Benjamin Franklin and the Constitution

We the People

National Constitution Center

News, News Commentary, History

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 16 July 2021

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Benjamin Franklin is well known as a Founding Father and an innovative inventor, scientist, and diplomat. But did you know he had a major and often unsung role at the Constitutional Convention? Historians H.W. Brands, author of The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin, and Ed Larson, author of Franklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership, join host Jeffrey Rosen on this week’s episode. They illuminate Franklin’s involvement in drafting and debating the Constitution during the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia—as host of the Constitutional Convention and one of the Convention’s most-respected delegates—as well as his vision for America’s future. Additional resources and transcript available at constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/media-library Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, and welcome
0:07.7	to We The People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.
0:11.4	The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit chartered by Congress
0:16.6	to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.
0:22.3	During the summer of 1787,
0:25.0	the Constitutional Convention was well underway.
0:28.0	And today we discuss Benjamin Franklin and the Constitution.
0:33.8	Franklin, the first American,
0:36.7	in the words of our two great Franklin historians today,
0:41.6	played a central role at the Constitutional Convention
0:45.0	that's often underappreciated and it's such an honor to discuss
0:49.0	Franklin's contribution to the Constitution
0:51.0	with two of America's greatest historians of Franklin and two of the
0:56.4	authors of the greatest books written about Franklin, which I'm so excited to share with
1:00.6	We The People listeners. Ed Larson holds the High and Hazel Darling chair in law
1:06.8	and is university professor of history at Pepperdine University.
1:10.0	He is the author of Franklin and Washington
1:13.0	the founding partnership.
1:15.1	Ed, it is wonderful to have you on the show.
1:18.9	Thank you.
1:19.4	Your center is national treasure.
1:22.8	Thank you so much for that.
	...

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