Welcome toheiol Constitution Center. Im jeffrey rosen, the president of this wonderful institution which as cspan viewers know, is the only institution in america chartered by congress to disseminate information about the u. S. Constitution on a non partizan basis. And today, i am so excited to show you a new gallery weve just opened american treasures, which contains the five rarest early drafts of the u. S. Constitution in american history, not even at the Constitutional Convention, where these five drafts displayed in the same place. And now, thanks to a Great Partnership with the Historical Society of pennsylvania and the wonderful full support of David Rubenstein, weve been able to open this gallery, display these drafts together, and tell the story of the evolution of the text of the constitution into the draft that was ratified on Constitution Day, september 17th, 1787. Its so exciting and i cant wait to show it to you. Lets go inside and come take a look. So in many ways, this gallery tells the story of that underappreciated hero of the Constitutional Convention. Jane wilson. Weve all heard of James Madison and alexander hamilton, the rap star of the moment. Of course, president washington. But in many ways, james wilson was the intellectual archetype act of the central idea behind the constitution that we, the people of the United States as a whole, have the sovereign power that was the big idea. Eventually embodied in the preamble to the u. S. Constitution. And it wasnt the way things started when the delegates came to philadelphia to draft the constitution. They came as representatives of individuals, sovereign states, and many of them insisted that we, the people of each state, are sovereign. But wilson, who had served in the Continental Congress, saw that the articles of confederation were too weak to achieve centralized purposes and wanted a stronger Central Government and a strong president elected by the people. Insisted that we, the people of the United States as a whole are sovereign, not the people of each state, and not the parliament itself. As in britain. That brilliant idea was what lincoln invoked when he insisted that the south had no ability to secede without the consent of we, the people of the United States. As a whole. And it is the foundation of the idea in the preamble that popular sovereignty rests with the people. In this amazing gallery, were going to see the evolutions of wilsons draft. He was the first important signer who put pen to paper. Were about to see his draft. But ill just tell you a little bit about him. He was born in scotland. He went to st andrews university. But then he came to america and studied at Penn Franklins new college of philadelphia. He served in the Continental Congress, where he became concerned that the Central Government didnt have Strong Enough powers. He was initially opposed to independence, which got him into trouble with the philadelphia mob who came to his house to denounce him. But he changed his mind and became a strong supporter of independence. He was anti slavery and he was a pennsylvania delegate to the Constitutional Convention. Richard beaman and his wonderful book, which i love you to read, plain, honest man, says that wilson and madison were the two intellectual leaders of the convention, but they had very different ideas. Wilson is in favor of popular sovereignty by we the people. Madison believes that the people can degenerate into demagogues and mobs, and popular passions have to be checked. And the president should be elected by the legislature, not the people, in order to ensure that direct democracy doesnt degenerate into demagoguery. So wilson and madison had a big debate. Wilsons became a very distinguished Us Supreme Court justice, and he died. Alas, in death. It was a sad ending to a heroic career, but right now were about to see the very first draft of the Us Constitution written by james wilson. Okay, so now we are going to see the rarest draft of the Us Constitution in american history, the very first draft. Many of us know the copy of the constitution in the national ariv, but that was the final copy. Every important document has a first drafthis is it. It was drafted on july 24, 1787. Remember the Constitutional Convention begins begins on may 25th. I remember that because the address of the National Constitution center is 525 arch street in philadelphia, 525 is may 25th and to months later was the first time that the committee created this draft of the constitution. So how did it end up here . Well, it belongs to the Historical Society of pennsylvania. And james wilson died in 1789, the year that the bill of rights was proposed. He gave this document, along with a bunch of others of his papers to his son, bi wiln. Bird wilson dies in 1859 and gives it to his relative, emily hollrth. And she gives it to the Historical Society of pennsylvania they had it for a lme, d their visionary interim president , charles cullen, said, hey, all of these priceless documents are here at the Historical Society. Would it be wonderful if americans from around the country could see them . So the Historical Society is lending them to the Constitution Center to be displayed here on a long term loan. And thats why you can now come and see them for the first time. Okay. So look at wilsons beautiful handwriting, which is still legible and lets just pause for a second and think about how exciting it is that the first time that anyone really tried to set down the ideas of the constitution occurred in this draft. There are a couple of really theres no preamble. It. It doesnt begin with the people ofnited states as thanks to wilson. The final drafts would begin. It just says that the government of the United States should consist of a legislative, executive and judicial branches. Thats the most important thing we have to know about the constitution in america, that there are three separate branches of government and that was initially the very first words of the very first draft of the u. S. Constitution. We know that congress doesnt have specific powers listed. Instead, it says that congress can make laws for the general interests of the union and to address problems the states can handle on their own. And then the president ial term is six years and theres a single term for the National Executive thats going to change a bunch of times during the amendment process. So we can look at wilsons beautiful handwriting. But the Constitution Center, we want all of you wonderful cspan viewers and all americans to be able to study the evolving text of the constitution so you can learn from it. And and realize how the presidency and congress and the judiciary evolved. And thats why weve created this great online tool that i want you to go check out. Not now because im talking, but after you finish watching this show and we have it here on a touch screen and you can just get it online at Constitution Center dot org for slash treasures. And this is basically the printed version of each of the texts that weve displayed here. So were talking about the july 24th version. We just saw the original and you can now see that this is the very first words of the u. S. Constitution committed to paper resolved, that the government of the United States ought to consist of a supreme legislative judiciary and executive branch. If theres nothing else we know about the u. S. Constitution. Lets remember that it has three branches. Whats number two . That the legislature of the United States ought to consist of . Two branches. That was a huge struggle. The delegates spent the first two months of the convention disagreeing about whether there would be a unicameral that is, a single legislative body or a bicameral legislature, which is what they eventually agreed about. And then there was this very crucial question of how the two branches would be elected. Representatives of the big states, led by virginia, said, hey, we want popular election because well get all the seats. Representatives of the small states like new jersey said, no, no, we want each state to have two representative lives. And Roger Sherman in the connecticut compromise just decided to mix and match. The house is populated, lected. The senate has two states to representatives per state. And you see that in this first draft resolved that the members of the first branch ought to be elected by the people of the several states for the term of two years resolved, the members of the Second Branch should be chosen by the individual legislatures. And remember, until the passage of the 17th amendment, it was state legislatures, not the people who chose senators in the side. Here you can compare call outs about how the drives changed, and weve already talked about how theres no preamble. In this draft, we see also that of the 3 5 comprome,he infamous compromise that allowed the states that were determined to preserve svery, to accept the constitution. But amers agreed to base representation on the house and the states, freeing inhabitants, plus 3 5 of all other persons. That was from an earlier attempt by the Continental Congress to tax the states. And although infamous and discredited and thankfully repealed or made no longer relevant by the passage of the 13th amendment after the civil war, which abolished slavery. This 3 5 compromise is in the early draft, and here we see the six year president ial term, which is going to change a whole bunch of times and just one or two more call outs. We see the senate appoint Supreme Court justices without any involvement from the executive. Now, of course, we know the president appoints the justices and the Senate Confirms the very first draft had only the Senate Confirming the amendment process. There should be amendments, but they dont decide how they should be passed. And its not until the very final days of the convention in the final draft. Well see on september 12th that they come up with a process for how to amend the constitution. And lets look at the last provision. It doesnt have the details of ratification. This is crucial. The framers are proposing a constitution, but its not until its ratified in the name of we the people as a whole by special ratifyinconventions that it achieves the status of supreme law and the very first draft says there should be ratification even without a process. But it does say the People Choose representatives who decide whether or not to adopt the framers proposals that represents wilsons belief that we, the people, are sovereign. The constitution can only be ratified in our name and our right to govern comes from god or nature, not from government. We have an unalienable right to alter and abolish government whenever it fails to protect the unalienable natural rights that we retain during the transition from the state of nature to Civil Society. The preeminent unalienable rights of the rights of conscience. These are spelled out in the bill of rights, which the constitution doesnt contain and that is represented by the ratification process. The ultimate contribution of james wilson, the sovereignty of we the people. Okay, so we learned all that from the very first draft and its only july. Now lets look at the second draft and were going to see the very first time that the constitution expresseshe idea of we the people who came. Now were going to see the second rarest draft of the constitution in american history, also written by james wilson. This was written on august third, 1787, after a ten day break from the july 24th draft by wilson. It came out of what was called the committee of detail, which was a geographic, highly Diverse Group that was assembling different resolutions. And its, again, just amazing to re wilsons beautiful handwritg, but also to see how dramatically the constitution is evolving and the most important evolution in this second draft of the constitution is wilson immortal preamble. We, the people of the states of new hampshire, massachusetts, Rhode Islands and providence plantations and so forth. Why did wilson enumerate all of the individual states . After all, he believed that we, the people of the United States as a whole are sovereign. Well, some thought that it was a vestige of a time when we, the people of the states, were sovereign others that they just wanted to signal how many states were actually ratifying. And well see, of course, in the final draft that that language about the individual states is left out and we become we, the people of the United States. Once again, lets check out the text, because its so exciting to actually compare the evolution of the preamble. So were going to go back over here to this great interactive you can check it out online at Constitution Center dot org, forward slash treasures and here this is the manuscript of the committee of detail report. Look, theres the original preamble. We the people of the stes of new hampshire, massachusetts, rhode island and providee plantations, connecticut, new york, new jersey, pennsylvania, delaware, maryland. Virginia, north carolina, South Carolina aeorgia do ordain declare and establish. The following constitute one for the government of ourselves and our posterity. Doesnt have all that inspiring language about establish justice, provide for the common defense and so fth. It just says, do ordain, declar and establish the following constitution for the government of ourselves and for our posterity. Now lets scroll down a little bit and see what else this next draft says. The site, the style of this government, in other words, the name shall be the United States of america gosh, isnt that exciting . The first time thawe see on paper the words the United States of america. Lets see what changes are taking place. We now have the short preamble. We have congressional powers are getting specified. Congress now has the power to makeather than declare war. The earlier language about making war would have Given Congress more. Day to day decisions in wartime. Later, the president took a greater role. The necessary and proper cause. This is very important to define congresss pers. Before the Constitutional Convention, the Continental Congress only has specific enumerated powers. The Us Constitution gives congress the flexibility to pass laws necessary and proper to carry out its enumerated powers. The scope of that clause remains hotly debated today, but as the appointment por now the senate has the treaty making power as well as the ability to appoint Supreme Court justices. Still,heresident has no role in these crucial duties. E election of the president. Wow. Look at this. Theres an election. Buthe psident is chosen by the legislature. That was James Madisons innovation. Remember . Hes the framer who is afraid of demagogues in the mob. Hes seen the tension between populism and constitutionalism. He fears that a directly elected president or a president who communicates directly with the people. As he said in federalist ten would be an invitation to demagogues and tyranny. So he wants a president elected by the legislature. And thats what happens in this draft over James Wilsons objection. Wilson is saying no, any election by the people. And later, well see the settlement, the compromises, the Electoral College. Theres also a king tle for the president. His title shall be his excellency. Hes met enough that have prevailed. Today, instead of mr. President , the president would be his excellency. He shall be elected by ballot by the legislature. Amazing. Thpresident ial term is now expanded from 6 to 7 years, and the president , chosen by the legislature, is limited to a single term. The framers dont want to encourage the executive to seek favor with congress to secure reelection. They think hell be independent the way judges are. If he has a single seven year term and we begin to sethe outlines of an amendment process, two thirds of state legislatures can ask congress to call another convention that is in theinal version of the constitution. Anev today, a number of stat he called for a convention of the states to introduce a balanced budget amendment. That provision, although never invoked after the original Constitutional Convention in american history, remains part of the constitution. And the final cnge ratification. We have more information about ratification, but a ank space for the number of states required to approve the constitution to ratification of certain numbers of states will be sfient for organizing this convention. Now, this is crucial. The constitution, the ratification process specified even in the second draft, is illegal according to the ratification process of the articles of confederation. The articles say they can only be amended with a unanimo consent of all 13 states. This provision says that a certain number of states less than possiy e whole, will be sufficient to ratify the constitution in the name of we the people. It was illegal because the framers, led by wilson, were invoking their natural or unalienable right to alter and abolish government, which they felt in here is in all of us in the state of nature before we form Civil Society and reverting to that original power, they insisted that they could choose a ratification procedure that was illegal, according to the existing methods of ratification. So all that just in the second draft, this is so exciting and now were just in early august. Lets now move further along in august and see in the next draft the preamble that we know and revere today. We the people of the United States. Lets go see it now. So welcome to draft three of the constitution and its september 12th, 1787, just five days before the constitution is proposed. An awful lot of really important, crucial changes are being made at the very last minute. These changes come out of the committee of style. That ia committee with a very elegant name and an extraordinarily Impressive Group of members. They include alexander hamilton, the rap star of the moment, the room where it happened. James madison, widely recognized as the framers of the constitution. And gouverneur morris, governor morris was a impressive delegate from pennsylvania. He had a peg leg and he was a bon vivant. And he was a very beautiful stylist. And he was responsible for the crucial stylistic change, which was also an amazingly important, substantive change in the Us Constitution, which is that in this draft of the committee of style, the preamble for the first time says we the people of the United States, not we, the people of the states of massachusetts, rhode island and so forth, but we the people of the United States. Why was that change made . Well, some say it was merely a stylistic change because the framers didnt know exactly which of the 13 states would actually ratify. So they hedge their bets by keeping it more concise. Plus, that was shorter. But others disagree and say that really the change to we, the people of the United States, was the tangible expression of James Wilsons belief that we, the people of the United States as a whole are sovereign, not we the people of the individual states. There are another series of really important changes. The congressional power is altered. Congress now has the power to declare rather than make war. The president ial term is finally four years and they eliminated the term limits of the seven year term plus, its election by the Electoral College. That was the compromise. Wilson wasnt able to get popular election, which is what heanted. So the Electoral College w considered a group of wise delegates who, because they would actually know the best candidates, would be able to exercise independent judgment candidates in the land. T that hope was soon obviated by the growth of the party system after the election of 1800, which changed the Electoral College. From the very start. So this draft is signed by jacob brown. He was a delegate from delaware and includes his notations. And its really thrilling, isnt it . Ladies and gentlemen, to read article one, section eight, with the powers of congress. And this draft says congress may bind joint ballot, appoint a treasurer and may be a joint ballot. Appoint a treasurer scratched out by jacob broom. And instead it says the Congress Shall have power to lay and collect taxes, which is the drt we actually notice in an aming its september 12th and theyre just cutting and pasting and scratcngords out. Lets go back to the interactive Constitution Center dot org forward slash treasures and look at a couple of the other really crucial textual changes. Lets go down to. So here we are at the text of the document. We just saw. And i mean, my goodness, lets read the preamble, which is evolving into its final form. We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for t common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselveand our postety. Do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of ameri. Isnt it amazing that even on this draft, on september 12th, jacob zuma has scratch out to the preposition before establish justice just says establish justice. So it looks there. Then there are some other fascinating annotations throughout. You can check them out online. We have here the idea that the senate tries impeachments on oath and affirmation for the benefit of quakers and others who were scrupulous against swearing oaths and the time, place and manner of Holding Elections and representatives is prescribed in each state. Congress can make or alter such regulations, except as to the place of choosing senators. That was a last minute addition. Lets look at a couple other crucial changes on the side. Weve talked about this crucial change in the preamble. We, the people of the United States and also the aim of forming a more perfect union. Finally, the president has the power to make treaties and appoint e court justices, along with the senate. Although the senate provides advice and consent. Ladiesentlemen, that was septemr th, a very important addition at the last minute. The amendment process ost fully spelle congress can propose amendments with the support of two thir of each house or two thirds of e state legislature. But we dont yet have the provision allowing two thirds of the states to call a convention in the final text. Although we saw a version of that in the eaier draft, which was now we see was resurrected and three quarters of the legislatures are state conventions. Ratify and then ratify and says the people of nine out of the 13 states. Finally they lled in the blank that crucial blank. And so that nine states is enough to ratify as long as they call a special convention for the purpose. All right. Were almost there where its at september 12th. Finally, its time for Constitution Day. September 17th. And were going to see the very final draft of the Us Constitution. Ladies and gentlemen, its Constitution Day, september 17th, and we have the final version of the constitution, which is pnted for the delegates to debate as wells to share with congress and the states. How exciting to think that this printing of which only a handful of copies survive, is an arguable, more constitutionally significant than the copy that was in thats in the national archives, because ts is the copy that the delegates themselves debated in deciding whether to pass the constitution and ultimately, we, the people debated in deciding whether to ratify it. Upstairs at the Constitution Center, we have a copy of the constitution printed in the pennsylvania packet newspaper on september 19th, two days after this draft and that draft, which actual widely circulated among the people, was the most dramatic expression of the peoples ability to ratify the constitution in their name. Okay. A couple of really important changes at the very last minute. I mean, isnt it stunning to think of how much you can do with a deadline from may 25th to september 17th, the entire constitution is drafted. Its really important that its done in secret. The windows are closed there. No leaks. Theres no twitter. You cant undo compromises and you can actually make them because people are able to shift their positions because theyre not being called out by their partizans in every moment. And we see some very important changes as a result. At the very last minute, here are three veto override the number of people necessary to override the president s veto is d from three fourths t two thirds of each house of congress. Imagine how hard it would be to override a veto with three quarters. The amendment process isinally specified. Two thirds of the state legislates can ask for a convention. Picking up on that early suggestion. And wilson and this is really important. Article five says that an amendment can never deny a state eql represents in the Senate Without that states consent. s an unimaginable ovion of the constitution. Law students love having late night dorm debates about whether or not an unmanned apple constitutional provision is itself a violation of the peoples natural right to alter and abolish government and americans tution whenever they want. But lets save that for another wonk session. Now lets go wonk out. And also inspire ourselves patriotically by returning to the text and seeing the final tweaks in the very last draft of the u. S. Constitution. So heres the very final draft of the u. S. Constitution and a couple crucial changes made at the last minute. Weve already talked about some of them, but heres one we haventalked about yet. Represent nation in congress. Originally, the text says there can be no more than one representative for every 40,000 ople in the house, although now, of course, theres less. Before signing, george shington wanted a motion that the number of be changed to 30,000. That was the only time during the convention that voiced his opinion and the other delegates unanimously agreed. If you come to the Constitution Center or go online to the interactive constitution, youll see that the very First Amendment to the constitution that was proposed but not adopted in what became the bill of rights, said that there should be one representative in congress for every 30,000 inhabitants and had that passed, there would be 4000 congresspeople. Today. A couple other really crucial changes. Here it is, the appointment power. The framers finally decided to allow the president , the courts or Department Heads to directly appoint inferior officers as designated by Congress Without the senates approval. Thats the source of the president s power to appoint some people without congressional approval. Without that nowadays would be very hard for any president of either party to get anyone appointed. One last detail. A call for uty. So important on Constitution Day to inspire ourselves with this great call. Ben franklin. On the last day of the convention, encourages unanimous support of the constitution, and he proposed the final text that was added, which included by the unanimous nsent of the states present that allowed the signers to say they were only witnessing what was done by the convention, even if they had individual reservations. Despite this, three delegates present refused to sign and you can see who those are. By going upstairs to signers, hall of the national nstitution center and in the back of the room are the three who refuse to gn Elbridge Gerry of massachusetts. Ive pedantic leigh learned to pronounce it gerrymandering, not gerrymandering, which is when you draw voting districts that are so funny shaped that they look like salamanders to protect incumbents. That because thats what elbridge did in massachusetts and also to virginia delegates. Edmund randolph vginia and george mason of virginia, one of the most underappreciated of the founders who refed to sign the constitution along the other three because it didnt contain a bill of rights. Why not . Because James Madison, among others, said a bill of rights would be unnecessary or dangerous. Unnecessary because the constitution itself is a bill of rights. It gives congress only enumerated powers. And since congress has no power to infringe speech, for example, theres no reason to fear that congress would abridge free speech. And dangerous, madison said, because people might assume that if a right wasnt written down, it wasnt protected. And the framers believed that our rights are so capacious that they come from god or nature, not from government. And to try to reduce them to a single list would be folly. But in the face of objections from the three antifederalists and also the state ratifying conventions, madison changed his mind. He was a practical politician. He almost lost a house election in virginia, and he came to support the adoption of additional amendments to prevent misconstruction or further abuse of powers. Or were now going to do in the final section of this wonderful american treasures gallery weve beeneeg these incredibly rare, icess, earliest drafts. The constitution lent by the pennsylvania circle society. Were now going to see the first public printings of the of rights lent by David Rubenstein and see how madisons original list of 19th amendments was whittled down to the 12 that were proposed and the ten that were actually passed. Lets go see those now. Were now about to see the first 19 amendments that were proposed to the constitution. We now, of course, know that there were ten that were ratified, known as the bill of rights. But madison originally proposed 19, and they appear in the gazette of the United States on october. Third 1789. And you can find them online at the interactive constitution. This is this amazing new online tool that the National Constitution center has launched 11 million hits since it launched a little more than a year ago, where you can click on any provision of the bill of rights or constitution and see the leading liberal and conservative scholars describing what they agree about and what they disagree about. But you can also in the rights interactive portion, click on any part of the bill of rights and see its antecedents in the revolutionary era. State constitutions. So when madison made this list of 19th amendments, he didnt make it up out of thin air. He had beside him the state constitutions like george masons virginia declaration of 1776, or the massachusetts states constitution of 1780. All of them had bills of rights and madison drawing on the lists proposed by the state, ratifying conventions. Cut and pasted among the most popular amendments to create his original list of 19. So there was one amendment in a list that madison thought was the most important in the bunch. Here it is. Says no state shall violate the equal rights, conscience or the frof t press or the trial by jury. In criminal cases. S revolutionary. The final bill of rights that was passed only applies to congress. We know the First Amendment says Congress Shall make no law abridging freedom of speech. It doesnt say the state shall make no law. But madison thought that these basic rights of conscience, free of thantrial by jury are so important, so fundamental that the states as well as congress, should not be able to abridge them. Madison lost that battle. That amendment did not pass along with several others. There are 19 on this list. And it took the civil war, the bloodiest in american history, to pass the 14th amendment to the constitutn, which has been construed today as applying the bill of rights ainst the states, so that today states as well as the federal government, are forbidden from abridging basic rights, including those in these lists. On this list. 19 is fascinating for all sorts of reasons. It was created in the order in which the provisions were ppos to be inserted in the cotitution. So the very first proposed amendment says first that there be prefix toheonstitution, a dearation that all power is originally vested and cons dived from the people. And it goes on to say, the government is institu ought to be exercised for the benefit of the people, which consists in th e o life and liberty, with the right of acquire and using property generally of pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety. And go on to say that theeoe have an indubitable unalienable and in the f right to rnge their government whenever it be found purposes of its institution. Ladies and gentlemen, that is astonishing that what does that sound like . Whether declaration of independence. It sounds very much like the second sentence of the declaration. We hold these truths to be selfevident. All men are created equal. They are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And er aovernment becomes destructive of these rights, it is the right and duty of the people to alter and so symmetrical, isn such syncht we began this amazing tour of these documents by recognizing james James Wilsons belief that the right to alter and abolish government is an unalienable right that comes from god or nature, and not government. And here we see the very First Amendment that madison proposed would have declared the righ enent to be unalienable. It didnt. But that right was embodied in the constitution in article five. So go online. Check out the interactive constitution. Check out Constitution Center forward slash treasures for the evolving texts of the five rarest drafts of the constitution. But most of all, of course, come to the National Constitution. Its such an inspiring, beautiful place, a place for citizens of all perspectives to come and unite around this amazing document of human freedom that unites us. The u. S. Constitution. How exciting. What a privilege it is to share with you the five rarest drafts of the constitution assembled for the First Time Ever in american history, in one place to show you these rare drafts of the bill of rights. Thanks to the Historical Society of pennsylvania, thanks to David Rubenstein and, cspan friends, happy constitution so elizabeth spalding, where are we . We are at the victims of Communism Museum in washington, d. C. On