Divergent Forces That Shaped Our 1787 Constitution…

…WHICH WAS NEEDED TO RAISE TAXES TO PAY FOR THE “WAR AGAINST TAXES”. There is a great deal of revisionist misinformation floating around these days about the “framers” and their “intent” in enacting our sacred Constitution. Honestly, it was put together rather hastily in 1787 (ratified in 1789), using John Locke’s “intent of the governed”, Montesquieu’s “separation of powers”, and Sir Edward Coke’s notion of “civil liberties”. It had to be cobbled together quickly, as after the 1783 Treaty of Paris formalized the Thirteen Colonies as victors in the Revolution, these Colonies had no means to pay their debts until this new Federal Government had the ability to levy taxes. Fortunately, the brains of Madison, Hamilton, Jefferson, and Adams went to work, under the powerful and unifying eyes of Washington and Franklin. The word “God” is not mentioned, and the Constitution seems more the work of Deist Freemasons than Evangelical Christians. Rebellions and Bill of Rights controversies ensued, but a new Nation was born.

The Framers of the Constitution. The tallest (George Washington at 6'-2") set a noble and modest precedent for the Presidency, while the shortest (James Madison at 5'-4") was a major force in the Bill of Rights authorship.

The Lead-up to Our Constitution: The current Apple TV miniseries “Franklin” (about Ben Franklin’s efforts to get France’s support for our Revolution, starring Michael Douglas) is a good starting point for understanding the birth of our Nation. Franklin (who was a hero in a 1770s France enamored with science and liberty), shrewdly played French…