What would you change if you could amend the constitution? Would you circumscribe or maybe expand the government's role in controversial topics of the day like health care or deficit spending or owning private industry? Would you add something entirely new? (Consider President Bush and his support for a constitutional defintion of marriage.) Would you leave the document alone and allow legislatures and courts to interpret it in light of current values and interets? (Consider President Obama's changing position on gay marriage.) Would you clarify passages and remove room for interpretation?
One hundred fifty years ago, seven southern states had this chance for change when they declared their independence from the United States of America and set about adopting a new Confederate Constitution. Given the opportunity to start from scratch, the Confederate framers chose instead to improve upon the United States Constitution. And why not? Part of the justification for seccession was not the US Consitituion iteself, but the belief that the constitutional rights of southern states had been interfered with, in the best case, and were bound to be stolen by Lincoln, in the worst case.
The quest for constitutional improvement and it's expected appeal can be seen in Jefferson Davis's inaugural address.
In other cases, though, the changes are much more interesting. After all, the Confederate founders could look back to 74 years of history to see the impact, intended or unintended, of the US Constitution on daily life and the function of the government.
What did they change with the benefit of hindsight? Here's a quick list and a few thoughts.
The changes to the executive branch are among the most interesting to me. The US Constitution placed no limits on four year terms until an amendment in 1951 capped the number of years at eight. Still, eight years feels like too long for a president to be in office. Are any of us really all that excited about a "lame duck" president. As it stands now, a president has about one year out of a four year term to promote and enact changes before midterm elections strengthen the opposition or the executive branch swings into campaign mode instead of governing. Six years seems to strike the balance between effective governance and limited executive power. At the same time, a line-item veto and allowing cabinet members to shape debate in Congress provides a check on Congressional excess.
In modern parlance, some might say the goverment was prevented from picking winners or losers. In recent years, the general welfare clause has provided constitutional cover for local governments to take private property and turn it over to developers because development will be better for the community as a whole.
The Confederate Constitution was easier to amend. I haven't decided if this is a good thing or a bad thing. But it is true to the principal that government should reflect the will of the governed. It creates a lower hurdle for popular amendment.
With our benefit of hindsight, 150 years later, there is no skating around the fact that the Confederate Constitution's main purpose was to enshrine slavery in constitutional law. Arguments about state's rights in the abstract are contradicted by the document itself. The right that mattered, the right that needed to be explicitly spelled out in the new constitution was the right to own slaves without threat of governmental interference. But we shouldn't discount the earnestness with which the Confederate authors sought to improve upon the American ideal of self-government in other areas. There may just be a few ideas worth considering.
Worth viewing: Check out the New York Times' annotated version of the Confederate Constitution.
One hundred fifty years ago, seven southern states had this chance for change when they declared their independence from the United States of America and set about adopting a new Confederate Constitution. Given the opportunity to start from scratch, the Confederate framers chose instead to improve upon the United States Constitution. And why not? Part of the justification for seccession was not the US Consitituion iteself, but the belief that the constitutional rights of southern states had been interfered with, in the best case, and were bound to be stolen by Lincoln, in the worst case.
The quest for constitutional improvement and it's expected appeal can be seen in Jefferson Davis's inaugural address.
"With a Constitution differing only from that of our fathers in so far as it is explanatory of their well-known intent, freed from sectional conflicts, which have interfered with the pursuit of the general welfare, it is not unreasonable to expect that States from which we have recently parted may seek to unite their fortunes to ours under the Government which we have instituted."Davis treated the Confederate Constitution's changes with a light touch. In some cases the changes were both radical and immoral. The "intent" falsely ascribed to the Founding Fathers was to clearly establish slavery as an inviolable and immutable right of every state present and future. (A year earlier, Lincoln virtually secured the Republican nomination for President when he refuted this belief in his famous Cooper Union address.)
In other cases, though, the changes are much more interesting. After all, the Confederate founders could look back to 74 years of history to see the impact, intended or unintended, of the US Constitution on daily life and the function of the government.
What did they change with the benefit of hindsight? Here's a quick list and a few thoughts.
- The president possessed a line-item veto on spending measures.
- The president and vice-president were limited to a single term of six years.
- The cabinent members were guaranteed a place in both chambers of Congress to debate legislation.
The changes to the executive branch are among the most interesting to me. The US Constitution placed no limits on four year terms until an amendment in 1951 capped the number of years at eight. Still, eight years feels like too long for a president to be in office. Are any of us really all that excited about a "lame duck" president. As it stands now, a president has about one year out of a four year term to promote and enact changes before midterm elections strengthen the opposition or the executive branch swings into campaign mode instead of governing. Six years seems to strike the balance between effective governance and limited executive power. At the same time, a line-item veto and allowing cabinet members to shape debate in Congress provides a check on Congressional excess.
- The government was restricted from taxation or payments that favored one industry over another.
- The government no longer had an obligation to promote the general welfare.
In modern parlance, some might say the goverment was prevented from picking winners or losers. In recent years, the general welfare clause has provided constitutional cover for local governments to take private property and turn it over to developers because development will be better for the community as a whole.
- A constitutional convention could be called by the action of any three states. The US Constitution requires 2/3 of states to agree to a convention.
- A constitutional amendment required 2/3 of states to pass. The US Constitution requires 3/4 of states to ratify an amendment.
The Confederate Constitution was easier to amend. I haven't decided if this is a good thing or a bad thing. But it is true to the principal that government should reflect the will of the governed. It creates a lower hurdle for popular amendment.
With our benefit of hindsight, 150 years later, there is no skating around the fact that the Confederate Constitution's main purpose was to enshrine slavery in constitutional law. Arguments about state's rights in the abstract are contradicted by the document itself. The right that mattered, the right that needed to be explicitly spelled out in the new constitution was the right to own slaves without threat of governmental interference. But we shouldn't discount the earnestness with which the Confederate authors sought to improve upon the American ideal of self-government in other areas. There may just be a few ideas worth considering.
Worth viewing: Check out the New York Times' annotated version of the Confederate Constitution.
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