The Making of the United States Constitution

Part 1: Lessons from the Podcast 

Among the most important lessons from the podcast, which featured Harvard University’s Professor Michael Klarman was the reason American needed a Constitution. In 1787 when the Philadelphia Convention was held to create a new constitution, the 13 states were being governed under the Articles of the Confederacy. This articles gave too much power to the states and no real power to the Confederacy. The Federal Congress could pass some laws that were supposed to affect the states but if they choose to ignore them, little could be done about. A weakened confederacy was affecting international trade and foreign policy and also keeping the union weak hence the need for the new constitution.

The second important lesson was how the constitution was created through the Philadelphia Convention. Each of the 13 colonies sent delegates to the convention, mainly with a view to amending the Articles of the Confederacy. However, the delegates decided to make a whole new federal constitution instead. The process was based on debates and consensus on a point per point basis. The result was not the best constitution but rather the best possible compromise. Among the most fundamental compromises that may not have been the best outcomes was slaves being counted as 3/5 th of a human being and a Senate that gave highly populous states the same representation as less populous states.

Part II: Reflection on the Podcast 

My reflection on the podcast is based on the accuracy of the content of the podcast on the one hand and the implications of the podcast on the other. For a start, the narrative in the product is given by a professor from one of the premier universities in the USA and perhaps the world. I, therefore, have no reason to doubt its accuracy. The contents, however, are disturbing and might point out to reasons why America has been struggling with their constitution. The process of making the constitution was ridden with conflict and partisan interests which gravely affected the quality of the document. Each of the 13 colonies represented at the Philadelphia Convention was run democratically hence there was no reason why the federal government could also not be managed democratically on a basis of one man, one vote.

Part III: What I Liked or Did not Like 

What I liked about the contents of the podcast was that in a time of crisis, Americans came together instead of breaking apart. As indicated in the podcast, 1787 was a time of crisis for America. The devastation of the War of Independence has led to a major recession, small rebellions such as Shays Rebellion has started cropping up in the states and foreign trade was in shambles. Americans, however, came together to find a collective solution instead of falling apart. What I did not like, however, is how partisan interests affected the process of making the most important document in American history. The delegates could have done better and as the podcast indicates, some American icons were depressed by the acrimonious behavior of the delegates.

Part IV: Relation to History 1865 

Just as in 1787, America was in a crisis in 1865. After years of the destructive Civil War, the Confederates had surrenders and the Union was once again united. The same can be compared with the end of the Confederacy and the beginning of the era of the New Constitution in the 18 th century. However, things did not go exactly right in 1865, just as in the 1780s. For a start, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at the crucial time during the surrender hence denying America political leadership at an important historical moment. Secondly, a compromise led to the Jim Crow era hence once again, a bad decision about the issue of slaves or rather African Americans was made. 1865 is thus eerily connected to the 1780s.