I'M HERE WITH STEWART HARRIS,
OUR CONSTITUTIONAL
EXPERT/ THIS WEEK YOU'RE GOING
TO BE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING
CALLED MADISON'S NOTES.
YES INDEED.
SOMETIMES, WE DO CURRENT EVENTS,
AS WE DID LAST WEEK WITH THE
TRANSGENDER BAN IN THE MILITARY.
SOMETIMES WE GO BACK TO A DEEP
DIVE IN HISTORY.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING THIS
WEEK.
JAMES MADISON WAS MANY THINGS.
AMONG THOSE THINGS, HE WAS THE
BEST RECORD KEEPER, THE BEST
NOTE TAKER AT THE CONSTITUTIONAL
CONVENTION.
IN FACT OVER THE LAST TWO
HUNDRED PLUS YEARS, HIS NOTES
OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
ARE THE GO TO
SOURCE.
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT PEOPLE
WERE REALLY THINKING
WHEN THEY DRAFTED THE
CONSTITUTUION.
A FEW YEARS BACK, A HARVARD
HISTORIAN BY THE NAME OF MARY
BILDER WROTE A BOOK CALLED
MADISONS HAND IN WHICH HE
QUESTIONED THE ACCURACY AND EVEN
THE SINCERITY OF
SOME OF THOSE NOTES.
SUGGESTING THAT MADISON HAD
REWRITTEN HISTORY.
PERHAPSE TO GIVE HIS SLANT TO
IT.
WELL, THIS COUGHT THE IRE OF MY
FRIEND AND COLLEGUE FROM
MONTPELIER.
HER NAME IS LYNN UZZELL, SHE HAS
WRITTEN A REBUTTAL.
I HAD HER AND PROFESSOR JOHN
GIENAPP FROM STANFORD
UNIVERSITY ON THE SHOW.
THEY TALK ABOUT THIS
CONTROVERSY.
IT MAY NOT SEEM LIKE MUCH TO THE
REST OF THE WORLD, BUT I'LL
TELL YOU WHAT, IN THE RELATIVELY
SMALL WORLD OF CONSTITUTIONAL
HISTORIANS.
THESE PEOPLE ARE HAVING A
CATFIGHT.
THEY REALLY ARE.
THERE ARE ANGRY TEMPERS, THERE
ARE PEOPLE WHO REFUSE TO SIT AT
THE SAME TABLE WITH OTHER
PEOPLE.
NOTHING SEEMS TO EXCITE THE
PASSIONS LIKE QUESTIONING THE
FATHER OF THE CONSTITUTION.
I MEAN EVENTUALLY IT TRICKLES
DOWN, IT WILL EFFECT
EVERYBODY, BUT GOING TO THE
SOURCE IS SOMETHING THAT
EVERY CONSTITUTIONAL EXPERT
LOOKS AT.
SOMETIMES THE SUPREME COURT DOES
TOO.
I MEAN, IT'S QUIET POSSIBLE THAT
THESE DEBATES COULD MAKE ITS
WAY INTO A SUPREME COURT
DECISION.
NOTHING IS REALLY OVER IN
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW.
IT'S KIND OF LIKE SCIENCE
FICTION, NOBODY EVER DIES IN
SCIENCE
FICTION.
WELL, CONTROVERSEY'S IN
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW NEVER DIE
EITHER.
I'M SURE PEOPLE ARE LOVING
HAVING THIS DEBATE RIGHT
NOW.
OR LOVING TO HATE IT.
WE'LL TALK ALL ABOUT IT SUNDAY
AT THREE AND TUESDAY AT EIGHT
ON WETS 89.5 FM, YOUR LOCAL
PUBLIC RADIO STATION.
A LOT OF GREAT INFORMATION FROM
STEWART HARRIS AND THE GREAT
GUESTS HE G=HAS ON HIS SHOW.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING
HERE.
THANK YOU SARA.
