What happened at the Constitutional Convention?
In the summer of 1787, fifty-five delegates from twelve states spent about sixteen weeks in Independence Hall writing the Constitution of the United States. Their horses waited outside the whole time. In this episode of Our Next Collar, three of those horses return as a panel: Washington's mount, Madison's mare, and Hamilton's gelding, each telling the same summer from the stable.
History remembers the famous. Their pets remember the person. On Our Next Collar, a brown tabby cat named Prince MoRee reaches the pets of history, and one of them tells what they really saw. This is the Witnesses format: several animals, one event, and the same morning told three different ways. True, surprising, and great for curious kids and the grown-ups listening with them.
This episode is fully scripted and has passed the Talking With Pets accuracy review. The recording is in production. The audio player and the full transcript will appear right here the day the episode goes live. Join the founding list below and we will write to you when it does.
From the episode
Roxie: How did you know that from outside the building?
Nelson: (a pause) The evening Washington came out and his pace to the stable was three steps longer than usual. Not hurried. Relieved. I had learned to read the difference. That was the evening of the Compromise.
[Chaco stops writing for a moment. Then writes very carefully: “Three extra steps.”]
Nelson: The horse outside often knows more than the speech inside.
The fifty-five delegates, Washington presiding without speaking, Madison's notes, the Great Compromise, the thirty-nine signatures of September 17, 1787, and Nelson the horse are real. The stable talk is ours.
Sources and further reading
- The Constitutional Convention: May to September 1787, Independence Hall, Philadelphia; 55 delegates from 12 states; 39 signatures on September 17, 1787. National Archives, founding documents. archives.gov
- James Madison's Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, the primary record of the sessions, and the Virginia Plan. National Archives, Founders Online. founders.archives.gov
- The Great Compromise: proportional representation in the House, equal representation in the Senate. National Archives, records of the Convention. archives.gov
- Hamilton's attendance: his New York colleagues left, leaving him unable to vote alone under Convention rules; he departed in July and returned in September to sign. National Archives, Founders Online. founders.archives.gov
- “A republic, if you can keep it.” Benjamin Franklin to Elizabeth Powel, recorded in James McHenry's 1787 journal. Library of Congress. loc.gov
- Nelson, one of George Washington's documented horses. Mount Vernon, “George Washington and his horses.” mountvernon.org
All historical claims above were checked in the Talking With Pets accuracy review, most recently the full editorial pass of July 2026.
What happened at the Constitutional Convention?
From May to September 1787, about sixteen weeks, fifty-five delegates from twelve states met in Independence Hall in Philadelphia and wrote the Constitution of the United States, replacing the failing Articles of Confederation. Thirty-nine delegates signed it on September 17, 1787. Source: National Archives.
What was the Great Compromise?
The Convention's biggest argument was representation: large states wanted votes in Congress based on population, small states wanted every state to count equally. The Great Compromise created two chambers, a House of Representatives based on population and a Senate with two senators per state regardless of size. It is still the structure of Congress today. Source: National Archives.
Who said "a republic, if you can keep it"?
Benjamin Franklin. As the Convention ended, Elizabeth Powel asked Franklin what kind of government the delegates had made, and he answered: a republic, if you can keep it. The exchange is recorded in the 1787 journal of delegate James McHenry. Source: Library of Congress.
Did George Washington speak at the Constitutional Convention?
Almost never in debate. Washington was elected presiding officer on the first day because he was the one person every delegate trusted to be in charge of the room rather than the arguments. He kept order for four months and signed the finished document. Source: National Archives; Mount Vernon.
What is Our Next Collar, and is it good for kids?
Our Next Collar is an educational history podcast for curious kids ages 6 to 10 and the grown-ups listening with them. A brown tabby cat named Prince MoRee reaches the pets of history, and one of them tells the true story of the person they knew. Every episode lists its sources and says plainly which parts are real and which are ours, which makes it a quiet lesson in how to weigh sources. It is a podcast from Talking With Pets.
Our Next Collar · the true stories only the animals saw.
Chaco, Roxie, Moose, Prince MoRee, and Armando are getting the pilot ready. Join the founding list and we will write to you when the first episodes go live. Listen with someone you like.