“For some reason I was attracted to civil government and took that. This was my first introduction to the Constitution of the United States. Although I was but thirteen years old, the subject interested me exceedingly. The study of it which I then began has never ceased, and the more I study it the more I have come to admire it, realizing that no other document devised by the hand of man ever brought so much progress and happiness to humanity.” – President Calvin Coolidge
This is an important week in our nation’s history. In May of 1787, 55 delegates gathered at Independence Hall in Philadelphia to draft a new government structure. Every state, save for Rhode Island, was represented. Their charge was to develop a constitution “sufficient to the exigencies” of the Union. The Articles of Confederation formed a loose association of independent states that had proven to be unworkable and left these United States vulnerable to attack. There were trade disputes over tariffs between the states. Each state coined its own money, so there was no standard exchange value for goods and services. The central government was very weak and lacked the ability to enforce tax law to fund itself. Events like Shays’ Rebellion in Massachusetts exposed the risk to keeping our republic together.
There were two distinct schools of thought among the delegates. The Federalists believed in a strong central government being involved in issues decided by individual states. They believed a strong central government could more effectively protect individual liberties, and that proposals that would become the Bill of Rights were too restrictive. In contrast, the Anti-Federalists advocated for governing authority to be concentrated in individual states. Understanding the tendency of central governments to continuously expand, they feared the federal government would morph into a form of monarchy.
In the end, both camps were right and both camps were wrong. As if the daunting task of constructing a new government was not enough, the strong personalities and personal animus among some of the delegates resulted in vigorous debate. When it seemed the delegates had reached an impasse, Benjamin Franklin rose to address the Convention. His speech is referred to as An Appeal to Heaven.
Franklin suggested a three-day “cooling off” period where the Convention would stand in recess. During that time, he encouraged members of opposing factions to visit informally – to listen to each other to gain a greater understanding of their positions. Before Franklin yielded the floor, he made another critical suggestion. He suggested appointing a Chaplain of the Convention and opening each day with prayer. Reading between the lines he diplomatically pointed out the absurdity of mere men completing their task while not requesting assistance of Divine Providence. Praying and asking for God’s guidance was a staple of our young country. Why shouldn’t that be the case here? The Convention took a three-day recess, selected a Convention Chaplain and began each succeeding day praying for wisdom and guidance.
The delegates realized that despite their best efforts, any drafting errors would need correction. And likely, there would be changes needed based on experience as well. Thus, a process of amending the Constitution was adopted. In fact, a proposal was adopted that through a two-thirds vote of Congress, an amendment could be sent to the states for their consideration. If three-fourths of the several states agreed with the proposal, then the proposal would become part of the Constitution.
On September 15, 1787, Virginia delegate Colonel George Mason addressed the Convention and pointed out a critical flaw – that the draft Constitution offered only one method for making amendments – allowing amendments only to be proposed by Congress. Madison’s notes indicate Mason’s concern: “No amendment of the proper kind would ever be obtained by the people if the government should become oppressive, as he verily believed would be the case.”
Therefore, the convention of states process was adopted unanimously and without debate. This method gives the same authority to state legislatures to propose amendments as Congress. It takes two-thirds of state legislatures to agree to the reason to hold a convention of states meeting. And, any proposal that passes out of that meeting by a majority vote is sent to the states where it takes three-fourths of the states to ratify the amendment.
The result of the delegate’s work was not only our Constitution, but a menu of proposals some of the states wanted included in the text of the Constitution. If these proposals had been included, passage of the Constitution would have been compromised. Remember, Rhode Island had not sent delegates to the 1787 Convention. The New York delegation had disbanded early after their failed attempts to take control of the proceedings. Passage in Massachusetts was in doubt as well. A deal was struck with James Madison promising that if the states ratified the Constitution as written, the first Congress would take up these additional issues of the states. Fourteen of these proposals were debated by the House. Twelve of those proposals passed the House by a two-thirds vote. Ten of those proposals exceeded a two-thirds vote in the Senate and were ratified by at least three-fourths of the states. These amendments became our Bill of Rights.
Today, the average age of a country’s constitution is about 17 years. September 17 will mark the 235th year since our Constitution passed out of convention. Under this Constitution we have enjoyed more prosperity and innovation while being the most compassionate and charitable country in world history. Our Constitution has been under a slow assault for 110 years, and the onslaught has accelerated in the last 20 years. The result has been a decline of our individual liberties, economic prosperity and innovation.
The Framers intended the convention of states process for such a time as this. As Ronald Reagan said, it truly is a time for choosing. If you claim to love and defend the Constitution, the constitutional protections afforded to every American citizen and limitations on government authority and still oppose using The Framers’ convention of states process, I really do not know what it will take to change your mind. There is no other civil option. Each person can make a difference. Go to www.conventionofstates.com/take_action for volunteer opportunities. The time to restore our Constitution and save our republic is now!
Kind regards,
Brett
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