Liberty Kids: We the People

Here are some exciting scenes from today's episode of liberty's kids. We are threatened by an excess of democracy and tyranny of the mob, our current system of government has turned this country into the disunited states. We've had four years of government under the Articles of Confederation, and they just don't work. If you think I'll sign a constitution that takes away my states rights, I'm crazy. It's not a country. It's a circus. Dear reader I am in Massachusetts to interview captain Daniel shays. He and a lot of other soldiers returned home to their farms when the war ended three years ago. But times have been hard. Farmers can't pay their debts. And now the government's closing in to take their land. We are throwing me in jail 'cause I can't pay my debts. I borrowed that money I owe 'cause the government asked me to. So I could buy more grain to grow more food for our army and the French army. Take your hands off me, sir. And now that there's no more soldiers to feed, I can't sell my produce. And instead of helping me who help you, you make me sell my farm to pay my debts. And when the money from the sale doesn't cover my debts, you throw me in a cage. Me and darn near every other farmer of Massachusetts. We risked our lives fighting for your freedom. This is not justice. Country. We were soldiers. These James are what you describe as the fruits of the continental soldier's courage. Let me go. It's not fair. And the state's answer to our honest petition is silence. Are just about this sports stand. We must act. If the courts mean to take away our farms and throw us in jail, maybe we have to close down the courts any way we can. To the honorable James Madison, my dear sir. Your last letter asked for my opinion concerning the state of our government and our nation. Both I fear are drifting towards certain collapse. In Massachusetts, Daniel shays, a former captain in our army, has led an attack by farmers on a federal arsenal. Because the government took away their land. Farmers in Maryland had mobbed a courthouse in an effort to destroy tax records to avoid paying taxes, they consider unfair. We do this for freedom. We want our freedom. Even here in Virginia. Citizens destroyed a courthouse on a rage and frustration. We are threatened by an excess of democracy, a tyranny of the mob, our current system of government has turned this country into the disunited states. I look forward to our convention in Philadelphia, there we will probe our defects to their bottom and provide a radical cure. Well, general enough delegates have arrived to begin the convention. The eyes of the world are upon us. Frankly, I've come to the conclusion that unless we throw out the Articles of Confederation and start over, we will not be able to hold our nation together. This is good news, doctor. Madison and I intend to use this convention to rebuild the republic based on a central government stronger than the states. May I count on your support? You have my word. Did you hear that? They don't just want to fix the Articles of Confederation. They want a whole new constitution. Everything's going to change. Maybe it will? Then maybe it won't. There are 13 states that have to agree and barely any of them have abolished slavery. What's a new constitution going to do about that? With your permission, doctor, I'd like to nominate you to be president of the convention. I'm grateful, general, but the job belongs to you alone. There's not another man in the country who commands half your respect. You're the only one who can hold everyone together. United we stand, divided we fall. My old friend James. Alexander Hamilton, this is an historic moment, James. As important as when we agreed on the Declaration of Independence. We've had 6 years of government under the Articles of Confederation and they just don't work. So what do you think should be done? You tell your readers that Alexander Hamilton of New York believes in a strong, central government. Connecticut is here to fix the Articles of Confederation and nothing more. Make no mistake about it. Maryland won't let any of the big states push us around. Slavery is not the issue at this convention. But some states have already abolished it. No southern state everwhere. Every man he had knows the importance of slavery to the southern economy. You have my word, we will be united on it. What do you think so far? I don't know about you, but I don't see how they'll ever agree on anything. We'd better go in. I go. This isn't fair. We're members of the press. Mister Madison, how are we supposed to cover the convention for our newspaper if we can't go inside? I believe in a free press. But to succeed in our goals, each delegate must know he can change his mind without public embarrassment. Besides, I'll keep my own notes for the historians. I'm sorry, but James Madison is right. The delegates need to be left alone to do their work. But I know if I tell you what's happening, you never write anything you shouldn't. Not in a million years. So what did happen today? Edmund Randolph of Virginia introduced a plan to scrap the Articles of Confederation and create a whole new form of government. Madison and Washington are the ones behind it. They want to create a government made up of three branches. First and foremost, the new Congress would be made of two houses, which Madison calls an up run to the lower one. There will be an executive branch headed by some sort of president and a judicial branch, a kind of Supreme Court made up of judges who can overrule state courts. It's a system of checks and balances to make sure no branch can dominate any other. That way, we'll be protected from a tyranny of the monarchy and of the mob. Hold on. I understand about the president and Supreme Court, but how many representatives will each state send to this new Congress? That's the catch, Sarah. Madison wants to throw out the principle of one state one vote and base representation on the size of a state's population. Won't that give all the power to the biggest states like Massachusetts and Pennsylvania? The small states will never agree to it. Which will tear the country apart. I only hope the delegates have as much sense as you do. The cause if they don't, it's going to be a long, hot summer in Philadelphia. Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York. Why shouldn't we and Maryland have a vote equal to you? Luther, you've been talking for 6 hours. Great. Oh, sit down, Luther. Wait someone else speak. Why? I haven't even started. Maryland's in pouring two. We have strong good men. Men who helped build this nation as much as anyone outside. And we have crops. Tons and tons of Maryland crabs. Gentlemen, have you ever eaten Maryland crabs? Fresh from the bay cooked to perfection with a touch of melted butter. It's perfection itself. Ten sylvania demands proportional representation demands one vote per state. If you think I'll sign a constitution that takes away my state's rights, your plum crazy. So you virginians can put that in your pipes and smoke it. What do you see? Alexander Hamilton's about to speak. These guards take their job too seriously. Mister president, if I may, mister pinckney from South Carolina has the floor. General, all this talk of Congress is well and good. But unless our southern states are guaranteed the continued existence of slavery, we will be bound to oppose this new constitution in any form. Thank you, mister pinckney, we will keep that in mind. What do you see now? They're voting on Madison's proposal for proportional voting. They're deadlocked. Uh oh. Absolutely not going to vote. Mister Sherman, can you tell me what's happening? We've come to a full Stockholm staff. This convention's falling apart. You two know you shouldn't be here. I'm sorry, doctor Franklin. We just couldn't stay away. We needed to see how things were going. I'll tell you how they're going. While we bicker in there, the British still hold 6 forts on American soil. Spain forbids us from trading goods to New Orleans. Barbary pirates radar ships in the Mediterranean. But we have no navy to stop them because Congress has no money, which means we can't repay our loans from France and Holland. It's not a country. It's a circus. Oh. Doctor Franklin. My gallstones. Afraid I can't walk. I'll get Moses. We'll bring your sedan chair. I'll be all right, Sarah. It's the country I'm worried about. Doctor Franklin, I told you might like some soup. Thank you, Sarah. Put it on the table there, please. How are you feeling? Better. But stay a moment. You're looking very happy today. Oh, doctor Franklin. I'm so happy. Mother and I have heard from father. He's got land and upstate New York. He'll be arriving here any day now. Splendid, you'll go with him to New York. Certainly. But I won't stay forever. There's so much I want to do. You're in the right country for that. There, all I needed were some stronger lenses for my bifocals, and I can see clearly again. Of course what is it, doctor Franklin? The delegates selected a grand committee to settle the voting issue once and for all. I didn't think I was well enough to participate, but now I must attend. But your gallstones. I don't care if they have to carry me in. Doctor Franklin. There. The large states are quite different from each other. They will act on their own interests, not their size. To claim that the large states will dominate the small is a false. I have the solution. Generally. Just as I wear bifocals with two kinds of lenses, we have two houses in our Congress. Let the upper house abide by the principle of one state one vote, but let the members of the lower house the elected by proportional vote. It would be a House of Representatives. That sounds reasonable. I can live with that. Good idea. Not to Franklin. You are a genius. What? And our new government will have a Senate, a House of Representatives, a Supreme Court and a president. A leader who's not a king. What kind of president will we have? That's one of the issues that hasn't been settled. Our president should serve for life. Congress should choose our president. We should have three presidents. We'll settle the matter soon enough. And I daresay we all know who will be elected our first president. There's a more pressing issue that still must be decided. Whether the new constitution will allow my people to be kept in slavery. It can't do that. I mean, will it really? It is an issue that I fear will be decided on the basis of politics, not morality. In order to have our fair share of representation in Congress, we demand that the constitution count three fifths of a state slaves as part of its population. If mister pinckney says slaves are nothing more than profit, why not let Massachusetts count horses and cattle as part of our population? Slavery will bring the judgment of heaven upon us. Does not, the honorable mister mason owned slaves himself. Gentlemen, if slavery is abolished by this convention, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina will not be parties to this union. You're up late. Are you all right, doctor Franklin? Fine. This couldn't sleep. Me neither. Moses, you know what I think of the practice of slavery. I despise it with every bone in my body. It's not going to be abolished in the new constitution. Is it? I'm sorry, Moses. The delegates have reached an odious compromise between the north and south. It was the only way to save the union. How long will this union last? A country that keeps so many of its people in bondage. I'm a peace loving man, Ben. And I'm afraid of the price we might have to pay to win freedom for everyone. I am, too, my friend, we've fought one war for liberty. I hope we won't have to fight another. You might as well know I'll be leaving here soon. I'm moving forward with my plans to open a school for free Negro children. That's a school I'd like to support. I appreciate that doctor Franklin, but I've saved my own money for. Just like I did when I bought my freedom. I understand. Well, governor Morris is reworking the language of the constitution. All the remains is to sign it and send it to the states for their approval. Goodnight Moses. Good night, doctor Franklin. See that son on general Washington's chair? I've sat here since May asking myself if that sun is setting or if it is rising. Today I have the happiness of knowing that it is, indeed, a rising sun. We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union to establish justice, promote the general welfare, and to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. Do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America. I solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States. So help me God. It is done. Long live George Washington president of the United States. We do it, though I must confess there were times I nearly lost hope. Do you think this government will last, doctor Franklin? It will as long as the people want it to. There are going to be some hard challenges ahead. I'm afraid you're right poses. Nothing man does is perfect. But all in all, the world has never seen anything like it. I still can't believe it. George Washington, president of the United States of America, father of his country, suddenly anything seems possible. As long as we stay united. United we stand, divided we fall. But remember, the constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself.