Wisdom and reflection for Constitution Day
Constitution Day (Sept. 17) offers us a moment to pause and consider the ideas that shaped our nation. America is still relatively young, given that we are celebrating our 250th anniversary next year, and the Constitution, nearly as old, remains one of history’s most remarkable political achievements.
The Constitution is more than a set of rules; it is a covenant designed to limit the power of the state, particularly the federal government, so that liberty might flourish.
The recent political assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk is a sobering reminder that our civic debates involve real people and real consequences. The way we engage with one another matters deeply. It calls us to remember that we not only have rights under the Constitution but also responsibilities in our moral formation and civic life. The endurance of our founding documents depend not only on our institutions but on our own commitment to its principles. The words below invite us to reflect on the fragility of freedom and the duty each of us bears in preserving it.
Learned Hand, Spirit of Liberty Speech, 1944:
“Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help.”
Frederick Douglass, 1893 speech at the Chicago World’s Fair:
“The problem is whether the American people have loyalty enough, honor enough, patriotism enough, to live up to their own Constitution.”
Felix Morley, Freedom and Federalism, 1959:
“Had President Truman been living in 1787 he could quite reasonably have called it a ‘Do Nothing’ Constitution. But to do so would be to forget that the founding fathers put restraints on government so that the governed might be free.”
Janice Rogers Brown, address to the Philadelphia Society 46th Annual Meeting, 2010:
“The Constitution has sheltered us from those who would destroy freedom, but the fortress is incredibly fragile because it is only as strong as our devotion and allegiance.”
John Francis Mercer, 1788 Ratifying Debate:
“The moment government becomes disordered, bigotry and fanaticism take root and grow… and finally religious persecution reciprocally supports and is supported by the tyranny of temporal powers.”
James Madison, National Gazzette, 1792:
“Every word [of the Constitution] decides a question between power and liberty.”
Russell Kirk, From Ten Conservative Principles, 1986:
“A society in which men and women are morally adrift, ignorant of norms, and intent chiefly upon gratification of appetites, will be a bad society—no matter how many people vote and no matter how liberal its formal constitution may be.”
Forrest McDonald, Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities, 1987:
“To put it bluntly, it would be impossible in America today to assemble a group of people with anything near the combined experience, learning and wisdom that the 55 authors of the Constitution took with them to Philadelphia in the summer of 1787.”
— Ray Nothstine
— The Federalism Beat