The great American experiment was about to fail. On the eve of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 – where the U.S. Constitution began – the French minister to America wrote home to his superiors in Paris, "What part of the United States would you like to take when it falls apart?" Disunity between states, a faltering economy, active rebellions, the threat of European interference – all were contributing factors. The Articles of Confederation — the original post-independence document – weren't working. The fledgling country needed an overhaul of its core principles. In this episode of Teamistry, host Gabriela Cowperthwaite revisits that summer of 1787 when a monumental collaboration ultimately delivered the U.S. Constitution. Within the muggy chambers of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, some of the country's brightest lawmakers and thought-leading eccentrics came together to hash out a new government system unlike any other in the world. Carol Berkin, presidential professor of American history at The City University of New York and Constitutional author Jeff Broadwater describe the action: state delegates debating and bickering about topics that would chart the course of the country's future. Learn the real story of an unlikely team of delegates forced to give up their personal egos and the interests of their individual states to build a collective – The United States of America – through compromise. Teamistry is an original podcast from Atlassian. For more on the series, go to www.atlassian.com/podcast.
The Constitution of the United States.
First there's the preamble, we the people.
Then article one sets up a congress, and article two provides for the executive edge.
Remember, the federal government was established by the states getting together and delegating certain powers to it.
Okay?
Being a political science major in college, I've always found the constitution fascinating.
But I do understand that a lot of people find it dense and honestly irrelevant to their everyday life.
Except here's the thing.
There's a lot about the constitution we didn't learn in school.
It doesn't make the US a democracy.
It wasn't penned by a group of almost divine heroes, but by a cast of people with their own personal issues, concerns, and dreams.
And that those people created a safe space to argue and change their minds.
A space, by the way, that wasn't regal and elegant, but stinky and sweaty.
But still, why does any of that matter?
Because the way those delegates were able to come together in the summer of 1787 and create a brand new form of government can teach us a heck of a lot that has nothing to do with the constitution, like how to balance your needs with the needs of the group, how to find common ground.
They couldn't rigidly stick to their own personal ideology.
They kept their eye on what was important, saving the country.
I'm Gabriella Cowperthwaite, and this is teamistry, an original podcast from Atlassian.
This show is all about the chemistry of teams and what happens when people are so open to new ideas of working, innovating, and expressing themselves together.
They end up doing something amazing.