Although numerous books have been written
about the birth of the US government, surprisingly, never
before has the story been told in a feature-length
television documentary. In Making the
Constitution, the
Founding Fathers including James Madison, George
Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Patrick Henry are
brought to life to tell of their desperate struggle to save
their nation—a struggle that nearly ended in failure.
In October of 1785, James Madison paid a visit to George
Washington’s Mount Vernon for the first time. French
sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon was there busy in preparation
to create a life-sized sculpture of Washington that would
eventually stand in the rotunda of the Virginia capitol at
Richmond. Madison may have even watched as the artist
molded a life mask, took body measurements, and made
preliminary sketches of Washington’s features.
Madison was a great admirer of Washington. He had been the
General’s strongest supporter in Congress during the
Revolutionary War and, lately, his leading advocate in the
Virginia legislature often championing Washington’s pet
projects. Yet Madison had only recently been invited to
Mount Vernon.
Having just met with fellow politicians from Philadelphia
and New York, Madison was concerned for the future of the
Union under the stewardship of a deficient confederation
government.
“Congress have kept the vessel from sinking,” he wrote
Jefferson in Paris, “but it has been by standing constantly
at the pump, not by stopping the leaks which have
endangered her.”
The Revolution had been fought and independence from
Britain formally achieved through the Treaty of Paris only
two years earlier but by 1785, the ties that had held
together the thirteen former colonies were quickly
unraveling. The former colonies had only agreed to join
together under a limited set of parameters drawn up during
the war known as the Articles of Confederation.
There were no provisions for Congress to levy taxes, nor
could Congress legally borrow money. The national
government could not even pay the debts that it had
incurred during the war.
Only two years after leading his country to a glorious
victory, Washington was not confident in its future. “The
War, as you have very justly observed, has terminated most
advantageously for America and a large and glorious field
is presented to our view,” he confided to a friend, “But I
confess to you, my dear Sir, that I do not think we possess
wisdom, or justice enough to cultivate it properly.
Illiberality, Jealousy, and local policy mix too much in
all our public Councils for the good government of the
Union. In a word, the Confederation appears to me to be
little more than an empty sound and Congress a nugatory
body…”
Now that there was no common enemy or common cause to unite
the states, regional differences were beginning to separate
them. Under the Articles, there was no method for settling
disputes between the states, which lead to squabbles and
the imposition of thorny trade barriers between them.
Madison discovered that Washington shared his concern that
their country was coming apart at the seams. Their shared
concern helped bond these two, otherwise, disparate men
together. Washington, at six foot and three inches tall,
towered above nearly all men. He was the most famous and
respected gentleman in the country—the cherished hero of
the revolution with a cool and polished charisma to match.
Though a fellow Virginian, Madison was twenty years
younger, short, slender, soft-spoken, and inconspicuous in
social situations. But Madison possessed brilliant
political instincts and abilities beyond his years.
Madison and Washington bonded in their concern for their
homeland and began a friendship in purpose that would lead
to forging of a new government. Making the
Constitution is
their story and the story of fifty-five men who assembled
in Philadelphia at the Constitutional Convention to write a
document that would create a country and change the world.
Just as David Garrigus Productions created the definitive
documentary about the birth of flight, Making the
Constitution promises to deliver a highly accurate,
vividly detailed, engaging, and engrossing story about the
birth of a nation.
Now in pre-production. Estimated release in fall
2010.
We are currently putting the final
touches on a documentary about Inquiry-Based Learning and
the Moore Method, which is an inspirational way of learning
that has the potential of revolutionizing education.
Mathematics historian Dr. Albert Lewis describes the
pioneering teacher who developed this method, "R.L. Moore
was the founder of a branch of mathematics,
point-set-topology, which in itself would give him a place
in history. He's become even better known as a teacher of
mathematicians. He developed a way of teaching, which he
was able to bring students up to a kind of research level
in mathematics almost without them being aware of it. But
however he managed to do it, it resulted in probably the
most distinguished group of PhD students that any professor
has ever had to their credit and not just in the United
States but perhaps in the history of mathematics. Someone
once asked Moore, ‘Do you really expect that all of your
students should become research mathematicians?’ And his
response, I thought, was marvelous. He said, ‘No, but I
hope that they all want to become mathematicians.’ What the
Moore proponents would say is, ‘Look at this model and make
it work for you.’ We know it worked for Moore and it worked
for a lot of his students. There's been nothing like it in
the history of modern education in a way, in terms of a
clear-cut model of success in a field that nobody argues
with."
Dr. Michael Starbird, Distinguished Teaching Professor at
The University of Texas at Austin, summarizes why
Inquiry-Based Learning is so critically important to the
future of education, “To me, the purpose of education is
clearly to make them independent thinkers. To make them be
able to take the challenges that they're going to be faced
with, which are the challenges that we do not know today.
The questions haven't even been asked. And allow them to
have the ability, the confidence, the competence, and the
analytical ability, the critical thinking ability, and the
independence in their way of viewing the world to take on
those challenges and to think their way through them. And
to find good imaginative solutions to problems that have
not yet been posed.”
Underwritten by
the Educational
Advancement Foundation. Estimated release in spring
2009.
WakeRiders Extreme Reality TV
Contestants riding on personal watercraft
race and compete. Watch the entire pilot at
WakeRidersTV.com.
We have recorded hours of dramatic
high-definition flight footage and HD recorded rare
interviews with over 40 of the men and women who played
critical roles in the history of the U-2 Spy Plane. We are
currently seeking development partners that can assist us
in bringing this special documentary to television.