What Is the U.S. Constitution, Anyway?

Written by Frank Li

Can any country possibly be more exceptional than America, which was founded with neither a king nor a pope? No, of course not! Yet, today, not only is America most religious among the developed countries, she also seems to be yearning for a king, if not a living God (Is Donald Trump a God?). Why is that?

The system is failing! To understand the real reason behind this failure, let’s look at the U.S. Constitution, understanding what it really is and how well it has been executed and maintained over time.

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1. Background

The birth of the U.S. Constitution cannot be understood without understanding these three things as the background:

1. The American Revolution.
2. The Declaration of Independence.
3. The Articles of Confederation.

Let me elaborate on each …

1.1 What is the American Revolution?

The image below is worth more than 1,000 words.

For more, read: What is The American Revolution, Anyway?

1.2 What is the Declaration of Independence?

The image below is worth more than 1,000 words.

For more, read: What Is America’s “Declaration of Independence”, Anyway?

1.3 What is the Articles of Confederation?

Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – Articles of Confederation.

The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 original states of the United States of America that served as its first constitution.[1] It was approved, after much debate (between July 1776 and November 1777), by the Second Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, and sent to the states for ratification. The Articles of Confederation came into force on March 1, 1781, after being ratified by all 13 states. A guiding principle of the Articles was to preserve the independence and sovereignty of the states. The weak central government established by the Articles received only those powers which the former colonies had recognized as belonging to king and parliament.[2]

1.4 Summary

The American Revolution was instigated by the rich, of the rich, and for the rich. Unfortunately, after winning the revolutionary war in 1783, America, governed under the Articles of Confederation, did not work out well. Consequently, the first Constitutional Convention was held in 1787, resulting in the birth of the U.S. Constitution.

2. The U.S. Constitution – the document

The document (The United States Constitution) consists of three parts as follows:

1. The original U.S. Constitution: It contains a preamble, seven articles, and signatories, totaling 4,543 words.
2. The Bill of Rights, which refers to Amendments 1 to 10.
3. The rest: Amendments 11 to 27.

Let me elaborate on each …

2.1 The original U.S. Constitution

Below is the preamble.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Three highlights for the rest of the original U.S. Constitution:

1. Article 1 – The Legislative Branch. It is the most important branch of the government, ahead of the other two (i.e. Executive and Judicial).
2. Article 4 – The States. The Federal government is limited, with the states maintaining many rights, including that of the elections.
3. Article 5 – Amendments. The Constitution is a living document, subject to change over time via amendments.

2.2 The Bill of Rights

Below is an excerpt from Wikipedia – United States Bill of Rights.

The United States Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Proposed following the often bitter 1787 – 88 debate over ratification of Constitution, and written to address the objections raised by Anti-Federalists, the Bill of Rights amendments add to the Constitution specific guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, clear limitations on the government’s power in judicial and other proceedings, and explicit declarations that all powers not specifically granted to the U.S. Congress by the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people. The concepts codified in these amendments are built upon those found in earlier documents, especially the Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776), as well as the English Bill of Rights (1689) and the Magna Carta (1215).[1]

2.3 The rest

There have been only 17 Amendments over the past 200 years, which speaks powerfully about the durability of the U.S. Constitution, or maybe our inability to adapt, as highlighted by the image below.

3. The U.S. Constitution – the spirit

The spirit behind the U.S. Constitution is multi-faceted with the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Let me elaborate on each …

3.1 The good

Two examples:

1. Our Founding Fathers did their best to form the republic, with all kinds of compromises (e.g. slavery).
2. One thing they did not compromise: democracy (i.e. one person, one vote, with the majority rule)! Specifically, not only did they preclude it in the U.S. Constitution, they also instituted several mechanisms to prevent it from happening in the future, such as three different forms of majorities for the House, Senate, and Presidency, respectively!

Bottom line: The word “democracy” is not in the U.S. Constitution!

3.2 The bad

Two examples:

1. The biggest falsehood (or lie) in the Declaration of Independence (i.e. “all men are created equal”) continued in the U.S. Constitution as “We the People”, which referred to everybody, except for the minorities, women, and even men without [enough] property. For more, read: “We the People,” Really?
2. The compromise on slavery, which is totally contradictory to “We the People” and “all men are created equal”!

3.3 The ugly

The Constitution was written by the rich, of the rich, and for the rich, continuing along the same path as the American Revolution! Two examples:

1. It emphasizes property rights, which is a good thing.
2. The rich wanted a limited (i.e. minimalist) government, which would not only leave them alone to become richer, but also be actually controlled by them (via money)!

What is its lasting impact today?

Our government does not even work!

Three informative readings:

1. Vision for America: Alexander Hamilton vs. Thomas Jefferson.
2. America: A Great Country Without A Working Government?
3. America: An Empire Without an Emperor?

4. Discussion

Overall, the original U.S. Constitution, together with the Bill of Rights, is a well-written document, especially for its time. For example, freedom of speech (in Amendment 1) should forever be a universal human right.

However, a constitution is, after all, just a bunch of words written on paper. It’s up to “We the People” to execute and maintain it over time.

How have “We the People” been executing the U.S. Constitution? Not very well over the past few decades, at least! One prominent example: since World War II, the U.S. has been involved in many wars (e.g. Vietnam War and Iraq War), with none of them being declared by the Congress, as required by the Constitution (War Powers Clause)? For more, read: Wikipedia – Declaration of war by the United States.

How have “We the People” been maintaining it? Not very well, either, for which the U.S. Constitution is actually responsible, partially at least, as follows:

1. Our government is designed to be not very adaptable.
2. The new is not as good as the old?
3. We have made some bad changes over time.

Let me elaborate on each …

4.1 Inability to adapt

A seemingly minor example: The minimal age for the President remains at 35, unchanged since 1787, while the lifespan in America has almost doubled. This issue is actually very important, as most of the recent Presidents were too young and too inexperienced before taking the top job in the nation. For more, read: American Presidency: Starting at Age 55-65!

A more serious example: The Second Amendment – the right to bear arms.

Here is a recent news story: New Zealand’s Prime Minister announces ban on all assault rifles following massacre under strong gun laws.

Forget about China – We can’t even compete against New Zealand!

4.2 The new is not as good as the old?

What is the old?

The British system! Britain had a parliamentary system way before America became independent, and has primarily remained so since then.

What is the new?

The American system! We chose a political system very different from Britain’s, on top of not having a monarch! For more, read: What is the difference between a parliamentary and presidential system of government?

Overall, which system has proven to be [slightly] better, especially recently?

The old!

Any doubt?

Look at New Zealand on the gun issue! Two points:

1. New Zealand, like Britain, has a parliamentary system.
2. The gun issue could be the source of the next American Civil War! For more, read: America: Guns vs. Slavery!

More profoundly, unlike the American system, in which two parties dominate and are dead-locked all the time, a parliamentary system enables the existence of multiple small parties, which may even hold the balancing power from time to time! For more, read the image below.

4.3 Bad changes

Beyond the debate between a parliamentary system (e.g. Britain and New Zealand) and a presidential system (e.g. the U.S.), our Founding Fathers seemed to have got this one right: “We the People” elect the Representatives of the House, who then elect the U.S. Senators, who then elect the American President. In other words, “We the People” do not directly elect the Senators or the President. Instead, we leave their elections to the more able people (supposedly, at least).

The key idea of this tiered election system is the mistrust of the wisdom of the average voters, as illustrated by the image below.

Unfortunately for America, over time, most, if not all, of the states have changed the laws to make the elections of the U.S. Senators direct and that of the President almost direct, aside from the Electoral College.

Why the bad changes?

Blame two big slogans in our DNA:

1. “All men are created equal”, as in the Declaration of Independence.
2. “We the People”, as in the original U.S. Constitution!

It is largely because of these two big, but misleading, if not lying, slogans that America has progressively morphed itself into a [pseudo] democracy (i.e. one person, one vote, with the majority rule) over the past 200 years, in danger of losing the last safe-guard against it: the Electoral College. Two highlights:

1. “All men are created equal” has become “Everyone has the same right to vote when he/she reaches a certain age, regardless of his/her success or failure by then.
2. Elizabeth Warren Calls for Ending Electoral College.

Another bad example towards dumb democracy: Amendment 26, which lowers the voting age from 21 to 18. For more, read: Repealing the Twenty-Sixth Amendment!

From dumb to dumber? Here is a recent news story: Rep. Ayanna Pressley Wants To Lower The Voting Age to 16.

In other words, democracy, detested by the Founding Fathers, has become not only a fashionable word in America, but also almost a system in reality, only to face the same fate as it did in Ancient Greece more than 2,000 year ago!

5. More discussion

Governance is hard.

Exceptional at birth, the U.S. is proving to be not exceptional at all!

Here is a key difference between the U.S. and China: The U.S. was created as, and remains, a country by/of/for the rich, with (1) its government as a necessary evil and (2) an ideal Constitution. In contrast, China has always been, over the past 2,000 thousand years at least, an authoritarian country, with (1) the government being hugely important and (2) a meritocracy system to staff the government. The image below highlights this argument.

In analogy, the U.S. is a country of extreme individualism, supposedly to be ruled by the law, but actually ruled mostly by money. In contrast, China is a family with authorities at the top (i.e. parents). The parent-child relationship and sibling rivalries can be complex, or even brutal from time to time, but it’s all within the family!

Which system will work out better, ultimately?

China’s, I bet!

Why?

A family will triumph over a bunch of individuals!

For more, read: The U.S. vs. China: A Great Experiment vs. A Great Civilization!

Worse yet for the U.S., we are sliding backwards to feudalism, while China abandoned it a few decades ago! For more, read: Is America Still a Republic?

For the most accurate diagnosis for America, as well as the best solution, read my last book: American Democracy – Why is it failing & how to fix it?

6. Closing

America, reform our political system by amending the U.S. Constitution, as I have suggested (American Democracy – Why is it failing & how to fix it?), or become a fiddle, second to China!

Now, please sit back and enjoy the video below – an audio readout of the United States Constitution.

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