Monday Lesson From History

I was gifted a subscription to American Heritage magazine when I was about fourteen years old.  Maybe to most teenagers this would be a letdown, but being a bit of a nerd this was a gift in my wheelhouse.  Issues would arrive every other month, and the articles were always fascinating. They would cover all aspects of American history, but always with a perspective that was just a bit different.  I can still remember certain pieces, such as the importance of air conditioning to settling the Southwest, or a story of a famed counterfeiter who drew his fake bills by hand.  But the story I recall with the most affection is, for their thirtieth anniversary they polled historians to describe the event in history they would like to have witnessed.  Most of the responses were what you would expect: skirmish at Lexington, in the courthouse at Appomattox, observing the final days of Nixon in the White House.  

My choice, likely not unique, would be to observe the debates at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.  This is the creation of our living government, the leaders of the new country setting out to debate how this hard won union would set out on its own.  Would it have been easier to just build on to the existing Articles of the Confederation? Likely, but they knew that their charge was bigger than that.  Sure, I would not enjoy the heat (summer in Philadelphia, windows kept closed to prevent eavesdropping) but it would be worth it to hear what certainly was a fascinating debate.  All of the phrases and nuance that would be the source of contention for the next 200 years can be traced to this event.  The composition of the houses of congress, the selection of the judiciary, the role of the executive.  To hear how this unique and everlasting government was constructed would be what I would want to witness.  What event would be yours?