Before the Declaration of Independence, before the Constitutional Convention, colonists were already debating the meaning of a constitution — and it didn't look anything like the document we know today. Dr. Zachary Deibel, assistant professor of history at the Virginia Military Institute, joins Dr. Katie Crawford Lackey at Montpelier to trace the constitutional ideas that shaped the American Revolution. Drawing on the writings of John Dickinson, the legacy of the Glorious Revolution, and the colonial charters that defined the relationship between the King and his American subjects, Deibel unpacks why the dispute with Britain wasn't simply about taxes — it was a fundamental disagreement over the meaning of liberty itself. He also explores a theme that resonates well beyond the 18th century: when two sides decide there is nothing left to learn from each other, that's when the shooting starts. 

This episode is supported in part by the Virginia Law Foundation.