The creation and adoption of the U.S. Constitution was a fulfillment of the American Revolution, not a conservative counterrevolution. Professor Cornell details how James Madison, known as the architect of the Constitution, arrived at his proposal for the delegates’ consideration in the Constitutional Convention. He reviewed the new nation’s problems, the literature and history of republican institutions and state constitutions. Then he devised a new kind of republican government, responsive to popular will but with checks to preserve stability and protect property and the rights of minorities.
Part 1 of 6: Revolution to Constitution (4:25)
Part 2 of 6: Vices of the Confederation (5:48)
Part 3 of 6: Federalist 10: James Madison’s Eureka Moment (5:56)
Part 4 of 6: Federalist 51: Checking Ambition and Balancing Power (2:36)
Part 5 of 6: Ratification: Federalist and Anti-Federalists (2:04)
Part 6 of 6: Central Ratification Issue: Bill of Rights (3:16)