Two-hundred, twenty-two years ago today, our Founding Fathers concluded a convention that produced a document that would truly be one for the ages:  the Constitution.  Throughout the long, hot summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, the Framers, through much rigorous debate, hammered out a blueprint for the first functioning republic.  In the subsequent decades and centuries, other countries would try to emulate us with their own constitution, to varying degrees of success, though none to the degree of America's success.

But what is specifically so great about the Constitution?  What has made it a document for the ages?  What are some of the myths and misunderstandings about the Constitution?  More to the point, how does one explain Constitutional principles within the context of the actions of today's government?  Let's find out!

The genus of the Constitution is shown in so many ways, one of the most obvious being the separation of powers.   The principle of the Separation of Powers is clearly on display in Articles I, II, and III. Article I deals with the legislative branch, where Congress makes the laws.  Article II deals with the executive branch, where the President carries out the laws, and Article III deals with the judicial branch, the Supreme Court, where the states would have a neutral legal arena to settle interstate disputes.  Each of the Constitution's first three articles spells out the three key functions of government separated into different branches so no branch accumulates too much power.

But wait, there's more!  In addition to the separation of powers, the Framers also gave us Checks & Balances.  For example, while the President is the Commander in Chief of the armed forces, only Congress can declare war.  The two critical elements of a country's ability to wage war are separated into two different branches of government.  Also, while it clearly states in Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 that the president has the power to "appoint Ambassadors, other Public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and other Officers of the United States," those appointments are incomplete without a confirmation vote by the Senate.

The combination of the Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances was designed to put an overall curb on one branch of government accumulating too much power, at the expense of the States and ultimately, at the expense of the people.  This aforementioned combination, along with the Bill of Rights, which were added four years later, provide a host of negative powers, negative in that they curb the natural inclination for the state to grab and assert more control over those who are governed.  Between the First and Tenth Amendments, it states that Congress shall not make a whole plethora of laws, laws that would, for example, restrict free speech, freedom of religion, freedom to bear arms, freedom from unwarranted searches & seizures, freedom from self-incrimination, not to mention laws that would also restrict individuals' private property, and so forth.

With this in mind, herein lies an illustration into how we Americans revere our Constitution more than other countries revere theirs.  France, for example, has re-written their Constitution five or six times since the days of Napoleon.  We would NEVER treat our Constitution in such a cavalier manner.  With normal statutes, if we want to change them, we strike out the old language, and replace it with language we like better instead.  But though we have mechanisms to change our Constitution, even when we do, we don't strike out old words and replace them with new words, rather, we put the new words all the way to the back of the document.  Indeed, we change our Constitution via amendments...does anyone know what it takes to pass and ratify and amendment to the Constitution....?

Now, the very fact that we have Amendments shows that while the Constitution is one of the greatest documents ever produced by man, it is obviously not a perfect document.  Anything created by man cannot be perfect, after all.  If you read the document from the beginning and stopped before the Bill of Rights, you'd think we'd still have slavery in this country, and you'd get the impression that the way we elected the president and vice president was screwball.  If Algore's followers have problems with the electoral college today, they'd really flip their lids with the problems that arose during the presidential election of 1800, which is why the 12th Amendment was ratified shortly thereafter (1804).

Want further proof of the Constitution's lack of perfection?  Here's a number for you:  560 different votes were taken on different aspects of the Constitution during the Philadelphia convention.  How can something with so many compromises be seen as perfect?

So the Constitution may not be perfect.  It is, however, a practical document written by practical men.  Benjamin Franklin, the oldest delegate at the convention in 1787, summed things up very nicely when he wrote to a friend that "[Our] Constitution is an actual operation and everything appears to promise that it will last: but in this world nothing can be said to be certain but death and taxes."

Now, if the Constitution was designed to put checks on different branches of government from getting too big, how did we get from what the Framers gave us 222 years ago to the bloated behemoth of a Federal Government today?  The actions on the part of the Federal Gov't. today, from bailing out the Big Three Automakers to talking about nationalizing 1/6 of our GDP in the form of socializing our health care industry would no doubt make our Founding Fathers flip their powdered wigs in absolute rage.

How do we know this?  In this case, it pays to go to the very source, James Madison, the acknowledged author of the Constitution.  In the 1790s, he was a member of Congress.  Around 1792, his fellow Congressmen were debating a bill put forth that would allocate $15,000 for French refugees.  During the debates, Madison stood up irately and said to his fellow members "I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents." 

Madison would no doubt the first in a host of angry Framers when they would realize that in today's federal budget, a full two-thirds of it are earmarked for what could easily be construed as, in Madison's words, "benevolence."

Those who see no problem with this modern issue would cite the "provide for the General Welfare" clause also found in Article I, Section 8.  Again, however, those who rationalize such budgetary earmarks would run afoul of the Framers.  James Madison clarified things when he said "If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the general welfare, the government is no longer a limited one possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one subject to particular exceptions." 

Thomas Jefferson was of the same sentiment when he said "Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated."

With all of this in mind, given that the Constitution is such a timeless, practical document, the question nevertheless remains, will it last?  The responsibility to answer that key question lies in each and every one of us.

When the delegates concluded their business in Philadelphia 222 years ago today, anxious onlookers outside of Independence Hall approached Benjamin Franklin and asked him what sort of government they were to inherit, with Franklin's answer simply being:  "A republic, if you can keep it."

Though nothing in the national archives supports this, it is widely accepted that Ben Franklin later noted that "When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic." 

John Adams furthered such sentiments when around the same time when he solemnly declared that "[Our] Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

So as the day continues to unfold, it's worth reflecting not only on the genius of the Constitution, what with it's Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, and the ability to make compromises, but also it's worth reflecting on what vigilance it will take on our part to make sure that the Constitution lasts for future generations to enjoy.  May you all have a wonderful day, and God Bless America!