My Country Needs Me - Trevor Burrus

Becoming America: The Constitutional Convention of 1787

Many critical issues divided the delegates to the Constitutional Convention. One of the most contentious was how much power the central government should wield. Nearly everyone at the table agreed that The Articles of Confederation were weak and that giving the central government more authority was essential. But how much power should that central authority have and how should it be organized? Should each state be represented equally or should representation be based on population? Should the central government be small and limited in scope or should it be expanded to act broadly in the interests of all of the states? How could the interests of individual states be balanced against the interests of the states and the people collectively? To consider how the Founders approached these problems, Judge Jim Gray, Professor Jo Ellen Chatham, and “The American”, Bijan Kian had a conversation with Trevor Burrus, a research fellow at the Cato Institute. Tune in to listen to his insights on this power struggle, as well as other points of disagreement, including whether a Bill of Rights was necessary.