Civics in a Civic | Part II

0:00 [Music] it’s Constitution Day and what better way to celebrate than by driving around the DC area in a Civic talking about Civics I I am always ready to talk Civics Mary I just want to say for your benefits that I do have a valid driver’s license Americans I think have an

0:22 instinctual love of Liberty if you could declare war on any state what would it be and why uh back then it would have been definitely Rhode Island [Music] [Music]

0:47 thank you [Music] [Music] well let’s get back to the Constitution so there were a lot of problems with the Articles they come up with the

1:09 Constitution they’ve built in these principles that we now refer to as this they’re like these put them on a pedestal right like these things are in the document but they argued a lot in creating the Constitution yes yes they did I was gonna say hold on now we’re not at the constitutional principles yeah right I mean we have this long hot summer in Philadelphia I mean four

1:29 months don’t want to open up any Windows because you know then people outside would be listening into their their secret convention because and they wanted secrecy not to hide anything from the public for what they were doing but simply as a means of encouraging and fostering honest deliberation and

1:50 discussion and allowing people to kind of Backtrack on some thoughts and and just have a free and open discussion which is which is great Madison’s notes we have this record of the convention by James Madison and it’s really a remarkable record where we we got sort of a bird’s eye view of all the the debates and delivers I mean they kept

2:11 arguing about things and having to come back to it and and and and not being resolved and coming back to it is still not resolved and and they had to deal with these very complex issues and and you know how to how to take several breaks because the convention was at odds and and it almost broke up several times yeah this I mean there’s

2:32 signs of these ideas and these arguments I think all around us which I think is really cool but I I also really love the I love that they were just mad at each other and arguing because again I I really identify with that I just think it’s funny you’ve got all these different people different ideas different priorities and they’re just

2:53 like having it out in the Philadelphia summer where it’s like Philadelphia is a swampy so it’s it’s hot as blazes they’ve nailed the Windows shut it probably smells terrible in there oh there’s no deodorant back then and heavy Woolen coats [Music]

3:16 and they’re all just fighting and it’s just messy and I think we forget about that like and at night they’re drinking a lot of plenty of rum punch Washington of course loved his Madeira and support uh you know and uh you know that helps me I think restore a little conviviality um but there’s still yeah there’s a lot of tension and I think it adds to the

3:38 human dimension of this right I mean all right making of the Constitution right there they weren’t sort of men of marble uh it was not an assembly of Demi Gods as I think it was Jefferson described it 55 fallible real human beings right there’s all these little things when when you study the convention uh that

3:59 come out and and really show them I think to be human beings engaged in a great Endeavor uh and and I don’t think we should let the great result um kind of hide or obscure uh the very very difficult route I don’t like this very difficult route it’s just very bumpy right now I haven’t

4:23 said the founders would 100 identify with the road conditions in horses talked about the messy process of even getting the document then we have a document we have the Constitution and has to be ratified so it was everyone on

4:45 board with it no of course they weren’t on board why would we expect everyone to be on board I mean right so think about it right we the Declaration right not everyone was on board with that there was a huge debate between you know Tories and and Patriots even the Patriots are divided many didn’t want to leave Great Britain they want just want the tax to end three

5:08 manicure even at the convention did not sign the document George Mason uh here in Virginia uh Eldridge Jerry uh and and Edmund Randolph I mean they were there uh Edmund Randolph introduced the Virginia plan right which sort of guided the entire convention and yet he didn’t even sign the document right and

5:29 then Mason was this great uh sort of draftsman of Liberty and so but they opposed the document for various reasons um they don’t like the outcome and there’s a lot of opposition uh to the new Constitution I mean it’s a really vigorous

5:49 debate right and it allowed people to sort of as our theme goes through the reflect um and sort of refine and enlarge their views but uh yeah there was a huge debate between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists and everyone never thought about this before it took much longer for people to reflect on the

6:11 final document and decide yes the actual writing of it it was actually a really long drawn out sort of process and like I said it takes a better part of the year and on top of that the Anti-Federalists are many are so opposed they actually want to hold the second convention what

6:31 happens to the Anti-Federalists a simple like Mason who don’t want to sign it are they just bitter and forgotten you know Matt Madison uh pushes forward and it appeases them it shows that I think it shows the Anti-Federalists that the new government is really being set up to safeguard Liberty uh to engage in

6:53 self-government to allow the people to engage in self-government through the representatives and you know I think slowly they come around but you know they do sort of form an opposition party to the uh to the Washington administration largely centered around Jefferson and Madison who again sort of share that Anti-Federalist fear that maybe they’re centralizing the

7:16 government too much especially Hamilton’s financial plans and and some other things so so there is sort of those lingering anti-fertiles concerns into the 1790s which caused our first party system [Music] well we are we are actually at Mount

7:37 Vernon right now can we go in I don’t think I have enough cash to get into Mount Vernon it’s a little pricey well you know what I have on my maybe they’ll let me in for free because I have on my right now well what about me because I happen to have my George Washington Socks on that I think everyone can see

7:58 now can you see that yeah it’s really unsafe there we go I’m sorry I got a little dirt on your dash there but I got I’m sporting my g-dub socks today so we’re good I think we’re gonna get free admission can I get a fist bump while we’re driving keep keep at least one hand on the Wheel