Although writing about San Francisco is fun, there’s only so much complaining and bringing things to light one can write about. Especially, while those in charge continue to ignore the warnings. I’ll still mix in some San Francisco and current event stuff as it arises. But I’m going to take some time to talk about the US Constitution. The Constitution is an evergreen topic for me. It’s history, politics, inception, creation, and various methods of interpretation affect all of us.
When joining the police department, I swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. While we all put our right hands up and swore the oath, sadly many who take this same oath, do not even know anything about the document they are pledging their lives to uphold.
For most, our formal historical, legal, and political education ends in a high school civics class. After age eighteen, many will never delve deeper into the issues of government and politics, outside of watching pundits discuss issues on the news. It also creates an interesting paradox that at the very same age we become eligible to vote, it’s also the last time most will have a class on government. This presents a problem of an electorate that may be less knowledgeable about the functions and powers of their government, but inherit a lifetime appointment to elect those in charge.
I have always been interested in history and politics. In high school, I jumped at the chance to take AP Government and Politics. The course was everything I wanted it to be. The model for a class on Government. It was a very balanced class, where we had collegial discussions and debates on what can be a very divisive subject. Dr. Link was a master at grading based on the strength of arguments, not the ideological viewpoints, the way a politics class should be. I can honestly say that it influenced me to major in Political Science and ultimately pursue my law degree.
BORN OUT OF FAILURE: HOW THE CONSTITUTION CAME TO BE
Before discussing the Constitution, it’s important to know how it came to be. The Articles of Confederation was our original founding document. The Second Continental Congress drafted the Articles of Confederation during the Revolutionary War in 1777. It was not until 1781 when they were finally ratified and empowered the first government of these now United States.
The Articles of Confederation called for a “firm league of friendship” between the states. Our first founding document was very wary of one executive potentially becoming a monarch, so it did not create one. Each state retained its sovereignty, so the Federal Government was very weak. The new Federal Government could not levy taxes, raise an army, and did not establish courts. In addition, amending the Articles required all states to agree to the new amendment.
When Shay’s Rebellion occurred in the Winter of 1787, it became clear the current Federal government was insufficient. The Articles of Confederation were born of necessity for a fledgling nation during wartime, but they were failing.
In the summer of 1787, delegates from twelve of the thirteen United States (Rhode Island refused to send a delegation) met in Philadelphia to amend the Articles of the Confederation. Although the country was 11 years into its existence, a working government was still far off. The problems with the failing government were mounting. While most came to the new convention seeking to amend the Articles and fix the issues, others like James Madison and Alexander Hamilton came to the convention seeking a new government and a new Constitution to create it.
After independence was won, the United States were not united by much other than geography. Each individual state started as its own individual colony, with its own history, traditions, and economies. Leading up to the revolution, they united under one common enemy, the British Crown. But once they won freedom, each individual state retained its identity, and even created regional alliances with other states, further complicating any union. This tension made framing a new government a real challenge. Uniting these states with many diverse and diverging interests was a near impossible task. The creation of our Constitution and in order to keep the “perpetual union” together, required compromise, some of these compromises affect us even today.
Did the Constitution have issues? Yes! Is it perfect now? No! But it is the oldest written governing document still operating in the world today. For more than 235 years, the American Constitution has peacefully transitioned power from one president to the next, declared, fought and won wars.
The Constitution has flaws. Most glaring being it expressly permitted the continuation of slavery until 1808. Anyone who is moderately familiar with history knows the abhorrent practice lasted much longer, until we fought a civil war to end it. Although passing the 13th amendment ended slavery, and the 14th amendment promised equal protection, government-sponsored-discrimination continued for generations.
Through it all this foundational document has endured. The men who composed the document in 1787 were flawed just as we are. Our current generation understands we have flaws, we may not want to think of our flaws, but we are not perfect and we all have them. It’s easy to judge the past and impute liability using our current morality, however it denies what the situation at the time was.
SOME LIGHT READING
If you have never read the Constitution please do. You can read it here. At just over 4,500 words it’s not terribly long. Of course, those words contain many meanings and have been broadly interpreted in different methods since its inception. In addition to interpreting it, there is a lot of historical context left out of many modern discussions of the Constitution. Even writing this small piece, there is so much left on the cutting room floor for a full discussion.
There are also many courses you can take to learn more. There is so much history, politics, drama, and interpersonal conflicts involved in its creation, amending, and continued authority. Henceforward, I am excited to discuss more about this revolutionary document. I can show you a few things you may not know about our Constitution and help impart some of the wisdom I’ve learned in the over two decades I have been studying it.
As future President Thomas Jefferson once said in a letter to another future President, James Monroe:
“My God, how little my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of and which no other people on earth enjoy.”
Hopefully together we can all learn of our blessings and continue to pass them onto our children for generations to come.
It is an amazing document. The world laughed at us and our crazy experiment.
Great article!
Our founding fathers were indeed flawed and very much products of their time. Yet it is because of the foundation they created that we, as a nation, can continue to improve upon our history. I'm grateful for their courage under fire.
And yes, I think we can all benefit from re-reading the Constitution, as well as re-studying American history.