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Taylor Thornton

Cody K. Carlson
History 1700

Film Assignment

A More Perfect Union, America Becomes a Nation


Synopsis
This movie focuses on the Constitutional Convention, and the events leading up to it. It had
been almost ten years since the Declaration of Independence had been signed, and Americas
government as a whole was ineffective. Great Britain had noticed this and had not fully retreated
from Americas borders. America was being taken advantage of by the British in many ways, but
mostly in the business of trade. James Madison, among others, had noticed there was a change
needed, so he called for a meeting consisting of representatives from each state to institute a
central government. Throughout the movie, many arguments and opposing opinions are
presented in this convention over the main issue of equal representation.

Critique
I felt the movie portrayed the Constitutional Convention exceptionally well. It helped me to
understand how difficult it was to gather representatives from each state and then find a way to
form a government that met the needs of each individual state. It put into perspective the
amount of time and effort that went into forming our great nation. It also was interesting to see
that men who came from different backgrounds and had different ideas could argue their
opposing positions but, in the end, because of their similar desire to form a government of the
people, come together in a spirit of unity.
From what I could find, the movie was very historically accurate. An example of this is the
portrayal of Washington and his tentativeness in attending the convention. James Madison,
among others, saw the importance of Washingtons attendance, as he was a very respected man

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among all Americans. Washington though, was not fond of the idea at first. His brother had just
passed away and both his mother and sister were very sick. He himself was suffering from
rheumatism. (W. Cleon Skousen, The Making of America, p. 136) Also, he realized that if he was
present for the convention, the people would expect him to be the ruler of the country, in which
he was not interested at all. Once he realized how crucial it was for him to attend, he did and his
choice benefitted our country. ( http://www.mountvernon.org/research-collections/digitalencyclopedia/article/constitutional-convention/ )
The argument shown in the movie over the Articles of Confederation was also historically
accurate. In the movie, it shows many debates over abolishing the current government and
creating a central branch. The states at the time were very sovereign and independent. All power
was to the state, and no power was to the federal government. Since the federal government had
no power, it could not preform its duties that it needed to, including taxes. Without the power to
tax, the government had no way of providing national defense. It couldnt create a national form
of money, nor could it regulate trade. (Sandra Dee Reid, America Land of Principles and Promises, pg.
205)
The portrayal of the larger states fight against the smaller states was also historically
accurate. The larger states did not like the idea of one vote per state because they felt like that
gave small states with few people a disproportionate amount of power. The smaller states also
had a valid argument. If the votes were cast solely on population, the smaller states would be
ruled out and have almost no vote at all. After many debates over the issue, the Connecticut
Compromise was first presented by Roger Sherman. Though it did not pass the first time, it was
presented a second time to the convention by Oliver Ellsworth and William Samuel Johnson.
This plan favored the separation of congress, where house representatives would be elected
according to each states population, and each state would have two members of the senate. The
plan satisfied both the large and smaller states, and was later known as the Great Compromise.
(Sandra Dee Reid, America Land of Principles and Promises, pg. 212)

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Thematic Tie
The theme of this movie is not a series of compromises, but rather a demonstration of the
fight for freedom. The reason the Pilgrims sailed to America was for the freedom to practice
whichever religion they desired. The reason lower class citizens of England signed up to be
indentured servants in America was for the opportunity to own land and someday have freedom.
The fight for freedom had been occurring for ages, and finally the delegates of the
Constitutional Convention provided a constitution that protected human rights, and provided
individual freedom. They created a constitution with a separation of powers, and also placed a
check on power that would prevent the central government from expanding and removing that
freedom they had worked so hard to achieve.

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