The question of adopting the Constitution is a really big deal. Probably the most important that will ever come before anyone alive today. We should all take the time to understand what is being decided. Don’t just read the headlines. Really understand for yourself.
Government is necessary, there’s no denying that. And for a government to actually be effective in any way, the people being governed have to give up some of their natural rights. If they don’t, the government won’t really be able to do anything. So, given this, we have to decide whether it’s better to give up some of our rights to a single federal government or to a number of separate smaller nations or confederacies.
For a long time, this issue has been a non-issue. Everyone agreed that our best bet for prosperity and happiness was to remain firmly united. But we can no longer take that for granted; there are politicians now who, get this, are claiming that our safety and happiness would be better provided if we broke up into separate countries. As bizarre and illogical as that sounds, there are a growing number of people who believe it. Even people who were, until recently, strongly in favor of the UNION. Regardless of why these people have taken up this position, it would not be wise for the nation as a whole to follow along without being convinced that the position is founded on truth and sound policy.
America is not made up of far-distant islands and territories. It is a continuous fertile land, connected by navigable waters in the ocean and some of the greatest rivers in the world that act as highways to ease transport and communication.
It is wonderful that God has blessed this connected land with a united people, speaking the same language, having common ancestry, religious beliefs, political persuasions, manners, and customs.1 This unity has allowed us to band together to fight in a long and bloody war to establish our freedom and independence.
This land and this people are a perfect match, and it seems that God wants us to remain united rather than to break up into a bunch of jealous, warring neighbor-countries.
To this point we have always acted as a single nation. We have all enjoyed the same rights of citizenship, regardless of where we live. We have made peace and war as a single nation. We have beaten our common enemies and established our independence as a single nation. We have made treaties, alliances, and conventions with foreign states as a single nation.
Knowing as we did the advantages of our Union, we established a united federal government as soon as we were independent. Really, we established it before we had earned our independence by our blood. Our homes were still in flames. Our sons, brothers, and fathers were still shivering in the fields. Our enemies were at our doors when we first established a federal government. It’s no surprise that, now that we’re actually using it, the government that was thrown together in those circumstances is, to put it lightly, insufficient.
We’re a very smart people, though, and we saw the weakness of the Articles of Confederation. But we’re not going to throw the baby (union and liberty) out with the bathwater. So, we sent some of the smartest among us, many of whom have proven their patriotism on the field of war, to a convention in Philadelphia, to consider what can be done to preserve our union and liberty.
The circumstances of this convention were completely different than the one that gave us the Articles of Confederation. They met in a time of peace, without the sound of cannons threatening to end the meeting early. They spent months in cool deliberation, despite the heat of the Philadelphia summer. They sought no power, and were influenced by nothing more than their love of country. In the end, they brought forth a plan that they unanimously support.
But the fact is, this plan is a recommendation, not a mandate. The recommendation is not meant for blind approval, just because Washington, Franklin, Pinckney, Madison, or Hamilton have given their approval. But you shouldn’t just outright reject it, either. This subject is of such great importance that it deserves thorough and independent examination. But we’re just dreaming if we hope that every American is going to take the time to thoroughly consider this issue. We’ve seen this before. The First Continental Congress in 1774 was (wisely) convened under similar circumstances of danger. The recommendations of that congress were wise and prudent, and yet the press took it upon themselves to tear them all apart as soon as they were made. Many others, including officers of the government and those who stood to lose power, position, or money, tirelessly worked to influence the people to reject the advice of that patriotic Congress. Many were deceived, or were too lazy to give the subject a true examination. Fortunately for them, and for us, the majority of the great majority of the people thought it through and decided to accept the advice of the Congress.
That majority that did judiciously examine the recommendations of the Congress considered the men who gave the recommendations. They were wise and experienced men, and they represented every part of the country. They thoroughly discussed, during their time together, the true interests of the country. They were all had our best interest as their only interest, and they only made recommendations that they really felt were best for the country.
The people at that time relied on the judgement and integrity of the Congress; they took their advice, ignoring the many voices arguing against it. If we were right to take the advice of the congress at that time, we would be even wiser to take the advice of the convention now. Many of the men who were present, and still unproven, at that Congress 13 years ago were also present at the convention. Their integrity has not been diminished, but now they have gained a significant amount of wisdom and political information, and have proven themselves true patriots through the war for independence.
It’s worth noting that that first Continental Congress, and every Congress that has met since then, have agreed with the people that our Union is essential to our success. To keep the union was the goal of the Constitutional Convention, and the goal of the plan it produced. So, why are there people now, at this critical moment, trying to convince us that the Union is no longer necessary? Why would they suggest we’d be better off with 3 or 4 separate confederacies? I hope we can all see clearly that if we break up the Union, America will have reason to exclaim, in the words of the Poet: “Farewell: A Long Farewell, to All my Greatness.”
Footnote 1: The lack of diversity in these lines grates on the modern ears. We recognize the great benefit of diversity in our time. But, we shouldn’t be too quick to judge our Founding Fathers. The homogeneity (or perceived homogeneity; we won’t at this time get into the issue that Jay is entirely ignoring the presence of an entire race of people who were absolutely essential to the building up of this nation, despite their being enslaved at the time) may have been exactly what was necessary at that time to establish the liberties that allow for a diverse country in our time.