Jay Cost is a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the Center for Faith and Freedom at Grove City College.
Constitutionally Speaking
Jay Cost and Luke Thompson make the case that all Americans should study the Constitution.
Episode 7: A National Union?
Jay and Luke discuss the first two weeks of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
In this episode of Constitutionally Speaking, Jay and Luke discuss the first two weeks of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, where the nationalists — led by James Madison and James Wilson — make remarkable headway in crafting a new government in late May and early June 1787. Their vision is one of a national union, centered around a bicameral legislature that, by and large, is only checked by the president and the courts. Importantly, they also call for a radical innovation — for the document to be ratified by state conventions chosen by the people. Yet even in these early days, there is a sticking point — namely, what to do about the Senate. A narrow majority favors apportioning Senate seats according to population, but the small states vehemently object, and by the middle of June they are ready with an alternative plan of government.
Recommended Readings
Madison’s Notes on the Debates: 5/30, 6/9, 6/11, 6/12, and 6/13.
Mr. Thompson is a Republican political consultant.
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