Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio. Hey,
Speaker 1: brain Stuff Flowing bogabam here. Sometimes we talk about the
Speaker 1: Constitution of the United States, the document that lays out
Speaker 1: the law of the land for Americans, as if it
Speaker 1: were beforged by gods on Mount Olympus and drifted down
Speaker 1: from the heavens, fully formed into George Washington's own hands,
Speaker 1: a flawless and sublime document. The truth about the making
Speaker 1: of the Constitution is that it was a total mess,
Speaker 1: like a real Housewives level mess. It took an unbelievable
Speaker 1: amount of heavy lifting to get it into working order,
Speaker 1: and even after it became the supreme law of the
Speaker 1: land in nine it's been amended twenty seven times, with
Speaker 1: one amendment, the twenty one repealing a previous amendment the
Speaker 1: eighteen and we're still in discussion about whether this eighteenth
Speaker 1: century document can meet the needs of twenty first century people.
Speaker 1: But as flawed as it may be, the Constitution is
Speaker 1: pretty impressive considering its creation was required to fix the
Speaker 1: major weaknesses of its predecessor, the Articles of Confederation before
Speaker 1: the Article. This episode is based on how Stuff Work
Speaker 1: spoke with Stephen Phillips, a professor of political science at
Speaker 1: Clemson University. He said the United States first Constitution, the
Speaker 1: Articles of Confederation, was fatally flawed from the moment it
Speaker 1: was adopted. It created a national government with very little power,
Speaker 1: that was essentially impossible to change, and that consisted of
Speaker 1: only a legislature, no independent executive or judiciary branches. The
Speaker 1: government set up under the Articles of Confederation was so
Speaker 1: bad that it only lasted a decade, and it wasn't
Speaker 1: so much a government as a firm league of friendship
Speaker 1: between the thirteen original states, which could all vote on
Speaker 1: issues that affected the collective, but decisions were only made
Speaker 1: when at least nine of the states voted the same way.
Speaker 1: And the national government couldn't collect taxes, which meant it
Speaker 1: couldn't pay off its war debt, leaving that to the states.
Speaker 1: It was a dicey time in American history. Phillips explained
Speaker 1: economic and security crises mounted throughout the seventeen eighties, showing
Speaker 1: the national government was simply unable to act to protect
Speaker 1: the national interest. Political leaders recognized that the country needed
Speaker 1: a stronger national government, which meant a revised constitution. Amid
Speaker 1: the background of political crisis, the Confederation Congress authorized a
Speaker 1: convention of delegates from the States to debate amendments to
Speaker 1: the Articles of Confederation to create a stronger national government
Speaker 1: with greater power. The important question for the delegates is
Speaker 1: what this government would look like and what powers it
Speaker 1: would have. Enter the Constitutional Convention of seventeen eighty seven,
Speaker 1: wherein the States sent a total of fifty five delegates
Speaker 1: to meet in Philadelphia to address the problems with the Articles,
Speaker 1: but ended up completely overhauling the U s government instead.
Speaker 1: It started with James Madison, a member of the Virginia
Speaker 1: House of Legates, who introduced the Virginia Plan, which proposed
Speaker 1: a national government with three branches, a legislature, executive, and
Speaker 1: judiciary that was also much more powerful. A Congress would
Speaker 1: have the power to levy taxes and provide for a
Speaker 1: national system of defense. The Phillips said. A key part
Speaker 1: of the Virginia Plan was a legislature with two different chambers,
Speaker 1: a lower House and Upper House, where the number of
Speaker 1: representatives each state had would be determined by its population
Speaker 1: or wealth of The larger the population, the greater the
Speaker 1: representation it would have. However, states with smaller populations were
Speaker 1: not keen on the idea of a legislature where representation
Speaker 1: in both houses would be based on population, as it
Speaker 1: would threaten their independence and power, so in response to
Speaker 1: the Virginia Plan, the small states proposed the New Jersey Plan.
Speaker 1: This plan, written primarily by William Patterson, voted to keep
Speaker 1: the single house legislature with equal state representation from the
Speaker 1: Articles of Confederation, while adding a national executive and a
Speaker 1: judiciary and expanding the power of the national government. A
Speaker 1: Congress would have power to levy taxes and regulate interstate commerce.
Speaker 1: In this way, the Constitutional Convention of seven turned into
Speaker 1: a grudge match between the large states and the small states.
Speaker 1: After a few days of debate, the New Jersey Plan
Speaker 1: was rejected. Even a few people who helped Patterson write
Speaker 1: the plan voted against it. But the small states were
Speaker 1: so unhappy with the failure of the New Jersey Plan
Speaker 1: and the legislature offered by the Virginia Plan that there
Speaker 1: was a real possibility they would leave the Constitutional Convention.
Speaker 1: At this point, it became clear that a compromise on
Speaker 1: representation was needed between the large and small states. After
Speaker 1: much debate, delegates agreed to the Connecticut Compromise introduced by Connecticuts.
Speaker 1: Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth Philips said the Connecticut Compromise
Speaker 1: proposed a national legislature wherein the lower house representation would
Speaker 1: be based on population and the upper house states would
Speaker 1: have an equal vote. The Connecticut Compromise struck a middle
Speaker 1: ground that was able to win support from both large
Speaker 1: and small states. However, the Virginia Plan remained influential at
Speaker 1: the Constitutional Convention and beyond, and is still considered the
Speaker 1: blueprint for the Constitution. But James Madison didn't write the
Speaker 1: Constitution alone. The main parts of his Virginia Plan were adopted.
Speaker 1: A much stronger national government with the power to tacks
Speaker 1: and provide for the national defense, and a legislature with
Speaker 1: two houses plus a national executive and judiciary that share power.
Speaker 1: After the Connecticut Compromise, there was much debate at the
Speaker 1: Convention surrounding what these individual parts would look like. There
Speaker 1: was a lot to hammer out around how we would
Speaker 1: elect the president, the independence of the judiciary, and states
Speaker 1: rights and representation in the legislature, and a lot of
Speaker 1: lesser known delegates one on some critical issues. The Philips said,
Speaker 1: there's a reason why equal state representation in the Senate,
Speaker 1: an idea Madison fought for tooth and nail became not
Speaker 1: only the conventions great is to compromise, but now the
Speaker 1: only permanent, unamendable part of the Constitution. The Constitution was
Speaker 1: written through collaboration and compromise. No delegate achieved everything they wanted,
Speaker 1: but that did not stop them from working hard to
Speaker 1: create a more perfect union. Today's episode is based on
Speaker 1: the article The Virginia Plan versus the New Jersey Plan,
Speaker 1: a constitutional grudge match on how stuff works dot com,
Speaker 1: written by Jesselyn Shields. Brain Stuff is production of I
Speaker 1: Heart Radio and partnership of how stuff Works dot Com,
Speaker 1: and it's produced by Tyler Playing and Ramsey Youn. Four
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