Monday marks the 225th anniversary of the United States Constitution. Our Constitution is a unique document in the history of world government. Many legal scholars describe it as a “living” document because it is continuously amended and interpreted as the nation’s sentiment and sensibilities evolve. We should be proud of this great accomplishment. No matter what our particular political or social leaning, we are all bound by — and at once freed by — this great statement of liberty and governance. As such, it is fitting that we reflect on its drafting and ratification, all those years ago.
The Federal Convention convened in the State House (what we now call Independence Hall) in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787, to revise the United States’ first constitutional document, the Articles of Confederation. The Articles created a loose confederation of sovereign states and a weak central government, which left most of the power with the state governments. Under the Articles, the nation was unable to stabilize the currency, regulate commerce among the states, levy taxes, make capital improvements, satisfy war debts, or deal with individual rights issues such as religious freedom. As such, the need for a stronger federal government soon became apparent and eventually led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
At first only two states’ delegations were present. They agreed to adjourn until a quorum of at least seven states was present. Finally on May 25, enough states had sent representatives for business to commence.
A long and active debate lasted until mid-June when the convention finally agreed that the Articles were simply insufficient for the needs of the new nation. As such, the convention took as its mandate the drafting of an entirely new document. Throughout the summer, acting in closed session, the convention delegates labored. Drafts were considered, amended, redrawn and scrapped.
Then as now, central points of contention were the extent of power accorded to the central government, the number of representatives each state would be allowed, and the process by which the representatives would be elected — either directly or through state legislatures. While our original Constitution was the product of many great minds, there is one early statesman whose name stands above all others: James Madison. According to the Montpelier Center for the Constitution, “James Madison was among the first to recognize that a stronger central government was critical to the new nation’s survival. Always the scholar, Madison undertook an exhaustive study of government structures in world history.” In fact our Constitution would be largely unrecognizable were it not for Madison’s learned guiding hand. Again as the Montpelier Center states, “Many of Madison’s proposals were incorporated into the Constitution, including representation in Congress according to population, support for a strong national executive, the need for checks and balances among the three branches of government, and the idea of a federal system that assigned certain powers to the national government and reserved others for the states.”
Not only did Madison argue for particular structure and wording, he served as a strong advocate, both among his fellow conventioneers — George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, George Read and Alexander Hamilton, to name a few — but thereafter during the ratification process among the states. It is easy to see how the resultant document changed not just U.S. history, but world history. Our freedoms and our form of government stand as a beacon for other nations. We should be proud of those founding fathers and their considerable wisdom. On this auspicious anniversary we should celebrate their achievement.