Thursday Read: September 17 - We the People (1787)
On September 17, 1787, after four months of secret debate in Philadelphia, thirty-nine delegates signed the United States Constitution. The document began with three words that redefined governance: "We the People." Not "We the States" or "We the King" or "We the Elite" - but "We the People... in Order to form a more perfect Union."
This was revolutionary. Most nations derived authority from divine right of kings, hereditary nobility, or military conquest. The Constitution claimed authority from popular sovereignty - that government derives legitimacy from consent of the governed. This wasn't pure democracy (the founders feared mob rule), but it was radical departure from monarchy and aristocracy.
The Constitutional Convention wasn't supposed to create new government. Congress authorized delegates to revise the Articles of Confederation - the weak federal structure governing America since 1781. But delegates quickly realized revision wouldn't work. They needed to start over.
The debates were intense. Large states wanted representation by population; small states demanded equal representation. Slave states wanted slaves counted for representation but not taxation; free states opposed this. Some delegates wanted a strong executive; others feared creating a king. The compromises required months of negotiation.
The Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise) created a bicameral legislature - House of Representatives based on population, Senate with equal representation per state. The Three-Fifths Compromise counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for representation and taxation - a shameful calculation that treated humans as fractional beings to balance political power.
Not all delegates were happy. Three refused to sign: Edmund Randolph and George Mason of Virginia, and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts. They feared the Constitution gave too much power to the federal government. Mason particularly objected to the lack of a bill of rights protecting individual liberties. (The Bill of Rights would be added as amendments in 1791.)
Benjamin Franklin, at 81 the oldest delegate, urged unity despite disagreements: "I confess that there are several parts of this constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them... I consent, Sir, to this Constitution because I expect no better, and because I am not sure, that it is not the best."
The Constitution then went to state conventions for ratification. It needed nine of thirteen states to take effect. Fierce debate erupted. Federalists supported it; Anti-Federalists opposed it, fearing loss of state sovereignty and individual liberty. The Federalist Papers - 85 essays by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay - argued for ratification.
Delaware ratified first on December 7, 1787. New Hampshire became the crucial ninth state on June 21, 1788. Virginia and New York followed, though North Carolina and Rhode Island didn't ratify until after the new government was already functioning.
Christians face complicated relationship with this history. The Constitution established freedom of religion, prohibited religious tests for office, and eventually (through the First Amendment) prohibited government establishment of religion. This wasn't Christian nation in theocratic sense - it was nation where Christians could practice faith freely without government interference.
But the Constitution also protected slavery, counting enslaved humans as partial persons. Many founders who wrote about liberty and equality owned slaves. The disconnect between professed principles and actual practice was glaring. It would take a Civil War to begin resolving this contradiction.
Paul's teaching on government authority predates the Constitution by 1,700 years: "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God" (Romans 13:1). This was written under Roman tyranny, not American democracy. Paul wasn't endorsing specific government systems but recognizing God's sovereignty over all authority.
Proverbs 21:1 teaches: "The king's heart is in the Lord's hand; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases." God remains sovereign over human governments - whether kings, presidents, or "We the People." Political leaders think they control history. They don't. God does.
This means Christians can participate in democratic governance while remembering ultimate authority rests with God, not government. You can vote, advocate, protest, and engage politically while recognizing that no human government - not even constitutional republic - can establish God's kingdom. That comes through Christ, not Constitution.
September 17, 1787 changed American governance. But it didn't change ultimate reality: God remains sovereign, human governments are temporary, and your primary citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). Respect earthly authority. Participate in governance. But don't confuse American experiment with God's kingdom. They're not the same.
