Benjamin Franklin According to legend, as the exulted Benjamin Franklin stepped out of the last session of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in September of 1787, a curious woman queried, "What kind of government have you given us, Dr. Franklin?" Franklin answered, "A Republic, Madam, if you can keep it."1 Remarkably, over 200 years later, the United States has kept its constitution, and the republic for which it was created has flourished. While fledgling democracies across the …showed first 75 words of 1024 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1024 total…Storing, ed. The Anti-Federalist writing by the Opponents of the Constitution (Chicago, 1985) 8 Thomas Paine, Common Sense (London, 1976) Works Cited 1. James MacGregor Burns, Thomas E. Cronin, David B. Magleby, J.W. Peltason, Government by the People (Upper Saddle River, 1998) 2. James Madison, The Federalist, No. 47 3. James Madison, The Federalist, No. 51 4. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (New York, 1972) 5. Herbert J. Storing, ed. The Anti-Federalist writing by the Opponents of the Constitution (Chicago, 1985) 6. Thomas Paine, Common Sense (London, 1976)