Be Careful What You Wish For!

       As we are coming up on Constitution Day, let's take a moment to revisit this document, and all that went into its construction.     

This country, by its definition, is a melting pot.  We have all known people who are plate spinners, marathon men or hot heads.   A variety of upbringings influences how we deal with adversity.   This is something you have been taught since childhood. The whole “No Man Is an Island” thing—“It Takes a Village” and all of that stuff!   Not to mention “Variety is the Spice to Life”…can you think of any more?

Let’s go back in time once again to the Constitutional Convention.  It was full of comeback kids, plate spinners (they can be guys too!), hotheads, marathon men, you get the picture.  Talk about adversity!!  How in the world would they come together to make this work?  All of these unique personalities, from different geographical locations within the country with their own agendas have all come together to agree on one Constitution for the entire country.  This has been their wish; this is what they have fought for, died for, and lived for!  Be careful what you wish for gentlemen…

First, let’s set the scene.  The year is 1787, at the convening of the Constitutional Convention.  The delegates who had decided to attend pretty much agree with James Madison that the Articles of Confederation had to change.  If delegates from any state disagreed with what was decided, they simply did not attend.  Case in point was the state of Rhode Island who didn’t send anyone to the Convention.  They simply refused to participate at all.   Their delegates thought the Constitutional Convention was a conspiracy to overthrow the government.  The government as it stood, favored Rhode Island.  It didn’t have many taxes, and it favored states rights, so why would they want it changed?  So, they took their blocks and went home.  Rhode Island figured by the time ratification rolled around, the Constitution would probably have been picked apart and edited so much by the attending delegates, it would wind up looking very much like the old Articles of Confederation and everything would remain status quo.

The major players in this little Constitutional “production” were James Madison, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and Henry Knox.  These men realized that this new country was much bigger than any existing European nation, and wasn't going to get any smaller.  They were thinking Manifest Destiny decades before it became the buzz word of the 1840s. No republic had succeeded on a small scale much less the scale they were working with, and that was only thirteen states! They also knew it was impossible for each individual state to be running their own show—that was one of the sticking points during the Revolution.

One important thing to keep in mind at this time is that the citizenry didn’t want a strong central government.  They were afraid if the government became too strong, it would begin to resemble a monarchy…and they weren’t going to have any of that.

So now, the $64,000 question is…how in the world do you take a majority of delegates who are thinking short term, and convince them it’s a long term issue?  So many of the delegates were thinking in the “now”, and needed to think about the future.  How do you get them all to see the light? The answer was very evident:  COMPROMISE.  Well, that’s all fine and dandy in theory, but how in the world do you begin to compromise with such a diverse group?  What were some of the most important issues? 

Issue #1:  All Men Are Created Equal?

  This had been a sticking point since the fight for independence.  As the brave soldiers were fighting for our freedom, white as well as black fought for a common goal.  Who would benefit from the outcome?

At the time of the writing of the Constitution, each of the thirteen states was basically looking out for themselves.  We weren’t so much a United States, as three separate confederations; each with its own set of problems and concerns.  This really came out into the open when the question of slavery was put out on the table.  The southern states knew slavery was essential for their economic livelihood.  For all intents and purposes, the north, at that time, basically buried its head in the sand and figured the subject would fade away on its own.  As it was, slaves were only considered 3/5 of a person when it came to population.  When the subject did come up at the Convention, the south threatened to walk out.  In an attempt to head off what might have been the implosion of the entire Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin decided it was a battle for another day.  As a way of appeasing the southern delegates and to prevent them from taking their marbles and going home, the south was promised that the first ten amendments of the Constitution would be the guaranteed rights of individuals, protecting the states from the government steamrolling through and deciding how the states would govern themselves.  Isn’t it ironic that in 1787 the south would be concerned about the rights of individuals!   Wouldn’t you have loved to have had a crystal ball…?

Issue #2:  Who Are the People?

The Constitution begins with the hallowed words “We the People”.  Kind of warm and fuzzy, isn’t it?  It gives you the image of the people of each state locked arm in arm deciding what would be best for them, taking everyone’s needs into consideration.  Of course, we all know it didn’t work out quite that way.  Federalists felt it was imperative to have a strong central government.  George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison were the greatest cheerleaders for this cause.  They felt it entirely necessary to reform the government with this Constitution and have at its very foundation a strong central government.

Anti-Federalists on the other hand, felt the people would have no say if Washington and company succeeded with their reformation.  They also knew that a national government would rule supreme over states of the “people”.

To solve this problem, a compromise was reached.  The ruling governmental body was split in two.  The House of Representatives would be elected by the people.  The amount of representation would also be dependent on a state’s population.  The Senate would be elected by the state legislature, and everyone would have the same amount of representation, regardless of a state’s size or population—do we see those linking arms yet?!?

Ironically, Hamilton, Washington, and Madison felt this compromise meant they had failed in their attempt to reform the government.  They also felt the only thing they had succeeded in doing was making the government weak and ineffectual.  What changed their mind?  Well, little by little during the ratification process, the three of them came to realize that this compromise would indeed come to strengthen the republic, because it would be hearing from many people with a variety of needs and interests.(WHAT?!?!?) They also came to realize that many groups of people with a variety of issues and interests would insure that no one group would become dominant and take over.  This would continue as the country grew.  

Anti-Federalist Patrick Henry decided he wasn’t even going to show up at the Convention because he said he smelled a rat.  He was against the whole idea of the Constitution.  He had no problem with the Articles of Confederation as they stood, and  he knew there was no way the Federalists were ever going to come around to his way of thinking.

Once Madison and the others had their epiphany, and a compromise was reached, Madison was able to convince other anti-federalists to agree to the compromise.  In doing this, he was able to defuse any big speech Henry might give to rev up the anti-federalists, and there you have it, compromise.

Issue #3:  Must All Good Things Come to an End?

Mission Accomplished! The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787, and it was finally ratified in 1789.  We’re done, right?  Should we be?

Benjamin Franklin said at the time the document was written, “I confess that there are several parts of this Constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them:  for having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information, or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise… on the whole sir, I cannot expressing a wish that every member of the convention who may still have objections to it would with me on this occasion doubt a little of his own infallibility and to make manifest our unanimity put his name to this instrument.”

What does this mean?  It means that the U.S. Constitution is a living document.  It’s flexible, able to withstand the tugging and pulling of centuries of mistakes and adversity.  James Madison was very particular about this when he said that his best argument for the new constitution was that it enshrined an argumentative process in which there would be no such thing as a last word.  The old girl has held up pretty well, too.  It revisited and resolved the issue of slavery in 1865, gave women the right to vote in 1920, and changed its mind as with prohibition in 1933.  Its amendments form our governmental processes, enable us with our personal rights, as well as protect us.  It is a flexible fluid document because it governs people.  People must be flexible and fluid if we wish to peacefully coexist.

☺ Have you ever been In charge of a committee?   How do you get everyone to agree on policies, agendas-- heck, where to order from for lunch!  While you may feel you’d be better off doing all of the work on your own, you know it would be better if you had input from others to get a variety of perspectives, and ideas.  Everyone would be happier if their interests were all taken into consideration.  Will there be disagreements?  Yes.  Will someone be upset?  Most definitely! However, if you know this ahead of time, and know you will have to problem solve—use your committee to its best advantage.  Showcase the talents of all of the members.  If everyone feels they are being heard, they are more likely to come up with ways of overcoming adversity when it arises.

If you'd like to read more, you can purchase Mistakes Happen: An Historical Guide to Overcoming Adversity from either our website; www.historiesforkids.com or from www.amazon.com