The Great Debate: Advocates and Opponents of the American Constitution
Looking for a book on cd to listen to for a long road trip, from the library I checked out a copy of "The Great Debate: Advocates and Opponents of the American Constitution," one of the "Great Courses" sponsored by The Teaching Company. (Yes, I am into "light" reading!) The author and narrator of this course is Professor Thomas L. Pangle, The University of Texas at Austin.*
It has been 223 years since the signing of the Constitution. It has served remarkably well; overall the delegates were great thinkers and visionaries. But in my opinion, the Federal government has grown and usurped power as the anti-Federalists feared, and probably to a greater degree than either side imagined. The "checking" power of the States seems negligible. So perhaps at this time it may be useful for the American Public to re-open the "Great Debate."
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From http://usgovinfo.about.com/blconstday.htm
Constitution Day
On September 17, 1787, forty-two of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention held their final meeting. Only one item of business occupied the agenda that day, to sign the Constitution of the United States of America.
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Since May 25, 1787, the 55 delegates had gathered almost daily in the State House (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. By the middle of June, it became apparent to the delegates that to merely amend the Articles of Confederation would not be sufficient. Instead, they would write an entirely new document designed to clearly define and separate the powers of the central government, the powers of the states, the rights of the people and how the representatives of the people should be elected.
After being signed in September of 1787, Congress sent printed copies of the Constitution to the state legislatures for ratification. In the months that followed, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay would write the Federalist Papers in support, while Patrick Henry, Elbridge Gerry, and George Mason would organize the opposition to the new Constitution. By June 21, 1788, nine states had approved the Constitution, finally forming "a more perfect Union."
No matter how much we argue about the details of its meaning today, in the
opinion of many, the Constitution signed in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787 represents the greatest expression of statesmanship and compromise ever written.
In just four hand-written pages, the Constitution gives us no less than the owners' manual to the greatest form of government the world has ever known.
We have no tribal council, nor can we vote anybody off the island. But, we do
live in the land of the free, and as long as the Constitution stands, we always will.
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Although I hope to eventually, currently I've not read either the Federalist or the anti-Federalist papers. For discussion purposes, below is a link to the "sparknotes" versions. Shall we begin the "Great Debate, Part II"?
*In general, The Teaching Company offers many Great Courses, equivalent to knowledge that would be gained from taking a college course. Besides being available for check out, some of the courses are available for download from the Arapahoe or Denver libraries. Or, if you are really interested, you can purchase either the course on cd, or just a copy of the transcript directly from The Teaching Company. It's interesting just to browse their mailed catalog.
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