The Same Miracle Every Nineteen Years?

The Same Miracle Every Nineteen Years?

If Thomas Jefferson had had his way, there might not be a United States of America today. If the Nation had survived, it would look very different than it does now. Although Jefferson was not present at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, he corresponded with the delegates throughout. In a letter to James Madison he wrote that he believed the Constitution should be reopened and redone every nineteen years, saying, “The earth belongs always to the living generation.”1 If this view had been accepted, the delegates at the periodic conventions would adjust the constitution to fit to the time period; the prevailing norms would inevitably be written in. Instead of looking to the Constitution as the law of the land, people would look to change it to fit their idea of what the law should be. It would lose all of its clout.

The 1980 Olympic semi-final hockey game between the United States and the Soviet Union is known as the “Miracle on Ice.” The headline of the “Boston Globe” the day after the Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals to win the World Series was “Miracle.” These two events obtained there name from there sheer improbability. The Soviet hockey team was equivalent, if not superior to an NHL all-star team. The amateurs playing for the United States should have stood no chance. In an Olympic tune-up they lost to the Soviets by ten goals. Then Mike Eruzione’s shot finds its way to twine and Al Michaels utters the now famous “Do you believe in Miracles? Yes!” as the clock wound down. After going down three games to none to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series, the Red Sox were down to their last three outs. To make matters worse they were facing the best closer of the decade, Mariano Rivera. A walk, stolen base, and single later, the game was tied. The Sox won that game and the next three. They went on to sweep the Cardinals in the World Series to claim their first championship since 1918. Regardless of numerous past failures and supposed curses, neither of these events should have happened. If the games were to be played again, Russia may never win by fewer than five goals and Rivera consistently retire the side in order. These events cannot be recreated at the push of a button.

The Constitutional Convention is often called the “Miracle of Philadelphia” for a reason. Delegates from twelve different states with different wants and needs argued for months and eventually came together and hammered out all their differences. They were able to solve problems of slavery, representation in Congress, whether or not to establish an executive branch, as well as others. They left the convention with a document so well put together that it has stood for over 200 years. If this document was to be opened nineteen years it was first ratified, it would most likely fail. The states would run into the more conflicts of interest. With newer times come newer issues. Also, as time passed, the population begins to grow and more states are added to the Union. This means there would be more delegates at each convention. With more delegates comes more opinions and more ideas as to how the Nation should be run. Compromise becomes harder. From time to time all the conflicts may be resolved, but it is impossible to consistently gather a larger number of wealthy, learned people and get them to agree or workout suitable compromises on every subject. Splits would undoubtedly form and certain states would be adamantly against the new changes. Especially when the Nation was still young and the states were held together tenuously, there would be secession.

Besides the great improbability that the Constitution could be successfully revised every nineteen years, there are other problems with Jefferson’s supposed system. Today, America uses the Constitution