Why was it important for Ben Franklin & George Washington to attend the Constitutional Convention?
About this video
Benjamin Franklin and George Washington were the two most famous Americans in 1787, and both attended the Constitutional Convention, with Washington presiding. Because the convention proposed changing the whole form of government, some asked whether it was a power grab or even legal. Having these two respected patriots there acted like a seal of approval for the process.
You'll be able to
- explain why Franklin and Washington's presence mattered at the convention.
- describe why some people doubted whether the convention was legitimate.
Key words
- presiding officer
- The person who runs a meeting and keeps order.
- coup
- A sudden, often illegal, seizure of government power.
- patriot
- A person who strongly supports and serves their country.
Transcript
[MUSIC] Important thing about Benjamin Franklin at the Constitutional Convention was that he was there. The two most famous Americans then were George Washington and Franklin and Washington is the Presiding Officer of the Constitution. Franklin is supposed to nominate him for the job. He can't, in fact, because it's a rainy day and he's sick, but he writes a speech which is read for him by another delegate from his state. But these are the two rock stars that America has in 1787. The fact that they are both there is like a sign of their approval on this process. Which is a brinky thing because it's proposing to change the whole form of government. What is this? Is this some power play or a coup? Is it even legal? There are serious
questions about this but if you have these two eminent patriots, that's a big part of an argument for why we can go ahead with this, or at least see what a document these people will come up with.
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