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The Audacious Arrogance Of The Constitutional Framers
The big myth of 1787 continues to haunt us
I still vividly recall my 10th-grade social studies teacher preaching to our impressionable minds. Our constitution may not be perfect, he said. But It’s the best governmental framework ever written.
As an adult, it’s hard to buy into that claim. Today, we gloss over some of the more repulsive clauses of our constitution which have since been repealed or expired.
- Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3, known as the 3/5 compromise, counted five slaves as three people for apportionment purposes.
- Article 1, Section 9 allowed the importation of slaves until 1808.
As horrifying as these clauses were, it’s the underlying premise of the constitution that still haunts us in modern times and will continue to do so.
The big myth of 1787
To persuade the noncommital delegates of New York, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay laid out their arguments for the constitution in a series of essays known as The Federalist Papers.
They argued for their vision of a republican government, as opposed to a true democracy. The basic tenet was that only enlightened statesmen could be trusted to make law and decide…
