COMPROMISE WAS ESSENTIAL TO FORM REPUBLIC THAT IS THE USA
Editor's note: This is a regular feature on issues related to the Constitution and civics written by Paul G. Summers, retired judge and state attorney general.
Last time, we finished our study of Article VI of the Constitution, which dealt with the Supremacy Clause. The United States Constitution is the supreme and highest law in the land.
A federal statute or state constitution, law or order is inferior to the U.S. Constitution. Article VII, the final and last article, deals with ratification, or approval, of the Constitution by the states.
Article VII: The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.”
It took two-thirds of the13 states to ratify the Constitution
The draft document was signed on Sept. 17, 1787. It was submitted to the 13 states immediately thereafter.
Debates ensued quickly. Individual protection of liberties and rights, allocation of federal power, power reserved to the states, and power of the new federal government – all these and other issues were vigorously debated.
Consequently, supporters of the draft document promised a Bill of Rights once the Constitution was ratified. This was a compromise.
New Hampshire became the requisite ninth state to ratify the Constitution.
The date was June 21, 1788. Under the new United States Constitution, the new federal government began, by agreement, on March 4, 1789. That is when we officially had a constitutional republic called the United States of America.
We have now completed our study of the original Constitution of the United States.
The Bill of Rights were enacted as a compromise
Twelve amendments were approved by Congress in 1789. The first 10 amendments, called the Bill of Rights, were ratified as part of the Constitution on Dec. 15, 1791.
These amendments were a compromise between the anti-federalists and the Federalists to approve and ratify the original body of the Constitution. This is a prime example of how our leaders can compromise if in the best interest of our nation.
Little reason exists for them not to compromise today. This is especially true when they could agree over two centuries ago about something so important as the formation of our constitutional republic.
Our study of the Constitution, our “supreme law of the land,” shall continue in future articles in this publication. Our next article will delve into the Bill of Rights, the first ten Amendments to the Constitution.
There are a total of 27 Amendments. We plan to discuss each one in our articles.
Reading and studying the Constitution is time well spent.
Paul G. Summers is a lawyer. He is a former appellate and senior judge, district attorney general, and the Attorney General of Tennessee. Judge Summers resides in Holladay and Nashville.