This short video examines the flurry of religious expression which spread throughout the colonies during the 1740’s and 1750’s. Led by individuals such as George Whitfield and Jonathan Edwards, the Great Awakening cut across racial, class, and geographic barriers to create an incipient sense of nationalism. Professor Jeffry Morrison contends that the popular religiosity of this movement contributed directly to the popular constitutionalism of the 1770’s.
Religion in Colonial America
This short video examines impact of Reformed Christianity on the minds and hearts of the Framers of the Constitution. Influenced by the writings of John Locke, Algernon Sydney, and John Calvin, Founders such as George Washington and John Adams believed that religion should play an informal, though important, role in American Society. Professor Jeffry Morrison examines Adams’ contention that colonial fears of British bishops helped to inflame revolutionary sentiments.
Women During the American Revolution
This short video illustrates the degree to which women actively participated in the American Revolution. In response to the Stamp Act, American colonists agreed to stop importing British goods and the colonial women led the boycotts of tea, fine cloth, and other consumer goods. Women began to think of themselves as “Daughters of Liberty.” Professor Rosemarie Zagarri explains how male political leaders came to acknowledge the political capacity and potential of women during this era.
The American Revolution Changes the Status of Women
This short video illustrates how women in post-revolutionary America came to be seen as intellectual beings responsible for fostering civic ideals in their husbands and children. These “republican mothers” were protectors of the public good. Professor Rosemarie Zagarri concludes that the flowering of feminist sentiments originating in the 1770’s reached its fruition in the Seneca Falls Declaration of 1848.
James Madison in the 1780s
This short video explores the impact of James Madison’s experiences in both the Continental Congress and the Virginia House of Delegates in shaping his views of government. Madison understood the nature of collective deliberation and the Constitution reflects his interest in and understanding of the legislative process. Professor Jack Rakove examines Madison’s concerns about the “passions and interests” of both citizens and legislative bodies.
James Madison at the Constitutional Convention
This video focuses on James Madison’s efforts to shape deliberation at the Constitutional Convention. His major goal was to replace the system of voluntary compliance of the states under the Article of Confederation with a system of law to compel compliance under the federal Constitution. Professor Jack Rakove explains Madison’s perspective that without such a system, the different interests within each state, coupled with diverse interests among the states, precluded effective governance.
James Madison and Proportional Representation
This short video highlights James Madison’s commitment to proportional representation in the newly-created Congress. However, he did not believe that the size of a state alone played an overly significant role in the decisions of either its citizens or its legislators. Professor Jack Rakove explains how Madison understood the various self-interests of all states and how he tried to account for this variation in crafting the new Constitution.
James Madison in the 1790s
This short video examines the “Madison problem”: Did the nationalist of the 1780s become an ardent supporter of strong states in the 1790s? Professor Jack Rakove explains that Madison consistently sought to balance the powers of the states and the federal government. In the 1780s, the weak government under the Articles needed to be strengthened by the Constitution while in the 1790s, the strong government under the Federalists needed to be checked by the states asserting their powers.
James Madison and the Constitution
This video highlights James Madison’s talents both as a creative thinker as well as someone with practical experiences in governing. Madison was the longest-lived of the Founding generation and had years after ratification to think about what it takes to make a Constitution work. Professor Jack Rakove notes that Madison lived long enough to hear questions raised about the Constitution’s origins (we, the people? Or we, the states?) and to anticipate the dissolution of the union he created.
Massachusetts and Constitutional Ratification
This video presents an overview of the crucial role played by Massachusetts in ratification of the Constitution. Federalists approached Governor John Hancock, and offered to support his political ambitions if he would support the new Constitution. At their behest, he offered—and the state constitution accepted—unconditional ratification with nine recommendatory amendments. Professor John Kaminiski notes this strategy was adopted by 6/7 of the remaining states, thus ensuring ratification.