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Power and Liberty by Gordon Wood
Episode 26
Monday, 5 October, 2026
How the Founders Replaced a Government They Were Sent to Fix In 1787, Congress approved a convention in Philadelphia for one job: revise the Articles of Confederation. James Madison got to town early with a plan to replace them. This is part 1 of our three-part series on how the Constitution got made, and it covers everything before the Convention starts. Where the idea of a constitution comes from, why a sovereign Parliament pushed the colonies out the door, and how 13 states that thought of themselves as 13 countries ended up in the same room. Along the way: Magna Carta and one important sheepskin, Thomas Paine going viral in 1776, John Adams writing the Massachusetts Constitution by himself, Washington talking his own officers out of a mutiny, Rhode Island printing money, and the dinner at Ben Franklin's house where the Virginia Plan came together. Part 2 is the convention itself. Part 3 is the aftermath: ratification and the Federalist Papers. Read books, not slop. CHAPTERS 0:00 A three-part series on the Constitution 3:15 What is a constitution? 5:16 Magna Carta 7:46 The Glorious Revolution 11:22 Blackstone and a sovereign Parliament 13:48 The Declaration of Independence 18:57 Thomas Paine and Common Sense 26:09 Chapter 2: State constitutions 29:02 John Adams and the Massachusetts Constitution 34:29 Chapter 3: The Articles of Confederation 36:36 Washington and the Newburgh Conspiracy 43:55 Thirteen states, thirteen trade wars 45:18 Rhode Island prints money 49:33 Annapolis: the meeting nobody came to 51:08 "The sole and express purpose" 54:19 James Madison, father of the Constitution 57:50 Aristotle and Polybius 1:00:20 Montesquieu 1:03:30 Madison trains for the convention 1:06:22 Madison shows up early 1:08:24 James Wilson 1:10:16 Gouverneur Morris 1:10:36 Dinner at Ben Franklin's house 1:12:24 The Virginia Plan 1:16:22 Franklin's warning THE BOOKS Power and Liberty by Gordon Wood: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0197546919?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_6KS92BPR54NZ54ZA8Z5F&bestFormat=true The Quartet by Joseph Ellis: https://www.amazon.com/dp/080417248X?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_9R555Q022SZPXX6767BE&bestFormat=true MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Plain, Honest Men, Richard Beeman The Summer of 1787, David O. Stewart Common Sense, Thomas Paine The Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu American Nations (our episode): https://youtu.be/okuhTCYu7iU Medici (our episode): https://youtu.be/tSZjpatCJqM FOLLOW X: https://x.com/books_bros_pod #constitution #americanhistory #foundingfathers #jamesmadison #booktube
