Length: 572 Words Reading Time: 2 Minutes + 30 Seconds
America is a nation founded by geniuses. Today, America is a nation governed by idiots and charlatans in the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, with only a few exceptions to that description. As the popular saying goes, “You cannot make this stuff up.”
I continue to be astonished by the founding of America for two reasons. The first is the incredible set of circumstances that occurred during the founding period. The second is the remarkable men who stepped forward to become part of this grand experiment in republican government.
There have been several instances in world history in which men came together and created something extraordinary from one or more perspectives. I have in mind the Han and Tang Dynasties in China, one or more of the Japanese shogunates, the Renaissance in Florence, the founding of Rome and the subsequent expansion of the Roman Empire, and the creation of the Athenian republic. Equivalent to those history-altering events is the founding of the American Republic.
The Founding Fathers created two documents, unlike any that had been created before or since—the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. A third was The Federalist Papers. Any serious reader of these three documents must conclude that they are works of great genius. In my opinion, they could not be written today by anyone in our political system.
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and James Madison is the Father of the Constitution. However, it is clear that many delegates made a contribution, and the delegates debated each of the many drafts. And, the Anti-Federalists had their say as well. Madison, Jay, and Hamilton wrote The Federalist Papers.
Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence. Fifty-five delegates attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787, and 39 delegates signed the U.S. Constitution. Most of these men were lawyers, some were farmers and planters, and others were merchants. Several were geniuses of the highest order; men such as Jefferson, Mason, Madison, and Hamilton. Most of the signers of the Declaration and delegates to the Constitutional Convention were extremely well-read, were serious thinkers and writers, and were able to articulate their ideas or positions on the critical points of discussion during the Constitutional Convention. And remember this, the Constitutional Convention convened on May 25, 1787 and adjourned on September 17, 1787; the final draft of the Constitution took 116 days to write. Compare the results of the Founding Fathers with the meandering nonsense and pontificating that we see in today’s Congress.
Every American citizen should understand how significant and how extraordinary were the founding of America and the deliberations of these men of genius. We owe them a debt of gratitude, and we owe them even more. We cannot let this grandest of experiments in republican government be destroyed by men and women who are not worthy of following in their footsteps or even to carry their shoes.
I want you to reflect on the following point: The Founding Fathers chose to end the relationship of the Thirteen Colonies with the British Empire. At that time, the British had one of the finest armies in the world, if not the finest. This decision by the Founders was, in the eyes of the British king, an act of treason, which more than likely was punishable by death. In spite of this, the Founding Fathers pushed on with their cause. We the People today can do no less.
