Dittoville

A birthday has recently passed without much notice or fanfare, but without said birthday celebrant, still very much alive, there would be no America. Nor will there be one if the 230 year old U.S. Constitution is allowed to pass away untended, unobserved, unnoticed, unprotected. If not candles and cake and singing, perhaps a little attention should be paid to the greatest document ever crafted by man to ensure quality of life to all individuals living under it. The very concept of “individual” (vs. the collective) is a central tenet of our American/Western lives without which most humans would be powerless serfs, chattel, property, owned and ruled over by a few entrenched masters. No wonder those would-be masters and most obvious enemies of freedom within our political lives see the Constitution as one of the most formidable obstacles to their evil ends.

On Dittoville, there are some other specific posts and links referencing the Constitution, but a steadier, more organized approach seems to be in order. Using this post as a focal point, we are taking the opportunity to examine Ye Rugged Old Constitution piece by piece. We owe that to it. Without the freedom it protects, what else is there? Truly.

Starting at the beginning…a general overview and a little historical background of our most fundamental founding documents, known as The Charters of Freedom.

1776 A Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson sets the stage for the creation of a new country.

1781 The Preamble and the Articles of Confederation ratified, our first Constitution

1787 The First Constitutional Convention convened and successful largely through the efforts of Alexander Hamilton.

1789 Constitution passed by Congress, ratified 1791, containing what would be the first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights.

Subsequently, another 17 Amendements have been made through the  years, a total of 27 Amendments.

Online sources containing full Constitution text and commentary:

Heritage.org;

Archives.gov;

Cornell Law School ;

Constitution.FindLaw.com;

ConstitutionDay.com;

USConstitution.net (including explanation for kids and teenagers).

There is also   Hillsdale College’s free online Constitution 101 video course.