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Gordon Wood We The People Analysis

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Gordon Wood We The People Analysis
“We the People”
From State Constitutions to the
United States Constitution

The road to the United States Constitution was a long and arduous way, filled not only with uncertainties but also with lively debates and hopes for carrying on the republican spirit. With a deep-seated distrust in a powerful central government Americans placed great emphasis on the independence of their individual states. This suspicion was reflected in the states’ constitutions and in the power structure of state governments. Gordon S. Wood argues in his book The American Revolution: A History, that the constitutions of the states and the process of writing the US Constitution reflected a change in political thought. Looking at the process of constitution writing …show more content…
Unlike some of the state legislatures that wrote and voted on their constitutions, the US Constitution was to be ratified by special state constitutional conventions. This virtually made it impossible for Congress to change the Constitution on an impulse or to even abolish it, leaving no room for “democratic despotism”. It also placed sovereignty with the people and not with governmental institutions. This very important principle of sovereignty was carried over from the revolution but seemingly got lost in some of the states’ legislatures. The Constitution considered the people to be the supreme authority. The Federalists were arguing that “sovereignty remained always with the people and government was only a temporary and limited agency of the people.” This principle was made even clearer by the opening words of the Constitution: “We the People of the United States”, leaving no doubt as to where sovereignty rested, and considering the people the “only source of just authority.” With the debate of sovereignty finally put to rest the Constitution was ratified, strengthening the union of thirteen states by embodying republican …show more content…
Wood is convincing in his argument that the US Constitution reflects a change in political thought during the first decade after the Revolution. The new US Constitution coming out of it reflected the republican character of the American Revolution by restructuring the state governments and putting limits on them. Madison said that the US Constitution “created a republican remedy for the diseases most incident to republican government.” The new US Constitution in that regard sought to secure the republican ideals of the Revolution. The Constitution ensured the survival of those republican ideals. It ensured the survival of the United States as it brought an end to populist democracy and excessive state power by returning to republican
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