{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Radio Chatskill","title":"'The Spirit of Philadelphia': Why America Must Reclaim the Founders’ Blueprint ","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1093,"description":"With the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on the horizon, former Congressman Chris Gibson says the country is facing a defining test — one that echoes the perilous summer of 1787.He calls it “the spirit of Philadelphia.”“So, the spirit of Philadelphia is what happened at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 when they finally compromised on the issue of how to work the legislature and representation,” Gibson said in a live interview. “Their back was up against it. And so, they came together.”Gibson will expand on that theme Sunday at Time and the Valleys Museum, where he’ll discuss his book, The Spirit of Philadelphia: A Call to Recover the Founding Principles, and what he sees as a modern crisis of trust.A Nation on the Brink — Then and NowThe former Army officer and Republican congressman paints a stark picture of the years under the Articles of Confederation.“The country at the time, not even really a country — the Confederation was close to failing, and the leaders knew it,” Gibson said.Delegates arrived in Philadelphia divided. Large states demanded representation by population. Small states feared being swallowed whole. For weeks, they stalled.“They didn’t even get a quorum for 10 days,” Gibson noted. “And then for three weeks, they struggled with the same question.”What broke the deadlock was the Connecticut Compromise — a breakthrough that blended proportional representation in the House with equal representation in the Senate.“When they finally compromise… that changed the mood of the entire convention,” he said. “All of a sudden, what seemed insurmountable was actually insurmountable.”That shift — from stalemate to shared purpose — is the “spirit” Gibson believes Americans must rediscover.Trust at Historic LowsGibson argues today’s political dysfunction mirrors that earlier instability.“This is the lowest level of trust, confidence and faith in institutions and leaders in all the time they’ve been doing this research,” he said,...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/q7XXsnSXT_u4mZLCn3chUorwDmUD_kWiB272D6emB18/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS80N2Uy/OGY5MWUwZThkYTEw/NDVkZGM2ZGZkZDIw/ZjliOS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}