15 (Second Edition): “We the People:” Constitution Making in Philly

History That Doesn't Suck

This episode of 'History That Doesn't Suck' explores the pivotal moment leading up to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, focusing on how Shays'

Key takeaways

• Shays' Rebellion demonstrated that the Articles of Confederation were insufficient to maintain order or protect citizens from economic collapse.
• The lack of federal power to tax, regulate commerce, or enforce laws rendered Congress ineffective in addressing national crises.

Main topics

• Shays' Rebellion
• The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

Notable quotes

"What even is the Virginia Plan but democracy checked by democracy, or pork with a little change of the sauce?"

Conclusion

Shays' Rebellion served as the catalyst that forced America's leaders to confront the fragility of their union

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) G'day, I'm Justin Wolfers, host of the Platypus Economics podcast. If there's one thing I've learned from a career teaching economics, it's that your life is shaped by economic currents you'll never see. A single price tag can explain things a thousand experts can't. People who understand economics, they make better decisions in their careers, their finances, their relationships, and their communities, and I want that for you. Listen to and follow Platypus Economics, available now wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 4 (0:39) It's about four o'clock in the freezing afternoon, January 25th, 1787. And 40-year-old farmer Daniel Shays is doing something that, a few years ago, he never would have imagined. He's leading a force of well over a thousand farmers through four-foot-deep snow in western Massachusetts out to arm themselves in their ongoing struggle against their own state government. This isn't what he wanted. Daniel believed in the promise of a king-free Massachusetts and America. A militiaman turned continental captain, he fought bravely at Bunker Hill, at Saratoga, at Stony Point. General George Washington personally selected him to guard Major John Andre in the final moments before the British officers hanging. But Congress, which, as we know from episodes 11 and 14, has no power to tax under the current Articles of Confederation, never properly paid him for his years of service. All Daniel received were nearly worthless IOU certificates. And now, under the influence of coastal merchants, the likewise strapped-for-cash Massachusetts state government has raised taxes and demanded payment not in farm goods or congressional IOUs, but in coin. And the courts are foreclosing on farmers who can't pay. In short, Massachusetts is facing a cascading cash crisis, and the state's Western farmers, many of whom bled and risked their lives for the state's liberty, are being forced to bear the brunt. But these farmers, who've tried to play nice, some have sold their IOUs for pennies on the dollar. Daniel even sold the sword given to him by the Marquis de Lafayette, have hit their breaking point. And it's not like soldiering against an oppressive, tax-happy government is unfamiliar to them. So, here they Speaker 2 (2:30) go again. Speaker 4 (2:32) That is how former Continental Captain Daniel Shays came to lead this farmer army, now trudging through the snow, to reach the Federal Arsenal in Springfield, where they plan to arm themselves with its 7,000 brand new muskets and bayonets, 1,300 barrels of black powder, a few pieces of artillery, and of course, all the shot they need to continue fighting against the state. There's just one problem. The state militia is here too. guarding the armory. In front of the Springfield Armory stands Massachusetts Militia General William Shepard. This is a federal armory, but with Congress too broke and too short on troops to send a force, and Massachusetts wary of Congress meddling in its affairs, it's the state militia, not the U.S. Army, that's here today. Now, William is watching his messengers, Major Lyman and Captain Buffington, parlay with Daniel Shays and his aides. about 250 yards in the distance. What a mess. To William and other state or even congressional leaders, this is exactly the kind of mob that too much democracy can bring. All these farmers have to do is pay their taxes and they can vote. Their grievances are nothing like those of the revolution. Moreover, word has it these farmers are anarchists who want to get rid of all personal property. Well, if true, that's crazy and definitely not what William. a former Continental Colonel, fought to create. Hence, his messengers are telling Daniel Shays and his men to disperse. Or else. Speaker 2 (4:13) Ah, Speaker 4 (4:14) and here comes Major Lyman and Captain Buffington now, returning from their parlay. They deliver Daniel's reply. The farmers will not disperse. And off in the distance? Yes. These rebels are advancing in columns. Turning to Major William Stevens of the artillery, General William Shepard orders a warning shot. The cannon fire rips through the freezing afternoon air. But the farmers remain resolute. They continue marching forward. The Major tries a second time, again firing well over the farmers' heads, hoping to dissuade them. No dice. Their advance continues. If anything, the warning shot only seems to have invigorated the 400 old soldiers at the front of the charge, led by yet another revolutionary vet, Captain James White. Moving in eight-man-deep formations, the farmers quicken their march to a trot. This fight is on. William's done what he can to avoid blood. If they want to throw down, it's so be it. The militia general has the cannon's trajectory lowered to waistband height. The cannonballs fly right at the column of farmers. As they do, an out-of-sight howitzer unleashes deadly grape shot. Three farmers are dead on the spot of his pride as they grab at their torn flesh and feel hot blood going through their fingers right into the ice cold four foot deep snow as the rest of their forces break and retreat. One of them will yet die bringing the total fatalities to four. Welcome to History That Doesn't Suck. I'm your professor Greg Jackson and I'd like to tell you a story. Speaker 4 (6:25) Named after the former Continental captain leading it, Shays' rebellion ran through the winter of 1786 to 1787. Fully broken shortly after this January showdown we just witnessed, this rebellion left the state's elites hungry to make examples of its leaders. But John Hancock would have none of it. Recently returned to the governor's office, the 50-year-old Bostonian wisely eased tensions by securing pardons for the chief instigators, even for Daniel Shays. But the impact of Shays' Rebellion was far from over. Americans across the 13 sovereign states were terrified. Those farmers attacked a federal arsenal. Yet Massachusetts dealt with it, proving just how weak Congress is. That has Americans thinking. As much as each state likes its sovereignty and independence, and we'll get to that, maybe it's time to give Congress, that is, the United States, enough power to actually do its job. like regulate interstate trade and put down armed rebellions. As Mercy Otis Warren puts it, Speaker 1 (7:30) Though the late disturbances were quelled, it awakened all to a full view of the necessity of concert and union in measures that might preserve their internal peace. Speaker 4 (7:40) In other words, Shays' Rebellion is the straw breaking the camel's back. So it's time to fix the Articles of Confederation. Maybe even replace the Articles. And we're going to Philadelphia to do it. That's right. Today's story is the Constitutional Convention. We'll bear witness as 55 men, particularly driven by our shortest founding father, James Little Jimmy Madison, deliberate, persuade, coax, and even threaten, but ultimately, compromise on a new form of government that they hope will preserve the failing union and peace between them. But to better understand this unfolding drama, let's first back up, build on some knowledge from past episodes, and review the Articles of Confederation so that we really grasp what's brought these states to the brink. Ready? Rewind. Speaker 4 (8:33) Though calling themselves the United States since 1776, there's little united about these American states as the Revolutionary War comes to its official end in 1783. And that is in no small part due to this union's governing compact, the Articles of Confederation. In the works as of 1776, completed in 1778, and officially in effect once the 13th state, Maryland, ratified in 1781, the Articles of Confederation did not create a national government. The 13 states are still very independent. As Article 2 tells us, quote, each state retains its sovereignty. Speaker 4 (9:22) And just what is delegated to Congress? Foreign affairs, like diplomacy and war. Some economic matters, like coining and borrowing money. And settling tiffs between the states. But there's no power to tax. No executive leading. and big decisions require nine states in agreement. That's pretty much it. So again, this isn't a nation. It's closer to an alliance of 13 separate sovereign states. Nations. Basically an 18th century version of NATO, or as the third of these articles puts it, and I quote, a league of friendship. Yeah, it's friends with benefits. But we know that, don't we? In episode 11, we saw how Congress's power to coin money, but not really manage it, created an all but worthless colonial dollar. In episode 14, we saw Congress's ability to raise an army, but not tax to pay for it, had continental officers ready to foment rebellion. If that lack of power to tax sounds crazy, remember, these guys just fought a war to break away from a king and a parliament. that they saw as tyrannical and taxation from above, not the local colonial level, was central to that tyranny. Thus, they've kept the power to tax with the states for fear that they'll recreate the very thing they just tore down. Understandable, but it isn't working. Congress's IOUs to soldiers and officers and delinquent debts to France and Spain are strangling the young union's neck. Nor is this Congress of the Confederation proving strong enough to settle disputes between the states. I mean, blood isn't being drawn in Vermont anymore, but that's no thanks to Congress. And besides, what is Vermont? New Yorkers claim the region while it calls itself an independent republic and is threatening to join British Canada. Now what about Maryland and Virginia and their conflicting claims to navigation, fisheries, and other water rights on the Potomac? Where are you, Congress of the Confederation? Well, forget Congress. Delegates from Maryland and Virginia gather in 1785 to figure things out. Meeting at the home of the former Continental Commander turned private citizen, George Washington, the Marylanders and Virginians cook up a 13-point agreement, the Mount Vernon Compact. Huh. Impressive. So impressive, in fact, that one particularly short Virginian, whom I'll introduce properly later, James Madison, is keen to hold another gathering. One where all of the 13 bickering states can talk through their messy interstate trade situation. With his pushing, Virginia officially calls for a convention to gather in Annapolis, Maryland. Speaker 4 (12:17) Okay, convention is a strong word. Only 12 guys from five states show up. Only three of those states, Virginia, Delaware, and New Jersey, have enough to form a proper delegation. Among the 12, we have our new friend, James Madison, and the continental colonel turned New York lawyer, Alexander Hamilton. But despite poor attendance, this September 1786 convention proves important. The attendees talk about far more than commerce. Under the influence of Alex, who has long worried that the inadequate Articles of Confederation will be the death of America. Indeed, in 1782, he wrote to a colleague, God grant, the Union may last, but it is too frail now to be relied on. The 12 men realize, The articles themselves are the real problem. That friends with benefits isn't working. So Alex prepares a letter calling for another convention to overhaul the union. Oh, Alex. Brilliant yet brash as ever, I see. Virginians Edmund Randolph and James Madison soften it. And between that softening, James' tireless lobbying in the months ahead, and, as established earlier, Shea's rebellion that winter, the Congress of the Confederation concedes, resolving on February 21, 1787, that, quote, it is expedient that on the second Monday in May, next, a convention of delegates, who shall have been appointed by the several states, be held at Philadelphia for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation. Close quote. On that second Monday, May 14th, 1787, James Madison, who's so eager for this revising convention that he came to Philadelphia 11 days early, walks into the Philadelphia State House Assembly Room, all ready to go. But alas. James finds what he calls a small number only of delegates. His fellow, though far more famous, Virginia, George Washington, is here. The Pennsylvanians are here. But otherwise, the room's chairs remain empty, with far too few to open the convention. The next day, May 15th, Virginia Governor Edmund Randolph arrives. That's it. Look, delegates are coming. Shoddy interstate roads and bad weather are making everybody tardy. But the delay isn't all bad. It gives the Virginians and the Pennsylvanians time to bond, which will have huge ramifications. And that bonding starts at the home of Philly's most celebrated resident. Speaker 4 (15:07) It's Wednesday evening, May 16th, 1787. And right now, half a dozen Virginians, some local Pennsylvanians, and maybe Delaware's George Reed are riding or walking along Market Street between 3rd and 4th Streets. These are the thus far in Philly convention delegates. And from Market Street, they're turning down an alley to reach a handsome three-story red brick home, the home of Benjamin Franklin. Speaker 4 (15:36) That's right. Ben's back from France. He returned to Philly in 1785. And since then, he's added a three-story wing to his Philadelphian home. And get this, the entire second floor of his home is his library. The whole floor. It holds 4,276 books. And Ben being Ben, he's invented a mechanical arm to reach those on the highest shelves. And does Ben show off his two-headed snake? A believer in single-chamber legislatures, he's invoked the two-headed serpent before to argue against bicameral legislative bodies. Either way, the delegates soon gather in his newly remodeled dining room on the ground floor, in which the philosophical Philadelphian will proudly tell you he can wine and dine up to 24 people at once. Two days from now, Ben will write to Thomas Jordan about this dinner. Thomas had previously sent Ben a cask of porter, and this thank you letter will describe the dining delegate's delight in drinking it. It's, quote, bad. The Speaker 3 (16:42) cask was broached, and its contents met with the most cordial reception and universal approbation. In short, the company agreed unanimously that it was the best porter they had ever tasted. Speaker 4 (17:00) Subban detailed the drink, not the discussion. Yet, we can hardly overstate the importance of this dinner conversation. As the mostly, if not exclusively, Virginians and Pennsylvanians break bread with the two greatest icons of the revolution, 55-year-old George Washington and 81-year-old Benjamin Franklin. Both are likely, as constitutional scholar Richard Beeman speculates, preaching the importance of the Union to the preservation of American independence. As commander of the Continental Army, George saw how a Congress capable of raising but incapable of funding an army nearly cost them the war. As America's foremost diplomat, Ben knows just how cutthroat and realpolitik international diplomacy is. That the 13