We Are the Thread the Constitution Hangs By

In all our deliberations on this subject* we kept steadily in our view, that which appears to us the greatest
interest of every true American, the consolidation of our Union, in which is involved our prosperity, felicity,
safety, perhaps our national existence. This important consideration, seriously and deeply impressed on our
minds, led each state in the Convention to be less rigid on points of inferior magnitude, than might have been
otherwise expected; and thus the Constitution, which we now present, is the result of a spirit of amity, and of
that mutual deference and concession which the peculiarity of our political situation rendered indispensible.
*drafting the Constitution (emphasis added)
- George Washington, President of the Constitutional Convention, September 17, 17871
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government
of any other. - John Adams, second President of the United States of America
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/ Adams/99-02-02-3102
Can it be of less consequence that the meaning of a Constitution should be fixed and known, than a meaning
of a law should be so? - James Madison, fourth President of the United States of America
https://quotefancy.com/james-madison-quotes
Don’t interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our
liberties. … We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the
Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution. … Study the Constitution. Let it be
preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislatures, and enforced in courts of justice.
- Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth President of the United States of America
https://www.azquotes.com/author/8880-Abraham_Lincoln

Some people believe that the Constitution now “hangs by a thread.” Some also feel that the “thread” is the
oath of office, but that is just a small part of it. A nation is a team activity. The thread the Constitution hangs by
is made of the people’s understanding, determination, and good will.

A “true American,” as President Washington said, intends that our union be firm and healthy. True
Americans put their good intentions into effective action. They study the Constitution and work together “in a
spirit of amity.” At local levels they ensure that their friends and neighbors in public office know and abide by
its well-conceived principles. All of us must embody its spirit, because together we constitute our union.

Self-education and oversight can be difficult tasks, but they are vital. They grow easier when we realize that
no constitution or other contract is its written words.2 Writings are mere records. True constitutions, like true
marriages, are constantly created. They live and breathe through the people who treat each other as agreed.

The founding fathers are now long gone. We the People constitute today’s American republic. By learning
and applying the wisdom in the Constitution we increase our own “spirit of amity, mutual deference and
concession.” We then make a stronger republic—and stronger characters—to pass on to our posterity.

So, study we must. Yet, words are only “book learnin’.” The wisdom of others becomes our own knowledge
only when we use it. That was as true in 1776 as it is now. Almost immediately after the Declaration of
Independence was signed, the leaders of several states drafted the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual
Union. Adopted by the original thirteen states in 1781 after much debate, it was our first constitution. As a
confederation, the thirteen states were largely independent of each other. Six turbulent years later, their loose,
“perpetual” union was already falling apart.

From that painful experience the founders decided that confederacies are too weak to govern nations. To
withstand national and international pressures, especially in wartime, a national government needs more power.
Some even thought that the new union should be a monarchy, but most were determined that it be a government
of, by, and for the people. History shows that republics often turn into tyrannies. So, in 1787 the founders
carefully and prayerfully designed a constitutional republic. It was the first in world history. The state
legislatures needed two years to ratify this groundbreaking proposal from the convention.

Not much earlier, the thirteen states had declared their independence from a tyrannical king. Then they had
fought a bloody, eight-year war on their own soil. For six more they had endured confusion in the confederacy.
The people wanted a government strong enough to protect their rights—but not strong enough to trample on
them. Is it any wonder that they resisted accepting an untested Constitution for two more years?

At last, the framers offered the protections stated in the Bill of Rights. That was the sine qua non (“without
that, nothing!”) the people had needed. Now they were persuaded to accept the new government. For that
reason, the Bill of Rights stands in a higher position of respect and importance than the rest of the Constitution.
The tenth amending article (“Tenth Amendment”) reserves all other powers to the States or the people. The first
ten amendments are still essential. They provide evidence of good faith in our People-Government contract.

The Constitution’s first six articles spell out the mechanics of the federal government. They direct how the
powers the people delegated (entrusted) to it are used. The Bill of Rights are the first ten articles amending the
Constitution (1791). Those ten “amendments” were not afterthoughts adopted when the new nation was well
under way. They were essential to gaining popular support for this untested form of government.

The Constitution was far better than the Articles but still not perfect. It allowed only white men to vote. It
counted slaves as “three fifths” of a person. Worst, it established Washington DC as a foreign jurisdiction. We
still suffer from that crucial error. But in more than two hundred years only thirty-three amendments have been
proposed. Only twenty-seven have been adopted.3 We must let not the Constitution’s imperfections stop us from
requiring that everyone in government supports and defends it.

Careful study brings understanding, appreciation, and insight. These lead to kindhearted teamwork. So, we
must also study and understand the background of the Constitution. We should consider and discuss it as if we
were creating it ourselves. What problems did the founders need to solve? What other choices did they have?
By studying it and living it we can help ourselves and every true American in our government respect it as the
supreme law of our land. Their own intelligence will then give it top priority over lesser policies, orders, and
duties. Various online courses provide excellent interpretations and the historical background for our studies.4

No perfect constitution, social contract, or other marriage exists this side of heaven. Societies of living souls
are constantly changing, learning, and growing. Earthly perfection exists only in visions inspired by God. But
with “amity, mutual deference, and concession” we can continue to consolidate our union. By doing this, at
each of its levels, we provide for our mutual prosperity, felicity, safety, and national existence.

̶ Richard Hubbard

1. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/translet.asp. Quoted by Derek A. Webb in “The Original Meaning of Civility:

Democratic Deliberation in the Philadelphia Convention.” https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/sclr/vol64/iss1/6/
2. “In colloquial speech, people often talk of ‘signing a contract.’ Strictly speaking, this is inaccurate terminology. The
contract is the legal relationship between the parties, and the document that is [often] signed is actually the record or
memorial of that contract.” - Brian A. Blum, Contracts: Examples and Explanations, 4th ed., page 57 (emphasis added).
3. The Bill of Rights has never been amended.
4. Suggested sites: https://online.hillsdale.edu; constitutingamerica.org;
https://www.prageru.com/video/the-constitution-why-a-republic? playlist=american-history;
https://www.prageru.com/video/ben-shapiro-the-federalist-papers-by-alexander-hamilton-james-madison-and; etc.

Kane County Committee of Safety - Kane County, Utah (541) 981-7597

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