To this day, there are discussions about the origins of some of these quotes. Other famous Franklin quotes are well-documented. But Franklin also authored quotes in public documents from his involvement with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitutional Convention, and in a huge volume of personal correspondence. Franklin wrote in French and the letter was later translated for the printing of his private correspondence.
For example, most of the delegates supported the imposition of property qualifications for voters in their individual states. But nowhere are those limitations more obvious than during the debates relating to the subject of slavery. In , slavery in America was in a state of decline, but it remained a significant part of the social and economic fabric in five of the states represented in the Convention. Indeed, they enshrined the institution of slavery within their new Constitution.
It was impossible to discuss questions relating to the apportionment of representation without confronting the fact that the slave population of the South—whether conceived of as residents or property—would affect the calculations for representation.
The final resolution of that issue—the Three-Fifths Compromise, a formula by which slaves would be counted as three-fifths of a person in apportioning both representation and taxation—was a purely mechanical and amoral calculation designed to produce harmony among conflicting interests within the Convention. As many disgruntled delegates pointed out, it had little basis either in logic or morality, but in the end, the need for a consensus on the issue, however fragile that compromise might be, outweighed all other considerations.
The debate over the future of the international slave trade was in many respects even more depressing than that which culminated in the Three-Fifths Compromise. Only the delegates from South Carolina and Georgia were determined to continue what most other delegates believed to be an iniquitous trade, yet their insistence that the trade continue for at least another twenty years carried the day. However troubled delegates from the other states may have been, their concern for harmony within the Convention was much stronger than their concern for the fate of those Africans whose lives and labor would be sacrificed by the continuation of the slave trade.
Between and the number of African slaves imported into the United States exceeded ,, only about 50, fewer than the total number of slaves imported to America in the preceding years! That decision would prove to be one of the most serious mistakes made by the men who drafted the Constitution. When Thomas Jefferson—then serving as ambassador to France—received a copy of the completed Constitution from James Madison, he was unable to contain his unhappiness at the absence of a bill of rights.
When the final draft of the Constitution was submitted to the people of the states for their approval, the absence of a bill of rights quickly emerged as one of the most serious objections to the proposed plan of union.
If many of the supporters of the Constitution subsequently had not promised that they would quickly work to add a bill of rights to the Constitution once the new government commenced operation, it is likely that the document would have failed to gain the approval of the nine states necessary for its ratification. Ironically, the person who took the lead in drafting a bill of rights in the first Congress was James Madison, who had opposed adding a bill of rights not only during the Convention, but also during the debate over ratification in his state of Virginia.
Nor was that the only occasion when the American people, acting through their representatives both in Congress and in their states, sought to further perfect the American union.
The United States Constitution, which initially consisted of some 4, words on four parchments pages, is now a document with nearly 8, words, some of which advance the notion of equality not only for former slaves through the Reconstruction Amendments enacted after the Civil War, but also for women through the Nineteenth Amendment of As the Convention prepared to adjourn, the delegates were hardly of one mind about many of the specifics of the Constitution they had created.
As the delegates made their decisions about whether to sign the Constitution on September 17, , there was little certainty among them about how this balancing act would work in practice, but they had at least made a start in creating a framework within which issues of state and national power could be negotiated. From such an assembly can a perfect production be expected?
Included in the opening paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence is perhaps the most important statement of American ideals ever articulated: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their powers from the consent of the governed.
The Launching of a New American Constitution The remarkable achievement of the fifty-five men gathered in Philadelphia during the summer of was by no means inevitable. The Founding Fathers and Federalism The delegates haggled over how to apportion representation in the legislature off and on for more than six weeks between May 30 and July Creating an American President The debate among the delegates over the nature of the American presidency was more high- toned and more protracted than that over representation in the Congress.
This panel was streamed live on October 13, Last week, we hosted a discussion of a major issue at the forefront of national police reform: whether qualified immunity for police officers should be reformed—and if so, how? Qualified immunity is a defense that government officials—like police officers—can raise in response to civil lawsuits for money damages that are brought for alleged violations of constitutional rights. Under current U. The panel unpacked the qualified immunity doctrine, how it plays out in real world cases, and whether it needs reform.
It was streamed live on October 7, Additional resources and transcript available in our Media Library at constitutioncenter. The Supreme Court today continues to vigorously debate the scope of religious exemptions—which allow individuals or organizations to be exempt from following certain laws that they say burden their religious beliefs—in high-profile cases such as Fulton v.
City of Philadelphia Imagine a populace engaged in first discriminating thought, and freed from the sensationalistic, click baiting silo they have been assigned; silos where we find ourselves entangled, without even realizing it. These are always such interesting discussions! I can usually understand the arguments put forth, and I feel smarter for listening to the various arguments.
Valuable civics lessons! Apple Podcasts Preview. OCT 6, Religious Exemptions From the Founding to Today Religious Exemptions From the Founding to Today The Supreme Court today continues to vigorously debate the scope of religious exemptions—which allow individuals or organizations to be exempt from following certain laws that they say burden their religious beliefs—in high-profile cases such as Fulton v.
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