About this month's Research
Your child's American History Lesson for the month
One of the most notable gathering of our forefathers was the Constitutional Convention of 1787 held in Philadelphia which was attended by the founders of our Constitution, Madison, Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, Pickney, Sherman and all the other signers of the Constitution.
In the 18th century there were 6 main regions in the United States. Northern New England was known for its trade and fishing, New York for its immigration and trade, Philadelphia was by the Chesapeake Bay and boasted large scale agriculture, Southern Virginia and the Carolinas were sustained by tobacco and South Carolina and Georgia were known for its rice and slave labor.
Society was not as diverse as today's society. 75% of the population was British or Irish and 85% spoke English as a first language. There were a few Catholics and a smaller population of Jews. The nation was overwhelmingly Protestant.
Nearly everyone made a living by farming and the average farm size was 60 - 96 acres. There were occasional villages with a church, store and a tavern along with a few houses but the vast majority lived on a farm and were self sufficient. 35% of the families had 7 or more children and 2/3rds of the households had 5 or more. Fishing, farming and timbering formed the basis of the economy. In 1787, as a general rule, American's were eating better than a majority of the population today.
In the formation of the Constitution, there were several main consideration which created untold stress and nearly brought about the demise of the convention.
- The Statesmen who attended from small states (Delaware, New Jersey) were instructed to keep the state strong and were opposed to a strong Federal government built around "proportional representation" because a small state would always be outvoted by a larger state such as New York or Virginia. They preferred 1 state = 1 vote.
- The Statesmen who attended from the larger states wanted "proportional representation" so that the populace would form the basis of the democracy not the state. This, however, left the smaller states in a weakened position. James Madison, known as the "Father of the Constitution" knew that anything less than "proportional representation" would vest power in institutions, not people.
"Madison was interested in checking the Power of the States, in branches of the National Government, in the Church, in factions around the county - than he was in infusing the Central Government with energy and vigor." Decision in Philadelphia - The Constitutional Convention of 1787, pg. 38
Neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must 1st enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself." Federalist #51
Hamilton observed "Men always love Power" so the question before the delegates was who would check the power of the Legislature? Should it be the Executive Power, and if so, who would check the power of the Executive Branch?
In this time of Terrorism, society is once again, confronted with these same issues. Currently, the Nation is divided over the "power issue." Those to the "right" willing to surrender Constitutional Guarantees in favor of controlling "terrorism" those to the "left" less in favor of surrendering "rights" to the Executive Branch and less in favor of the Executive Branch grasping "power" over the Legislative Branches.
At FamilySOS, we are interested in how our readers view the current situation. We have designed Research Questions to help us better understand the views of our readers. Please fill in our research questions so we can feel the pulse of our web audience.
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