Constitution Day

Fellow Americans,

Sunday, September 17, 2017 passed without much notice, except for some football games and an occasional newsflash about civil unrest in St Louis. Although sporting events are a pleasant distraction from the problems of the day, I could not refrain from reflecting on our Constitution, which was ratified on September 17, 1787.

Our Constitution is comprised of seven Articles. It begins with the Preamble, which lists the reasons for drafting the Constitution. The following is a brief summary of each Article:

·  Article I is all about the legislative branch. It established the House of Representatives and the Senate. It plainly listed the requirements to hold office and it clearly defined Congress’ duties and responsibilities as they relate to the other branches of the federal government.

·  Article II addressed the executive branch; that is, the Presidency. It established the procedure for electing a president. It also identified the president as the Commander-In-Chief of all military forces.

·  Article III established the judicial branch. It created the Supreme Court and lower courts, specifying their responsibilities.

·  Article IV explained how the federal government is supposed to interact with the states and vice versa.

·  Article V described the procedure for amending the Constitution through a convention of states. This was intended to be a last resort mechanism in the event of an irresponsible or corrupted government.

·  Article VI established the Constitution as the supreme law of the land in which no state law or judge can override. It also mandated that members of Congress must swear an oath to support the Constitution.

·  Article VII defined the ratification process.

As you can imagine, there was a lot of turmoil back then. We fought a war with England which not all colonists favored. Even our founders were divided regarding the balance of power between the federal government and the states because they all knew the dangers of an overbearing central government. Ultimately, a compromise was reached and the Constitution was ratified, uniting the colonies and forming the USA.

Please learn about our founding and our early history so we can teach our children the truth about America. Even with all our problems, America is still the freest country on earth, which is why everyone flees to her, not from her! May God continue to bless you and the United States of America!

Dan Landi

Kidder, MO