Much has been bantered around lately about a “Constitutional Crisis” in America. Questions regarding the behavior of leaders, agencies, and legislators have challenged judges to rule concerning recent revelations and allegations. How do they know what to base their decisions upon? They must consult our nation’s founding document, the US Constitution, to know if boundaries have been crossed or power has been abused.
This coming Tuesday is a holiday that gets very little press and yet celebrates one of the most important aspects of our nation. September 17th is National Constitution Day and is held to honor this incredible document and the brave men who drafted it and eventually signed it on this same date in 1787.
This remarkable paper of only 4,543 original words (including thirty nine signatures) was hammered out by the delegates to the Constitution Convention after the previous Articles of Confederation failed. These men of foresight drafted its seven articles little anticipating how crucial each would become over the ensuing years. But they did know the challenges they faced with the shortcomings of previous attempts and the forces that sought to rip the new country apart.
We often take our Constitution for granted and yet it is the very foundation upon which our entire government is built. Although the Declaration of Independence proclaimed our liberation from England, it was the US Constitution that became the blueprint for our new nation. It continues to outline the broad principles and guardrails within which our government is to function and has endured as the most successful governing document in world history.
Still today the three branches of government outlined there, along with their duties and express limitations, form the basis for our Democratic Republic. The balance provided between states’ rights and federal interests has continued to chart the course for our nation as have the checks and balances for the various branches of government.
In the years since its signing, twenty-seven amendments have been added while others have been rejected. Whereas specific laws and directives come and go, only foundational principles should be outlined and protected in such a document.
Thankfully, the first ten amendments were added almost immediately as our founders realized that personal liberties needed to be enumerated and secured. We should be ever so grateful for this Bill of Rights and for every single one of them in spite of the outrageous attacks upon each today.
Few are aware of God’s direction in the formation of the Constitution. Because of the fierce debates, Benjamin Franklin suggested that they begin their daily deliberations with prayer, which they did. Others who were personally involved credited God for providing the insight and wisdom needed to arrive at the final outcome. Alexander Hamilton said, “… I sincerely esteem it a system which without the finger of God never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests.” Washington and Franklin both agreed.
James Madison stated, “It is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it the finger of the Almighty Hand which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the Revolution.”
Sadly, even many law students admit to never having even read the document upon which all US law is based. Many individuals unfamiliar with this crucial manuscript make claims that indicate their ignorance of it.
The real constitutional crisis is that far too few citizens, and even elected officials, have any clue what this document says. I’m so thankful for my teachers who made sure we not only read, but knew every Article and Amendment well. Federal law requires all schools to hold special programs on Constitution Day to honor it but very few do. A program of thanksgiving for this document will be held, however, at 10:30AM on September 21 at Mt. Hebron Cemetery in Winchester and all are invited.
President Coolidge summed it up so well when he said: “[T]he more I study [the Constitution], the more I have come to admire it, realizing that no other document … ever brought so much progress and happiness to humanity. . . . To live under the American Constitution is the greatest political privilege that has ever occurred to the human race.”
As we celebrate the 232nd birthday of this incredible document, let’s thank the God who directed its drafting and work to preserve its legacy.
Blessings, George