In 17 86, the new country was in a bad economic slump. The states had another big problem, to pay for the revolutionary war. Some of the new state governments chose harsh austerity and raised taxes on their citizens. In western mass daniel chaise was in danger of losing his farm along with many of his neighbors. They tried to negotiate lower tax terms under which they could open the courts against them.
In the summer of 1787, fifty-five men got together in Philadelphia to write a new Constitution for the United States, replacing the new nation’s original blueprint, the Articles of Confederation. But why, exactly? What problems were the framers trying to solve? Was the Constitution designed to advance democracy, or to rein it in? And how can the answers to those questions inform our crises of democracy today?
By producer/host John Biewen with series collaborator Chenjerai Kumanyika. Interviews with Woody Holton, Dan Bullen, and Price Thomas. The series editor is Loretta Williams.