01x40 - We the People

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I still I

know the truth will rise and

fall that's just

to a word now to the

wise the world was

made each a

surprise looking at life my own eyes I'm

searching for a hero don't idiz feeling

my pain as

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innocent I take my heart battle give

that freed Ratt get my Independence de C

it on the line for your freedom and

patriotic voes sing white blue never

give up you represent America opening

for a brigh day I listen to my heart and

I oy how can I see it any other way I'm

looking at

my

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my here are some exciting scenes from

today's episode of Liberty's Kids we are

threatened by an excess of democracy the

tyranny of the mob our current system of

government has turned this country into

the dis United States we've had four

years of government under the Articles

of Confederation and they just don't

work if you think I'll sign a

constitution that takes away my State's

rights you're plum crazy it's not a

country it's a

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circus dear reader I am in Massachusetts

to interview Captain Daniel Shay he and

a lot of other soldiers ERS returned

home to their Farms when the w*r ended 3

years ago but times have been hard

Farmers can't pay their debts and now

the government's closing in to take

their

land you're throwing me in jail cuz I

can't pay my debts I borrow that money I

owe cuz the government asked me to so I

could buy more grain to grow more food

for our Army and the French army take

your hands off me sir now that there's

no more soldiers to feed I can't sell my

produce and instead of helping me who

helped you you make me sell my farm to

pay my debts and when the money from the

sale doesn't cover my debts you throw me

in a cage me and darn near every other

farmer in Massachusetts we risked Our

Lives fighting for your freedom this is

not Justice for this country We Were

Soldiers

stand for this these James are what you

describe as the fruits of the

Continental solders courage let me go

it's not fair I fought for you and the

states answer to our honest petition is

silence or just about this won't stand

we must act if the courts mean to take

away our farms and throw us in jail

maybe we have to close down the courts

any way we

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can to the honorable James Madison my

dear sir your last letter asked for my

opinion concerning the state of our

government and our nation both fear are

drifting towards certain

collapse in Massachusetts Daniel Shay a

former captain in our army has led an

attack by Farmers on a federal Arsenal

because the government took away their

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land we bought for this country give us

back our b*mb farmers in Maryland have

mobbed a courthouse in an effort to

destroy tax records to avoid paying

taxes they consider un

this we do this for Freedom we want our

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freedom even here in

Virginia citizens destroyed a courthouse

out of rage and

frustration we are threatened by an

excess of democracy the tyranny of the

mob our current system of government has

turned this country into the the dis

United States I look forward to our

convention in Philadelphia there we will

probe our defects to their bottom and

provide a radical

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cure well General enough delegates have

arrived to begin the convention the eyes

of the world are upon us frankly I've

come to the conclusion that unless we

throw out the Articles of Confederation

and start over we will not be able to

hold our nation

together this is good news doctor

Madison and I intend to use this

convention to rebuild the Republic based

on a central government stronger than

the states may I count on your support

you have my

word did you hear that they don't just

want to fix the Articles of

Confederation they want a whole new

constitution everything's going to

change Maybe it will and maybe it won't

there are 13 states that have to agree

and barely any of them have abolished

sl*very what's a new constitution going

to do about

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that with your permission doctor I'd

like to nominate you to be president of

the convention I'm grateful General but

the job Belongs to You alone there's not

another man in the country who commands

half your respect you're the only one

who can hold put everyone together

united we stand divided we

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fall my old friend James Alexander

Hamilton this is an historic moment

James as important as when we agreed on

the Declaration of

Independence we've had 6 years of

government under the Articles of

Confederation and they just don't work

so what do you think should be done you

tell your readers that Alexander

Hamilton of New York believes in a

strong central

government Connecticut is here to fix

the Articles of Confederation and

nothing more make no mistake about it

Maryland won't let any of the big States

push us around sl*very is not the issue

at this convention but some states have

already abolished it no Southern State

ever will every man here knows the

importance of sl*very to the Southern

economy you have my word we will be

United on

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it what do you think so far I don't know

about you but I don't see how they'll

ever agree on anything we' better go in

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like go this isn't fair we're members of

the press Mr Madison how are we supposed

to cover the convention for our

newspaper if we can't go inside I

believe in a free press but to succeed

in our goals each delegate must know he

can change his mind without public

embarrassment besides I'll keep my own

notes for the historians

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I'm sorry but James Madison is right the

delegates need to be left alone to do

their work but I know if I tell you

what's happening you'd never write

anything you shouldn't not in a million

years so what did happen today Edmund

Randolf of Virginia introduced a plan to

scrap the Articles of Confederation and

create a whole new form of government

Madison and Washington are the ones

behind it they want to create a

government made up of three branches

first and foremost the new new Congress

would be made of two houses which

Madison calls an upper and a lower one

there will be an executive branch headed

by some sort of President and a judicial

branch a kind of Supreme Court made up

of Judges who can overrule state courts

it's a system of checks and balances to

make sure no Branch can dominate any

other that way we'll be protected from a

tyranny of the monarchy and of the mob

hold on I understand about the president

and supreme court but how how many

representatives will each state send to

this new Congress that's the catch Sarah

Madison wants to throw out the principle

of one state one vote and base

representation on the size of a state's

population won't that give all the power

to the biggest states like Massachusetts

and Pennsylvania the small states will

never agree to it which will tear the

country apart I only hope the delegates

have as much sense as you do because if

they don't it's going to be a long hot

summer in

Philadelphia Virginia Massachusetts

Pennsylvania New

York why shouldn't we in Maryland have a

vote equal to you Luther you've been

talking for 6 hours straight oh sit down

Luther let someone else speak why I

haven't even started

Maryland's important too we have strong

good men men who've helped build this

nation as much as anyone else has and we

have crabs tons and tons of Maryland

crabs gentlemen have you ever eaten

Maryland

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crabs fresh from the bay cooked to

Perfection with a Touch of melted butter

it's Perfection

itself Pennsylvania demands proportional

representation Connecticut demands one

vote per

state if you think I'll sign a

constitution that takes away my State's

rights you're plum

crazy so you Virginians can put that in

your pipes and smoke it

what do you see Alexander Hamilton's

about to speak

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H these guards take their job too

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seriously Mr President if I may Mr

Pinkney from South Carolina has the

floor gentlemen all this talk of

Congress is well and good but unless our

southern states are guaranteed the

continued existence of sl*very we will

be bound to oppose this new constitution

in any

form thank you Mr Pinkney we will keep

that in

mind what do you see now they're voting

on Madison's proposal for proportional

voting they're

deadlocked uh-oh

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Absolut bad idea Mr Sherman can you tell

me what's happening we've come to a Full

Stop full stop H this convention's

falling

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apart you two know you shouldn't be here

I'm sorry Dr Franklin we just couldn't

stay away we needed to see how things

were going I'll tell you how they're

going

while we bicker in there the British

still hold six forts on American soil

Spain forbids us from Trading goods to

New Orleans Barber Pirates raid our

ships in the Mediterranean but we have

no Navy to stop them because Congress

has no money which means we can't repay

our loans from France and Holland it's

not a country it's a circus oh Dr

Franklin my call Stones afraid I can't

walk I'll get Moses we'll bring your

sedan here I'll be all right Sarah it's

the country I'm worried

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about Dr Franklin I thought you might

like some soup thank you Sarah put it on

the table there

please how are you feeling better but

but stay a moment you're looking very

happy to today oh Dr Franklin I'm so

happy mother and I have heard from

father he's bought land in Upstate New

York he'll be arriving here any day now

Splendid you'll go with him to New York

certainly but I won't stay forever

there's so much I want to

do you're in the right country for that

there all I needed were some stronger

lenses for my B focals and I Can See

Clearly

again of course

what is it Dr Franklin the delegates

elected a grand committee to settle the

voting issue once and for all I didn't

think I was well enough to participate

but now I must

attend but your G Stones I don't care if

they have to carry me

in oh Dr

Franklin

there the large states are quite

different from each other they will act

on their own interests not their size to

claim that the large states will

dominate the small is a false OB

gentlemen I have the

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solution

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gently just as I wear bifocals with two

kinds of lenses we have two houses in

our Congress let the Upper House abide

by the principle of one state one vote

but let the members of the lower house

be elected by proportional vote it would

be a House of Representatives that

sounds reasonable I can live with that

good idea Dr

Franklin you are a genius

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what and our new government will have a

senate a House of Representatives a

supreme court and a president a leader

who's not a king what kind of President

will we have that's one of the issues

that hasn't been settled

our President should serve for life

Congress should choose our President we

should have three

presidents we'll settle the matter soon

enough and I dare say we all know who

will be elected our first

president there's a more pressing issue

that still must be decided whether the

new constitution will allow my people to

be kept in sl*very it can't do

that I mean will it really it is an

issue that I fear will be decided on the

basis of politics not

Morality In order to have our fair share

of representation in Congress we demand

that the constitution count three fifths

of a state's sl*ves as part of its

population if Mr Pinkney says sl*ves are

nothing more than property why not let

Massachusetts count horses and cattle as

part of our population

sl*very will bring the Judgment of

Heaven Upon Us does not The Honorable Mr

Mason own sl*ves

himself gentlemen if sl*very is

abolished by this convention Georgia

North Carolina and South Carolina will

not be parties to this Union

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you're up late are you all right Dr

Franklin fine just couldn't sleep me

neither Moses you know what I think of

the practice of sl*very I I despise it

with every bone in my

body it's not going to be abolished in

the new constitution is it I'm sorry

Moses the delegates have reached an

odious compromise between the North and

South it was the only way to save the

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union how long will this Union last a

country that keeps so many of its people

in

bondage I'm a peaceloving man Ben and

I'm afraid of the price we might have to

pay to win freedom for everyone

I am too my friend we' fought one w*r

for Liberty I hope we won't have to

fight

another you might as well know I'll be

leaving here soon I'm moving forward

with my plans to open a school for free

n*gro children that's a school I'd like

to support I appreciate that Dr Franklin

but I've saved my own money for it just

like I did when I bought my freedom I

understand well Governor Morris is

reworking the language of the

Constitution All That Remains is to sign

it and send it to the states for their

approval good night Moses good night Dr

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Franklin see that son on General

Washington's chair I've sat here since

May asking myself if that Sun is setting

or if it is rising today I have the

happiness of knowing that it is indeed a

Rising

Sun we the people of the United States

in order to form a more perfect union to

establish justice promote the general

welfare and to secure the blessings of

liberty to ourselves and our posterity

to ordain and establish this

constitution

for the United States of

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America I solemnly swear that I will

Faithfully execute the Office of the

President of the United States and will

to the best of my ability Preserve

preserve protect and defend the

Constitution of the United

States so help me God it is done Long

Live George Washington president of the

United States

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we did it though I must confess there

were times I nearly lost hope do you

think this government will last Dr

Franklin it will as long as the people

wanted to there are going to be some

hard challenges ahead I'm afraid you're

right Moses nothing man does is perfect

but all in all the world has never seen

anything like it I still can't believe

it George Washington president of the

United States of America father of his

country suddenly anything seems possible

as long as we stay united united we

stand divided we fall but remember the

Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness

only the pursuit of

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it you have to catch up with it yourself

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through my searching for a hero to idiz

feeling the pain as

inocent looking at a my

I take my heart battle that freed get

my it on the line blue never up you

represent America

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[Laughter]