In this Episode:

• The Ratification Debates continue.
• Massachusetts ratifies based on the leading of Samuel Adams and John Hancock and support for a Bill of Rights.
• Maryland ratifies despite Luther Martin’s opposition.
• South Carolina ratifies, while North Carolina remains an Anti-Federalist stronghold.
• New Hampshire becomes the ninth state to ratify, fulfilling the obligations required by the Philadelphia Convention.
• Titans clash in Virginia, but the Constitution is ratified with an agreement to later support a Bill of Rights.
• New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island eventually ratify.
• A new government is formed and a Bill of Rights is passed.

In this Episode:

• The Constitution enters the ratification phase as dictated by Article VII.
• Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay author the Federalist Papers to convince New York citizens to ratify the Constitution.
• Anti-Federalists George Clinton and Robert Yates lobby against the Constitution in their own writings, but are largely overshadowed by the Federalist Papers.
• A look at the first states to ratify the Constitution.
• Examining three important Federalist Papers: Number 10 (a discussion on factions and contrasting democracies and republics), Number 51 (a discussion on the need of government, checks and balances and separation of powers), and Number 78 (a discussion on the judicial branch).

In this Episode:

• The battle over representation nears a compromise.
• Oliver Ellsworth reintroduces Roger Sherman’s “Connecticut Compromise.”
• Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer misses the vote, thus allowing Maryland to support the small states men.
• Georgia also splits their vote on account of Abraham Baldwin.
• The Gerry Committee is formed largely with small state sympathizers.
• The committee affirms equal representation in the Senate, but proportional in the House along with money bills originating in the House.
• These concessions permit the small state men to be open to other large state proposals.

In this Episode:

• The debate continues between the small state men favoring equal representation and the large state men favoring proportional representation.
• Tensions reach a critical mass.
• Benjamin Franklin calls for prayer before each session.
• Were the Founding Fathers deists?
• The men from Connecticut prepare to propose a compromise.
• The delegates end June in despair, almost ready to concede that an agreement could not be reached.

In this Episode:

• Alexander Hamilton’s life, part one of two.
• Hamilton’s early life as an orphaned and illegitimate son.
• Hamilton’s time at King’s College in New York City and his growing interest in the revolution and military strategy and tactics.
• Hamilton forms his own militia and later contributes significantly to several famous Revolutionary War battle.
• Hamilton’s post-war career includes law and the founding of the Bank of New York.
• Hamilton’s role in the founding of a new government.

In this Episode:

• Alexander Hamilton proposes a radical centralized government based on Great Britain’s system.
• Even his close friend James Madison is amazed by Hamilton’s outlandish proposal.
• The debate over representation continues to prevent substantive progress.
• A profile of Luther Martin, a man who spoke a great lengths but rarely contributed anything of substance.

In this Episode:

• A short look at the 55 delegates, part 2.
• Delegates from New York, New Hampshire, Maryland, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina.
• Notable convention absences.