Musings: A messy founding history yielded a lasting nation
George Washington oversees the signing of the U.S. Constitution at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on Sept. 17, 1787. The 1940 painting by Howard Chandler Christy depicting the event hangs in the House of Representatives wing of the U.S. Capitol. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
As far as civic holidays go, Constitution Day is a distant cousin to the Fourth of July. However, all of us who appreciate democracy, separation of powers and the rule of law should probably celebrate the completion of the final draft of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787.
Written in Philadelphia during a hot and humid summer, the Constitution came about after a long war for independence. If prediction markets had been around in the 18th century, the smart bets would have been on the British, who created a huge global empire and the riches that go with conquest. That the upstart 13 colonies won was a bit of an upset. Once the ink was dry on the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War in 1783, those separate colonies had to figure out how to govern themselves as an independent and united nation.
The reality is that developing the Constitution took months of argument, debate and compromise. Many times, the challenge seemed too great and the differences too many for the 55 delegates. Alexander Hamilton angrily walked out of the Constitutional Convention, returning after a few weeks to be the only New York delegate to sign.
Representation in the new government was a hot issue that summer. The compromise became Congress, described in Article I as bicameral, with two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives, which had more power than the executive branch, and early on it needed congressional support for most decisions. The original Supreme Court was led by another New Yorker, John Jay, and had only five other members.
In 2004, the 108th Congress finally realized that the Constitution needed a holiday of its own. Congress then passed a law making Sept. 17 Constitution Day.
This Thursday, we should celebrate the Constitution not because the framers got everything right — they did not — but because they wrote a document that set the stage for a government by and for the people.
We should celebrate because, by design, the Constitution encourages “We the People” to continue to compromise and work together for a more perfect union.
— Jeanne Knudsen, Ridge
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