In his book The Great Upheaval, Jay Winik recounts the details of the constitutional convention in 1787. The delegates debated the creation and role of a federal government, concerned that such a strong central power would overwhelm the states. To this day, we continue that debate.

Unable to resolve their differences in open debate, the delegates met behind closed doors and away from any press scrutiny to hammer out the details of what would become the Constitution of the U.S.