The study of it (the Constitution) 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….To live under the American Constitution is the greatest political privilege that was ever accorded to the human race. – President Calvin Coolidge
The celebration of our Constitution is unique this year. The calendar provides the opportunity to celebrate its passage across two weeks. On September 15th, we commemorated Article V Day. That day in 1787 is when Colonel George Mason proposed the convention of states process to be added to Article V. This clause provided us with a solution to push back against a tyrannical federal government through our State Legislatures.
September 17th marked the 236th anniversary of the signing of our US Constitution by the delegates to the 1787 Philadelphia Convention. This marked the end of its drafting but the debate of the Constitution’s substance and meaning continues to this day.
The Framers knew they had not created a perfect document. They knew that no matter how brilliant they thought themselves, they were imperfect human beings. They were unsure if the authority given to the three branches of government was properly balanced. They were concerned they’d created a government structure that would not sufficiently prevent the federal government from infringing upon the rights of the individual. Life experiences told them necessary changes would arise. And, there were several contentiously debated issues that were not part of the document they signed.
These are the reasons constitutional processes of amendment were included. One process allowed Congress to propose amendments. The other mode allowed We The People to propose amendments by acting through our State Legislatures. Both modes were equally legitimate under the provisions of the Constitution.
There were two documents passed out of the 1787 Convention. The first was the Constitution itself. The second document stated it would take 9 of the 13 states to approve of the plan before the Constitution was ratified. The US Constitution officially was ratified on June 21, 1788 when New Hampshire became the 9th state to pass ratification. Rhode Island became the 13th and the final original state to pass ratification on May 29, 1790.
I noted there were several unresolved issues not included in the original Constitution. The most prominent was the issue of slavery. Several attempts were made to include provisions banning, or at least limiting, the practice of slavery in the United States. Delegates from Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia said their states would not ratify the Constitution if anti-slavery provisions were included. There was doubt that Massachusetts would agree to ratification. This is demonstrated in their 187-168 vote for ratification. Rhode Island refused to send any delegates to the 1787 Convention.
Elementary math skills tell me that makes five opposing states, which would have caused adoption of the Constitution to fail. It meant the Articles of Confederation would still have been the law of the land.
Do you remember why the 1787 Convention was called in the first place? Seven states met in the fall of 1786 at the Annapolis Convention to discuss defects in the Articles. New York and New Jersey were practically at war with each other over trade issues. And the Articles did not allow for a unified defense of the states from foreign attacks. The prospect of invasion still loomed large.
Other states were hesitant to lend their support because they wanted specific protections of individual liberty clearly stated in the Constitution. So, the option was to adopt the Constitution without these more contentious issues or continue under the Articles of Confederation that had proved unworkable.
In exchange for these states to pass ratification, an agreement was brokered by James Madison to take up these issues in the first Congress. That ultimately occurred, and these proposals were indeed taken up in Congress as agreed. This also was the first time the Article V convention of states process was invoked. Virginia passed the first Article V resolution to hold a convention of states to propose amendments if Congress failed to act.
Madison introduced 17 proposed amendments in Congress – 12 of which were passed by a two-thirds majority vote in the House and Senate. These proposals were forwarded to the states where 10 were ratified in 1791 by a vote of three-fourths of the states. These 10 amendments are our Bill of Rights.
The drafting of the US Constitution truly was a miracle – guided by Divine Providence. The disarray in our government today is largely a product of not abiding by the structure established by the Constitution. Our inability to correct it is a result of State Legislatures not exercising their Constitutional duties. Our State Legislators’ hesitance to execute their oversight of the federal government is a lack of knowledge and courage. Today, it is the role of the grassroots to educate our fellow Missourians and provide our legislators with the fortitude to do their duty.
It is up to YOU and ME. That is OUR duty; and a time like none ever is now.
In liberty,
Brett
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