The Constitution was penned during the Constitutional Convention of 1787, in
Philadelphia. Historically speaking, the Constitution was a document that outlined the procedural and legal rules of governing the
United States of America as a free republic.
Up until that point, the
United States had been a facet of
England, subject to their King and likewise, their monarchial rule.
America, young as it was, possessed some of the greatest minds the world has ever known. General George Washington, as their President, presided over the Constitutional Convention. Benjamin Franklin was present, as well as Thomas Jefferson. James Madison, Patrick Henry, John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, Roger Sherman and many others were also in attendance, as well as over forty others.
They were well aware that to solidify the blossoming independent republic-democracy of the
United States, a unique system of government needed to be implemented and properly administered. In short, they wanted a government that the people could control, and visa versa.
To accomplish this task, many of the Founding Fathers turned to the writings and examples of ages past. In the centuries before, many European countries had dreamed of having a government in which they openly participated, held in check, and prevented greedy rulers from taking over and exploiting the people. A government where free speech, the right to worship freely and the right to work for wages was their ultimate goal.
To accomplish these goals,
Europe began first with a Greek system of governing known as
Democracy, from the Greek words
Demos (the people) and
Kratos (authority or government). This system allowed the population of
Greece to actively participate in their governmental policies.
As the centuries progressed, the
Roman Empire constructed an even better democratic form of government in which even more citizens were able to participate. This was known as a republic.
In 1216, the English nobility was living under the regime of monarchies in which one man or woman wielded complete power over the entire land. Fearing for their very lives under a cowardly and sometimes oppressive King John, a group of nobles forced him into signing a monumental democratic document known as the Magna Carta. This agreement guaranteed Englishmen certain rights that could not be infringed, regardless of what any one king might say.
But, as history would have it,
Europe fell under the shadow of Roman Catholicism and Papal rule. The theocracy of the Dark Ages, coupled by rampant disease and war seemed to shun all efforts or dreams of democracy for the time being.
In the fifteen hundreds, a Catholic monk named Martin Luther King began a spiritual revival of Christianity by asserting that men were saved by grace rather than works. His findings amazed and delighted the European continent and a “Great Awakening” ensued.
The Catholic Church, their power threatened by the sudden spread of Christianity, extended their iron hand around new converts and had them either executed or imprisoned. In turn, converts began to flee to the New World, or
North America, to escape religious persecution and worship God as they saw fit. In this way
America was settled primarily by Protestants, who provided a strongly Scriptural foundation for the later Founding Fathers of the
United States.
As the Founders gathered in 1787 to create their new government, they mulled over the past failures of democracy and determined not to make the same mistakes. Unlike the ultimately unsuccessful “free governments” of
Europe, the Founders realized that man was inherently sinful and would eventually destroy himself and each other in the end. In this way, they set up their government by recognizing this sobering fact, rather than ignoring it and hoping that man would merely abstain from sin.
The Constitution is more than a piece of paper with rules written on it. It is the embodiment of, and culmination of, the thousands of years that ensued before it was created.
The Constitution outlines the rights of the people, the states of the
Union, and the government itself. Without declaring anarchy, it designates certain powers to certain branches of government in order to prevent tyranny from consolidating itself in the form of a strong central government. The separation between the Federal Government and the States’ Governments keeps one party from gaining too much power or corrupting the other. The ultimate authority in the republic, however, is the citizens. It is their job and duty to participate in their government and to make sure that their sacred rights are not infringed in any way.
When the Constitution was being written, there was much debate over what rights they should grant the people, the government, and the states. Furthermore, the Founders made it very clear that they had every intention of creating a government that practiced the belief of limited government. In this way government does not have ultimate power, in that its power comes from the people whom it governs through law.
The rights that were ultimately decided on are included in the Constitution, but further specified in the Bill of Rights, which came about only because of the insistence of certain members of the Convention to include basic rights in the Constitution.
This list of rights includes ten amendments including the right of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to peaceably assemble and the freedom to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Amendments are added to the Constitution in order to clarify something that might otherwise be unclear to the people concerning certain rights or laws. In order to add an amendment, it must be proposed and likewise ratified by the states, meaning that their legislatures must give a unanimous three-fourths approval or a three-fourths approval from a special state ratification convention.
In all, there are twenty-seven amendments. Some of them, like Amendment V, guarantee an accused criminal a fair and speedy trial. Others, like Amendment XVIII, prohibited the sale of alcohol in any form in the
United States.
In the case of the latter amendment, the backlash and refusal of the American public to cooperate with the law, Amendment XXI repealed Amendment XVIII! Amendments were also made to guarantee the rights of African Americans to vote, and the right of women to vote. In 1971, eighteen year-olds were given the right to vote as well.
The Constitution was written by men who were heavily influenced by a predominately Christian society. Their morals and values transferred into the writings of the document. They recognized that man was inherently sinful, and they sought to safeguard our society against those who would exploit us by creating checks and balances, rights of citizens and the Republican court system.
The Constitution is a unique and Divinely-inspired document that has lasted longer than any other Constitution in the history of the world. It has been emulated over and over again, but no other country has thrived under it as well as the
United States. It preserves the basic rights of all people, regardless of race or religion, and, in recognizing that man
is prone to sin, takes necessary actions to prevent corruption and vice.
It is logical to assume that without the guidance of such faith driven men, and the blessing of God Himself, the United States quite possibly would have ended up like the seemingly “free country” of France after their Revolution—a three year ordeal that ended with thousands dead and none free.
Truly, the Constitution must be understood in its entirety for what it is: a safeguard of liberty, a guidebook for a free republic and an inspired gift from God to the blessed citizens of the
United States of America.
