Originally published on September 19, 2018 (Episode 78)
Introduction
After the Constitution of 1787 was drafted, the real battle began—in the state ratification conventions. Virginia’s convention was perhaps the most dramatic, bringing together Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, and a relatively unknown James Madison. Their debates were about more than ratification; they were about the future of the republic itself.
About the Guest
Lorri Glover is Professor of History and author of The Fate of the Revolution: Virginia Debates the Constitution (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016).
For Further Investigation
Lorri Glover, The Fate of the Revolution: Virginia Debates the Constitution (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016)
The Founder’s Constitution: the US Constitution with hyperlinks to debates about each article
Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution from the Center for the Study of the American Constitution at the University of Wisconsin
Listen & Discuss
How did Madison hold his own against Henry’s oratory?
What does Virginia’s ratification debate reveal about the fragility of the early republic?
If you know someone who thinks politics has only recently gotten heated, share this with them.
