Pepperdine University School of Public Policy Professor Gordon Lloyd has created a Web site to teach people about the Constitutional Convention of 1787.
By Steve Genson/Staff Writer
Nearly 220 years ago, this country’s founding fathers convened in Philadelphia’s Independence Hall to debate the burning issues of their time. They were determining how to create a free and just society for the people and by the people. Those attending history’s most significant convention included a general named George Washington, a master electrician named Benjamin Franklin and political heavyweights Alexander Hamilton and James Madison.
Flash forward to the present. One can now access the information about what happened so many years ago in Philadelphia with one click of the mouse. Pepperdine professor Gordon Lloyd and the Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs has offered the public an educational tool that comprehensively explains practically anything and everything a person might want to know about the Constitutional Convention of 1787.
The Web site was originally designed to aid high school teachers. It is now being used by several college professors as a guideline for their courses. Lloyd said the Web site averaged from 10,000 to 15,000 hits a month within six months of its launch. This was done without any advertising.
Lloyd said in making the Web site he strived to “remove the scariness…and increase the accessibility without dumbing down” the detailed information on the convention. Included on the site is Lloyd’s collection of research and photographs that he has accumulated over the last 15 years. Additionally, there is a map of Philadelphia from that period. One can take a virtual trip back in time to experience the political environment and original landmarks where the nation’s government was conceived.
Lloyd has received no financial compensation for the Web site, which he created through the support of a government grant. He said when professors cite it in their syllabi as the main source for Constitutional Convention information, that is enough of a reward.
“It [the Web site] is my gift to the world,” Lloyd said.
Lloyd said he plans to update the Web site by providing recent photographs of Historic Philadelphia and 18th century images of the educational institutions attended by the Consitution’s framers. He said he also hopes to create what he called “Phase Two” of the Web site, coverage of the constitutional ratifying conventions from each of the American colonies.
To access the Web site, go to www.teachingamericanhistory.org/convention