Radio Smart Talk for Monday, February 21:usconstitution

When the U.S. Constitution was first written, it was not exactly considered by all to be the revered legal document we think of today. Some Americans, in fact, thought it represented a threat to liberty – it was even burned at a public demonstration on July 4th.

And while we rightly applaud the crafting of the Constitution, there is a far more dramatic story to hear, about the year-long effort to ratify it. Author Pauline Maier examines this fierce deliberation in Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution.

On this President’s Day, we learn about the struggle to ratify the document that established the Presidency, the Congress, the Supreme Court, and the framework under which our government exists.

Guest:

Pauline Maier, Professor, American History, MIT; author, Ratification: The People Debate The Constitution

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