We The People Part III

In order to Form a More Perfect Union

More perfect than what we should start by asking? In simple terms, more perfect than the one that was already in place; The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, signed and ratified by the thirteen original colonies on November 15, 1777[1]. So then we must ask ourselves: why is this new Constitution more perfect than the Articles which preceded it? The single biggest reason is taxation; the articles did not give that government the power to levy them. Taxation is a necessary evil for any government. The government cannot run without money, and that money must come from the very people who allow that government to exist. “Taxation without representation” is a well-known phrase that was touted by those who wished to secede from the British government to form this country and the very same people held that adage dear when they created this system. In order for people to be taxed by government they must have a say in what that government does with the proceeds of that tax. Somewhere along the lines this concept has been lost. Yes those who are taxed do still have “representation” in government, but do those representatives still “represent” the American Taxpayer? There were ideas and concepts that were kept from the Articles to the Constitution, most glaringly is that the central government’s main role was to regulate foreign affairs. “The United states in Congress assembled” were given the sole right of declaring war and building the army necessary for such a declaration. This is still true; however, under the Constitution a more perfect way was devised that allowed for the President to be the “Commander in Chief” of those forces. The Articles did not provide for any Executive head, for fear of consolidation of power; merely a sort of president who could not serve for longer than one year in any given three. Therefore, in essence (and this is important) the “More Perfect Union” was a body that existed in perpetuity as a meeting of the heads of each state so that all the unite States could have a say in foreign policy and representation and work together towards that end. It was not to be a “governing body” for the individual people. The Governing bodies for the various states were to perform that duty. I envision a day when each individual State has the right to enact its own laws that cannot be trampled on by the Federal; where the federal government is merely in place to convene the ideas of the various States. Washington DC would be a place where The United States would be “in Congress assembled” where “in congress” would be an adverb, not a noun.

[1] As evidenced in the document itself. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union.