so many people don't understand the founding of our nation . Good job Prager U

[TheRadioAteMyTV]

200 plus years of ignoring that fine document. What a shame for all of us.

[rickintexas]

Great video. Tragically, many of our fellow citizens view the Constitution as an outdated concept. They want to throw it all out because they don’t like that slavery existed. They are fools.

[jojoco]

"Wisdom gained by experience"

[VB-vlej]

Thank you God for blessing my family and myself for letting me live in the freest Nation USA 🇺🇸 in World! Also the men and fought to keep it that way!

[teresamulligan]

The Constitution is great and eternally pertinent...

[DaneStolthed]

The United States is the oldest Constitutional Republic and we must preserve it.

[juliust.gayagas]

Well explained. I hope the next generation will learned from the history about the sacrifice and wisdom of the founding fathers.

[bryanjones]

1781: "WE WON! WE'RE FREE!!!"
1787: "Now what?"

[KensleyHomeschool]

So many excellent sources to learn about American History. This is your responsibility as a parent. brother, sister, etc. to learn on YOUR OWN if you consider yourself an American Citizen.

[gmansard]

The Founders' great genius (amongst many) was that they didn't try to create the perfect government. They wanted to get something workable in place as soon as possible. Creating "a more perfect Union, " implying that it was an ongoing process. They wrote right into it the provision for changes.

In contrast, at almost the same time (1789) French revolutionaries swore a famous oath to write a Constitution. They tried to make it perfect but it took two years to complete, by which time the situation had deteriorated to where their Constitution was outdated and ineffective, paving the way for revolutionary Terror and Naploeonic dictatorship.

Not that the French Revolution is so simple! There were a LOT of complications that America didn't have to face. But if Louis XVI had been more like George Washington things might have been very different.

[hiphoponeworld]

I wish we would teach this kind of content to children. It's no surprise that all these school shootings and other degeneracies started when we distanced ourself from the Founding Fathers.

[poliincredible]

It is also documented that they prayed together fervently for God’s wisdom and divine guidance. We need to get back to what works: prayer and scripture.

[redblaze]

The Founding Fathers knew the Bible well, which is why they favored the separation of state and church, because they knew what will happen if you mix the two.

[GamerJay]

And thus, air conditioning was created.

[bosse]

God bless the patriot remnant, the true Americans.