Myth of the Month 9: The US Constitution and the Origins of the Senate and Electoral College (Episode #72)

Why does our government work the way it does? Is it supposed to represents citizens, or states? We consider the origins of the U. S. Constitution, particularly the creation of the controversial bodies (Senate and Electoral College) that represent the public in skewed and disproportionate ways. We dispel the false notion that these bodies were created in order to protect small states, tracing instead the Framers’ quest to tamp down the “excess of democracy” of the 1780s, wrest control over monetary policy away from the poor majority, and strike a careful balance between slave and non-slave states.

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Suggested further reading: Woody Holton, “Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution”; Charles Beard, “An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States”; Michael Klarman, “The Framers’ Coup”; Max Edling, “A Revolution in Favor of Government,” Robert Brown, “Charles Beard and the Constitution”; Irwin Polishook, “Rhode Island and the Union,”; Hillman Metcalf Bishop, “Why Rhode Island Opposed the Federal Constitution”; Gordon Wood, “Ideological Origins of the American Revolution” and “Creation of the American Republic”

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How did Tisquantum (popularly known as Squanto) already know how to speak English before the Pilgrims had even arrived?
Why is the dramatic 2019 fire at Paris’ Notre Dame actually a common occurrence for cathedrals around Europe, when looking across the centuries?
How is the growing field of genetics being used to sometimes tear down and sometimes reinforce the myth of people belonging to different ‘races’ today?
When pressed Why can no one agree on what “capitalism” actually is? And why does a lack of clear definition call into question so many other myths of the modern world?
Why don’t US citizens directly elect their President? Or have a more proportional Senate?
What did Netflix’s 2021 movie “The Dig”, with Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan, leave out from the story of the great Sutton Hoo discovery? What can the highly-revealing Anglo-Saxon era treasure tell us about the significantly-obscured period of England during the “Dark Ages”?
How did so much of the Epic of Gilgamesh remain hidden and forgotten – but perfectly preserved – for over 2,000 years until being rediscovered in modern times?
What little do we actually know about Shakespeare, the person?
Why is it misleading to apply the word “religion” to Judaism and to Hinduism?
Why were cathedrals in southern Europe becoming more and more highly decorated and elaborately embellished in the 1500’s and 1600’s, while at the same time so many cathedrals in Northern Europe were being stripped of all of their ornamentation and symbolism?
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How could have mountains on the Moon helped accelerate the end of the Earth-centric view of the universe?
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How did accusing people of witchcraft further several political agendas of the time, both in Europe and in the Americas?