Events

A Constitution Day Message from Senator Byrd

I carry a copy of the U.S. Constitution with me wherever I go.  In as much as I am a U.S. Senator, this may not seem like strange behavior. I refer to it and study its provisions every day -- but what about you?  What do you know about the Constitution?  How much of it do you carry around with you?  Why should you want to know about your Constitution?

The Framers of the U.S. Constitution had a difficult job on their hands when they met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787.  The United States had won its independence from the British Empire in a long and hard-fought Revolutionary War.  But no one in 1787 was completely confident that this new nation would survive and flourish.  Even wise old Benjamin Franklin, one of the delegates who drafted the Constitution, cautioned that the new government was a "Republic, if you can keep it."  The best way to make that revolution succeed and endure for future generations was to create and run a successful government, a government where the power derived from the people themselves and not a king or emperor.  The Framers saw to it that we inherited a plan for government that provided important checks and balances against the corrupting influences that power can often bring.

The U.S. Constitution is the longest-running written constitution in world history.  It defines us as Americans.  The three branches of government that the Constitution created are the hallmarks of our national political life.  These branches also wield great influence on each of us personally.  The limits that the Constitution places on how political power is exercised have ensured our freedom for more than two centuries.  Without our adherence to and defense of this remarkable document, there is no guarantee that we and future generations of Americans will remain free.

To preserve the Constitution, we must be willing to make it work, to make it an active part of our lives.  Each generation is charged with protecting and defending the Constitution at home and abroad, in peace and in war.  Freedom never has come easy.  This is the challenge facing each new generation of Americans.

Our Constitution embodies the vision of the Framers, their dream of freedom, supported by the genius of practical structure which has come to be known as the checks and balances and separation of powers. But we cannot defend and protect this dream if we are ignorant of the Constitution's history and how it works. Ignorance is ultimately the worst enemy of a people who want to be free.

In our Republic, "We the People," that is to say, each of us, represents the ultimate political authority in the nation.  Our Constitution provides for our government to be a representative democracy.  You elect leaders to represent you.  But this does not mean that when the election is over you can forget your responsibilities as a citizen to monitor the government leaders you have elected and see to it that they defend and uphold the Constitution.

Without constant study and renewal of our knowledge of the Constitution and its history we are in peril of allowing our freedoms to erode.  If we fail to understand the importance of the checks and balances between Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Executive Branch, we will not be in a position to know when these checks are threatened.

Why study the Constitution?  Study the Constitution because it is both the foundation and the guardian of our liberties.  Study it also with the knowledge that as strong and enduring as our Constitution has been, it is nevertheless a fragile, almost intangible thing that cannot survive without the dedication and constant support of citizens.  The statement of Benjamin Franklin, made in 1787, is still true today.  This is a Republic, if we can keep it.

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