Making sense of this crazy world · historymadeeasier

The Philadelphia Convention

February 8, 2026·21 min·2 clips

James Madison argued the 'rights of property is the first object of government' and that democracy threatened it.

Host John Wilkinson provides a critical historical analysis of the US Constitution, arguing it was deliberately designed by the wealthy Founding Fathers to protect property rights and establish an oligarchic system, not to promote broad democracy. He examines the Philadelphia Convention, the motivations of key figures like Madison and Hamilton, and the structural features like the difficult amendment process that entrenched elite power.

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