- “Yet in the constitutional Convention the spirit of compromise reigned in grace and glory; as Washington presided, it sat on his shoulder like the dove. Men rise to speak and one sees them struggle with the bias of birthright, locality, statehood- South against North, East against West, merchant against the planter. One sees them change their minds, fight against pride, and when the moment comes, admit their error.” Catherine Drinker Bowen, Miracle at Philadelphia
- “The real wonder is that so many difficulties should have been surmounted, and surmounted with a unanimity almost as unprecedented as it must have been unexpected. It is impossible for any man of candor to reflect on this circumstance without partaking of the astonishment. It is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution” James Madison, The Federalist Papers #37
- “It appears to me, then, little short of a miracle, that the Delegates from so many different States (which States you know are also different from each other), in their manners, circumstances, and prejudices, should unite in forming a system of national Government, so little liable to well-founded objections.” George Washington, in a letter to his friend Lafayette of Feb 7, 1788. Seven Miracles That Saved America, Page 143-144
- “On the last day of the Convention, Benjamin Franklin, the oldest, some say the wisest, and certainly the most experienced of the delegates, pleaded with the delegates to support the product of the Convention: Mr. President: I confess that there are parts of this constitution which I do not at present approve. But I am not sure I shall never approve them. For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise…..Sir, I cannot help expressing a wish that every member of the Convention who may still have objections to it, would with me, on this occasion doubt a little of his own infallibility- and to make manifest our unanimity.” Seven Miracles That Saved America, Page 144
- “During the course of the Convention, every delegate had to give up on some cherished principle. James Madison, who had come to the Convention more prepared than anyone was primarily responsible for the general outline of the government established by the Constitution, lost on many issues. Most dear to him was his belief that both the House and the Senate should be based on proportional representation. The Great Compromise was a bitter pill for him, but he swallowed it. He also initially objected to the House of Representatives being elected by the people, the length of terms of office for the Senate, the absence of power in the national government to veto state laws, and other items. Alexander Hamilton’s view of the new government, as expressed by him in a six-hour speech that took almost an entire day, was very different from what emerged from the Convention. He favored a president who was chosen for life with the power of absolute veto, senators with life tenure, governors of states appointed by the national government0 in sum, a national government, and a ruling class with far more power than the Constitution provides. Franklin wanted an executive council, voted for life, rather than a single executive. He did not want the chief executive to have the power of the veto. He did not want anyone in the executive position to receive a salary. He lost on all counts. Most important to him, however, was his desire for the Convention to condemn slavery. He lost on that issue as well. As we review the results of the Convention and compare them to the expressed desires of each delegate, we cannot help but be impressed by how often they lost on key votes. But during the course of the 560 roll calls, no man lost every time, and everyone was part of a winning vote on some occasion.” Seven Miracles That Saved America, Page 144-145
- “Perhaps the greatest miracle of the Constitution is the document itself. As ratified in 1787, it contained 4,400 words. Within seventeen years, twelve amendments were made, ten of them being the Bill of Rights. Since the passage of the Twelfth Amendment in 1804, the Constitution has been amended only fifteen times. Two of those amendments, the Eighteenth and the Twenty-First, Are “throw-away amendments, establishing and then abolishing Prohibition. In essence, the Constitution has had only thirteen substantive amendments in over two hundred years. The genius of the Constitution is that it created a government capable of governing a massive geographical area containing a huge population, affording that population the most security, freedom, and opportunity of any people on the earth. It has granted the people of the United States opportunities to flourish economically, educationally, and culturally. It has adapted to the changing conditions of this nation over the past 220 years and has actually expanded the liberties and freedoms enjoyed by its citizens. More, it has been a light and example to the world, its impact felt in one way or another in nearly every nation on earth.” Seven Miracles That Saved America, Page 146
- “In an address to the New Jersey Senate in February 1861, Lincoln compared America with God’s chosen people of the Old Testament. After describing his feelings about the Founders, he said: “I recollect thinking then, boy even though I was, that there must have been something more than common that those men struggled for. I am exceedingly anxious that that thing which they struggled for; that something even more than National Independence; that something that held out a great promise to all the people of the world to all time to come; I am exceedingly anxious that this Union, the Constitution, and the liberties of the people shall be perpetuated in accordance with the original idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be most happy indeed if I shall be a humble instrument in the hands of the Almighty, and of this, his almost chosen people, for perpetuating the object of that great struggle”” Seven Miracles That Saved America, Page 179
- “In November 1863, Lincoln was asked to speak at the dedication of the Gettysburg Cemetery….”It is for us the living, rather, to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Seven Miracles that Saved America, Page 195-196
- “A government will never be better than what is expected or demanded of it by the people. The Founders certainly understood that in order for the government they were forming to be successful, a moral and virtuous people would be required. A sample of their thoughts on the subject includes:
- John Adams: “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other..”
James Madison: “Is there no virtue among us? If there be not, we are in a wretched situation. No theoretical checks- no form of government can render us secure. To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people is a chimerical idea.”
Benjamin Franklin: “Only virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”
George Washington, in his farewell address to the nation, stated: “of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports…It is substantially true that virtue or morality is necessary to spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government.” - In sum, a nation cannot live in freedom or liberty unless it is populated by a moral and virtuous people.” Seven Miracles That Saved America, Page 286
- “Only virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt they have more need of masters.” Benjamin Franklin
- “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” John Adams
- “Neither the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt.” Samuel Adams
- John Adams: “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other..”
- “Suppose a nation in some distant region, should take the BIBLE for their only law book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited. Every member would be obliged in conscience to temperance and frugality and industry, to justice and kindness and charity towards his fellow men, and to piety and love, and reverence towards Almighty God. In this commonwealth, no man would impair his health by gluttony, drunkenness, or lust- no man would sacrifice his most precious time to cards, or any other trifling and mean amusement- no man would steal or lie or in any way defraud his neighbor, but would live in peace and good will with all men- no mand would blaspheme his Maker or profane his worship, but a rational and manly, a sincerely and unaffected piety and devotion, would reign in all hearts….What a paradise this would be.” Diary and Autobiography of John Adams (2nd President of U.S.), Val III, page 9.