Customer Reviews

The Jubilee of the Constitution

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 1839, the New York Historical Society asked ex-President John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) to give a speech on the Constitution of the United States. Though not now considered one of America's great Presidents, Adams was a Harvard trained lawyer, who was known for his tenacity in the fight for human rights both inside the American government and out. For example, in 1841, he successfully defended the African mutineers of the slave ship Amistad, gaining them their freedom from slavery.

In this tightly reasoned discourse, Adams looks at the roots of the Constitution in the 1776 Declaration of Independence. At that point, he argues, the united people of the American colonies declared their independence as a group, rather than the state governments declaring themselves to be independent states. As such, when the Articles of Confederation were adopted, it did not rest on the Declaration of Independence, but put up an alternative structure that was not only weak and ineffective, but out of keeping with the spirit of government already espoused by the Declaration, and as such bound to fail. After this, President Adams goes on to give a perspicacious examination of the framing and enacting of the Constitution, and the early history of the American republic.

Overall, I found this to be a fascinating read. John Quincy Adams was a man of deep understanding, which this work shows off marvelously. In fact, it is on this that I now fully understand the basis of the argument against the secession of states, which came to the forefront in 1860. I enjoyed this thoughtful look at the Constitution of the United States, and highly recommend it to everyone.