This Week We Take A Look At Our Founding Fathers And The Cre
This Week We Take A Look At Our Founding Fathers And The Creation Of O
This week we take a look at our founding fathers and the creation of our Constitution. Political philosophers such as John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Thomas Hobbes were major influences on our leaders of the time. Ideas of liberty, equality, popular consent, and limited government were (and continue to be) important points of the day. The Constitution came about due to ineffectiveness of the Articles of Confederation. In 1787, delegates from the 13 states gathered in Philadelphia to determine how best to proceed with creating a government that would honor the principles of those philosophers and the goals of the American Revolution.
Yet, these were 13 disparate states who all wanted different things. How would they proceed? How could they possibly meet the southern demands for protecting the institution of slavery with the northern demands for abolishing it? One wrong move, and the Constitutional Convention would have collapsed, and our future would have been uncertain. Copy and paste the web address below into your internet browser.
Work your way through this simulation. When you are done, write a 200 word post with a reference that addresses: - What you learned in the simulation - the main issues discussed in the simulation (among the delegates) - what choices you made and their results - and, what you would have done differently (if anything) from the delegates. Simulation: You are James Madison Copy/Paste this link into your web browser:
Paper For Above instruction
The simulation provided a vivid insight into the complexities faced by the delegates at the Constitutional Convention, particularly highlighting the delicate negotiations necessary to create a unified government. As James Madison, I learned about the critical role of compromise, especially regarding slavery and representation. The primary issues discussed included the conflict between large and small states over representation, the debate over counting slaves for legislative purposes (the Three-Fifths Compromise), and the contentious topic of slavery's future.
During the simulation, I chose to support the Virginia Plan, favoring proportional representation based on population, which aligned with larger states’ interests. However, recognizing the risk of deadlock, I also advocated for compromise on slavery, supporting the Three-Fifths Compromise to balance southern and northern demands. These decisions resulted in a framework that balanced different interests and forged ahead with a constitution acceptable to most delegates.
If I could do anything differently, I might have placed greater emphasis on promoting gradual abolition or wider civil rights for enslaved people, even if it risked alienating some delegates. Overall, the simulation underscored the importance of pragmatic negotiation and the difficulties of uniting diverse perspectives to form a lasting foundation for American government.
References
- Beeman, R. R. (2009). Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution. New York: Random House.
- Rakove, J. (1996). Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution. Vintage.
- Wood, G. S. (1991). The Radicalism of the American Revolution. Vintage.
- Beasley, R. (2020). The Age of Federalism. Oxford University Press.
- Lopreato, S., & Seagull, F. (1989). The Politics of the Constitutional Convention. University of Georgia Press.
- Ferling, J. E. (2009). Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence. Oxford University Press.
- Ellis, J. J. (2000). Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. Alfred A. Knopf.
- McDonald, S. (2017). The American Revolution: A History. Random House.
- Chernow, R. (2004). Alexander Hamilton. Penguin Press.
- Taylor, M. (2016). The Constitutional Convention: A Narrative History. The New Press.