A Fascinating BBC 4 In Our Time episode - a chat with Early American History profs about the 1780s - the fact that the US was not a nation and the forces that led to the Constitution. I had a remarkable American History teacher in the 11th grade who strayed from the syllabus to spend a fair amount of time on the period. About six years ago I audited a History course from Yale on the road to the Constitution... many things you don't realize. We spent a lot of time on Federalist 10 and Federalist 78. Much of what the courts do is not in the Constitution (like being able to declare something unconstitutional, but is something argued for in 78. Much of the papers are grey areas, which is what the "originalists" like to play. In any event this is a great 50 minute discussion on the subject.
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