The Founders' unfinished work

As a student of history, I am often overwhelmed by the privilege of being involved in the Article V movement. I am keenly aware that we have inherited something almost transcendent in the great saga of the American Republic. We have obtained more than just one particular constitutional provision—we have obtained the opportunity to form a more perfect Union; to fulfill the Founders’ and subsequent patriot statesmen’s dreams and vision for America.

The weight of this privilege (and responsibility) first set in for me when watching an Abraham Lincoln reenactment. Even as the figure delivered some of the president’s most iconic lines, I became suddenly overcome with the sobering realization that this man—the Great Emancipator and arguably the greatest president in our history—not only knew what Article V was but once advocated for its use. “The convention mode [of proposing amendments] seems preferable in that it allows the amendments to originate with the people themselves,” he declared in his First Inaugural Address.

Imagine the humbling gravitas of feeling, in that moment, that I stood in the shadow of my hero, carrying out his work! I knew that if we told him about our modern endeavor to call an Article V convention, he would most assuredly rejoice.

I felt suddenly reinvigorated; galvanized into, as Lincoln would say, giving “increased devotion” to the Article V cause. I soon traced this line of thinking back to the Founding Era and discovered that it applied to our Founders, too. 

Not only did the Framers unanimously agree to Col. George Mason’s “convention mode” proposal, but many also went on to extol the genius of Article V in ensuing speeches and writings.

SEE ALSO: What Federalist No. 85 says about Convention of States

“The ultimate arbiter is the people of the Union, assembled by their deputies in convention, at the call of Congress, or of two-thirds of the States," wrote Thomas Jefferson in a letter. James Madison (another of my favorite presidents) wrote about Article V on multiple occasions. And in the final Federalist Paper, Federalist No. 85, Alexander Hamilton argued compellingly for a convention.

“The national rulers… will have no option upon the subject,” he stated. “By the fifth article of the plan, the Congress will be obliged ‘on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the States… to call a convention for proposing amendments, which shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as part of the Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the States, or by conventions in three fourths thereof.’ The words of this article,” he continued, “are peremptory. The Congress ‘shall call a convention.’ Nothing in this particular is left to the discretion of that body. And of consequence, all the declamation about the disinclination to a change vanishes in air [emphasis added]."

He contended that the fear that “government will always be disinclined to yield up” power would be invalid… for as long as the American people utilized Article V.

Eight years later, in George Washington’s farewell address, the father of his country declared that: “If in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates," which, of course, includes an Article V convention.

SEE ALSO: WATCH: America's Constitution Coach urges state legislators to use Article V

The more I studied, the more overwhelmed I became. Everywhere I looked in American history, it became increasingly evident that those involved in the Article V movement today are executing something past heads of state and American heroes dreamed about. From Washington to Lincoln to other presidents I haven’t mentioned (including Eisenhower and Reagan), the greatest men from our past are cheering us on.

Their work—the work of forming a more perfect Union and preserving liberty—is always unfinished. In every generation, someone must step up and carry it forward. In ours, the Convention of States grassroots army now holds that responsibility, and for us, it is the privilege of a lifetime.

Convention of States is more than just history in the making; it is history in fulfillment. For anyone who loves our shared American heritage, liberty, and the Constitution, the Article V movement is the perfect way to play a part in keeping the Republic. To join us, sign the petition below and lock shields with the army today.