Resource person: Audra Bullard - office@clehighlands.com

Description:

During the summer of 1787, fifty-five delegates from twelve states met for over three months in Philadelphia to frame a new constitution for the young republic. Every delegate wanted a stronger federal union with centralized control over national defense and interstate and international commerce. They accepted that this central government needed the power to tax and spend for the general welfare. They sharply differed on other matters, particularly the residual power of the states, representation within the federal congress, power of the executive, and protections for state-sanctioned slavery. Unanimously elected to preside over the convention, George Washington came to Philadelphia with a vision for federal union. He orchestrated the compromises that kept the drafting process moving. The assumption that he would lead the new government resulted in delegates granting vast powers to the presidency. His visible support led to its ratification and his leadership as president shaped its implementation. 

Ed Larson holds the Darling Chair in Law and is University Professor of History at Pepperdine University. Recipient of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize in History for Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion, Larson received a Ph.D in the history of science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a law degree from Harvard. He taught for twenty years at the University of Georgia, where he chaired the history department. The author of fifteen books and over eighty published articles, his books also include A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800; Evolution: The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory; and New York Times bestsellers, The Return of George Washington, 1783-1789 and Franklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership. Larson recently published, American Inheritance: Liberty and Slavery in the Birth of a Nation, 1765-1795. His next book, Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Matters, is due out in November, 2025.

Notes: Cancellation Policy Please let us know immediately if you are unable to attend a class. There is no refund for cancellations within two (2) weeks prior to a scheduled class. Programs that include food, beverage or art materials must be canceled within three (3) weeks prior to receive a refund. CLE reserves the right to cancel a program if the minimum enrollment has not been met or for circumstances beyond our control, and participants will be notified, a complete refund will be issued. All classes are held in the CLE Lecture Hall at the Peggy Crosby Center unless otherwise noted. In the event information has changed from the published brochure, it will be posted on our website and in our e-blasts. Addresses for “private home” venues will be provided to registrants within 2 days of the program date.

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