As we observe Constitution Week, Sept. 17-23, the Poplar Bluff Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution wishes to share the following articles as a reminder of how important our nation’s constitution is. Materials come from NSDAR resources.
__Day three: People of the Constitution__
Gouverneur Morris was a tall man and had two mishaps that left him with a withered right arm and a wooden left leg. In college he scalded his arm in a lab experiment which caused him to leave college for a year. Many years later he was in a carriage accident that necessitated having his leg amputated. At the Constitutional Convention, he made 173 speeches, more than any other delegate. He was one of the five members of the Committee of Style who took the 23 articles passed by the convention and combined them into 7 articles that were concise and flowed nicely when read. He wrote the 55- word Preamble to explain the purpose of the laws set down in the Constitution.
“In Order to Form a More Perfect Union” tells us why the Constitution was written. In “establish Justice” we are guaranteed that we will all be treated fairly. “Insure Domestic Tranquility” promises that we can live together in peace. “Provide for the Common Defense” says that the citizens of the United States will be protected from any and all enemies. “Promote the General Welfare” states that everything will be done for the common good of the country and its citizens. And, “Secure the Blessings of Liberty” simply means that we are a free people. This guarantee of freedom is the cornerstone of democracy.
James Madison is called the “Father of the Constitution” mainly because he came to the Constitutional Convention so well prepared and because he took copious notes each night after the day’s session. Princeton educated, Madison read hundreds of books about governments and documents like the Magna Carta. Many of these were given to him by Thomas Jefferson. At age 36, he was one of the youngest delegates while Benjamin Franklin, at age 81, was the oldest. James Madison had a high, reedy voice and was not noted as a particularly good speaker, nonetheless, he made 150 speeches at the Convention. He was the originator of the Virginia Plan which favored the larger states as well as a strong central government and, though his plan was not accepted, many of its components were found in the final Constitution. Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and Madison wrote 85 essays called the “Federalists Papers” to gain support for the Constitution. Madison married outgoing, vivacious Dolley Payne Todd, a twenty-six-year-old widow who was born in North Carolina, but grew up in Virginia. He was forty-three at the time of their marriage. James Madison served as Secretary of State under Thomas Jefferson and was our fourth president.
The Magna Carta of 1215 was the basic tenet for liberty in England. John Locke said in 1690 that a government can only rule by consent of the people. A “Bill of Rights” is a list of basic human rights guaranteed by law. To insure these for all United States citizens, the United States Bill of Rights was written at the first meeting of Congress in 1789 and ratified in 1791. They were the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution. Virginia’s Declaration of Rights was used as a basis for this part of the Constitution. George Mason is credited with being the “Father of the Bill of Rights.”