Our Sacred Constitution

The United States Constitution stands as one of the greatest achievements in human political thought—a document that distills centuries of Western philosophy, law, and governance into a framework that has provided stability, liberty, and prosperity for over two centuries. The Founding Fathers, far from crafting a government in isolation, drew inspiration from the best political traditions of the past, refining the lessons of Hellenistic democracy, Roman republicanism, medieval institutions, and Enlightenment philosophy into a document that embodies the delicate balance between power and liberty.

The roots of our constitutional government trace back to ancient Greece, where city-states such as Athens experimented with democracy, demonstrating both the promise and perils of popular governance. The Greeks understood that law had to stand above rulers, a principle that would profoundly influence later constitutionalism. From Greece, this idea traveled to Rome, where the Roman Republic established a mixed system of government, combining elements of democracy (popular assemblies), aristocracy (the Senate), and monarchy (the consuls). The Roman model profoundly influenced the Founders, particularly in its system of checks and balances and representative governance. However, Rome also provided a cautionary tale: as ambition, corruption, and disregard for republican norms grew, the Republic crumbled, giving way to the dictatorship of Caesar and the imperial order.

As Rome fell into despotism, the concept of constitutionalism survived, passing through the medieval and Renaissance worlds. The Magna Carta of 1215 was one of the first significant documents in Western history to codify the idea that even kings must obey the law. Though signed under duress, it set a precedent for limited monarchy and the protection of certain fundamental rights, particularly through the principles of habeas corpus and due process. The English Bill of Rights of 1689 built upon these principles, further cementing the supremacy of parliamentary law over monarchical power.

The Florentine Republic of the Renaissance provided another crucial example of constitutional governance. Florence, at its height, was ruled by a balanced system that sought to prevent tyranny through a system of councils, magistrates, and popular participation. Thinkers such as Niccolò Machiavelli championed republican ideals, arguing that liberty could only be preserved through a citizenry willing to fight for its freedom. However, Florence's republic ultimately collapsed due to factionalism, external pressures, and the apathy of its own people, who allowed authoritarian rule to take hold once again—a fate that would later echo in many constitutional failures throughout history.

Creating the Constitution

From these influences, the Founding Fathers constructed a government of laws, not of men, a republic designed to withstand the pressures of power and ambition. The separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, and enumerated rights reflected the wisdom of past civilizations, combined with the innovations of Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. The result was a document both remarkably flexible and deeply principled, allowing the United States to adapt to new challenges without abandoning its core ideals.

The Founding Fathers were students of history, acutely aware of the failures of past republics and the ways in which tyranny can rise from within. They carefully studied the collapses of Athens, Rome, and Florence, understanding that unchecked power, factionalism, and public complacency were the greatest threats to liberty. Their solution was to engineer a government of deliberate friction that would prevent any one person or group from accumulating unchecked authority. By distributing power among three coequal branches, ensuring an independent judiciary, and creating a complex electoral system that blended democratic, aristocratic, and republican elements, they sought to institutionalize resistance to despotism. However, these mechanisms can only function if they are actively enforced.

The best constitutional design is powerless if ignored, manipulated, or overridden by demagogues who exploit populist fervor to erode institutional constraints. If Congress refuses to check the executive, if courts bend to political pressure, or if the public loses faith in democratic norms, then even the most brilliant constitutional system can fail. A thriving republic requires more than well-crafted laws. Such a government demands leaders who respect the Constitution, institutions willing to uphold it, and a public that values liberty over the temptations of authoritarianism. The evidence shows that constitutions alone do not save nations; only a vigilant, engaged citizenry can do that.

As such, constitutionalism, the belief in the supremacy of law and limits on power, only survives if the people and their leaders remain committed to it. History is littered with examples of nations that had constitutions but failed because their citizens or rulers ceased to believe in them or actively undermined them.

Failures of Constitutions

The fall of the Roman Republic illustrates this vividly. Cicero, one of Rome’s greatest defenders of constitutionalism, was murdered in 43 BC, a victim of the same lawlessness he had warned against. The Roman people, weary from civil war and manipulated by ambitious strongmen, allowed constitutional norms to collapse, choosing rigid order over liberty. With the ascension of Augustus, Rome formally abandoned its centuries-old republican ideals through the gradual erosion of belief in the system itself. The Florentine Republic met a similar fate. Once a thriving example of self-governance, Florence was undermined from within by those willing to sacrifice freedom. The return of the Medici family to power was not met with fierce resistance, but with a population too divided and indifferent to defend their republic. The lesson here is stark: a constitution means nothing if the people do not defend it.

Modern history is rife with additional failures of constitutionalism. The Weimar Republic in Germany, despite having a progressive and well-designed constitution, collapsed under the weight of economic instability, political radicalization, and public disillusionment. The people, rather than upholding the democratic system, turned to authoritarian figures promising redemption, ultimately paving the way for Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. Similarly, Venezuela’s 1999 Constitution, once hailed as one of the most progressive in Latin America, became meaningless as Hugo Chávez and later Nicolás Maduro ignored its provisions, undermined its institutions, and ruled through executive fiat.

These examples demonstrate the fundamental truth that no constitution, no matter how well-crafted, can sustain a republic if its people cease to believe in constitutional principles. In the United States today, rising polarization, executive overreach, and the erosion of institutional trust pose real threats to the endurance of constitutional government. The Framers understood this danger, which is why they designed a system dependent on civic virtue, a shared commitment to upholding democratic norms, and resisting tyranny in all its forms.

A Warning

Our Constitution is sacred, not in the sense of being divinely ordained, but because it represents the culmination of the greatest political wisdom in human history—a distillation of centuries of thought from Athens, Rome, Florence, and Westminster into a framework designed to safeguard liberty against tyranny. However, its survival is not guaranteed. As Alexander Hamilton warned, “A sacred respect for the constitutional law is the vital principle, the sustaining energy of a free government.” Without that respect, constitutional constraints become mere words on paper, vulnerable to manipulation or outright disregard by those in power.

The erosion of constitutional republics rarely happens overnight through sudden destruction. Typically, they fall through gradual neglect, apathy, and the willingness to trade liberty and the rule of law for temporary comfort or to score partisan political points. The Roman Republic did not collapse in a single moment, but through incremental betrayals of its core principles, small concessions to power-hungry leaders who claimed to act in the name of the people, only to subvert their institutions from within. Cicero understood this, exhorting that the republic truly was a "public thing." A constitutional system only functions when its citizens remain engaged and committed to its survival. Yet, when self-interest overrides civic duty, when institutions bend to the will of a strongman, and when the people allow their own rights to be eroded for the sake of expediency, the foundations of the republic begin to crack.

Hamilton observed that “of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people; commencing demagogues, and ending tyrants.” This pattern of populist exploitation has been seen across history, from the fall of Rome to the collapse of Weimar Germany, where constitutional frameworks, though intact on paper, became meaningless in practice because the people ceased to believe in them and their leaders refused to uphold them. Machiavelli, writing after witnessing the downfall of the Florentine Republic, bluntly sought civic participation in government because he understood its necessity (Discourses on Livy). Even the best-designed government cannot endure, if its people no longer value constitutionalism, if leaders no longer see the rule of law as binding, and if institutions lack the strength to resist erosion.

If we wish to preserve our sacred Constitution, we must do more than revere its text. We must live by its principles through fostering an engaged citizenry that understands the Constitution not as an abstract relic but as a foundational safeguard of their freedoms. It means ensuring that leaders remain bound by constitutional limits, not by the whims of political expedience. And it means strengthening our institutions, so they do not merely exist in form but operate in function. If we fail to do this, if we allow constitutional principles to be selectively applied or ignored when inconvenient, then we will meet the same fate as the republics that came before us. The question is not whether our Constitution can endure. The question is whether we are willing to uphold it.

July's Cocktail: The Black Manhattan

Invented in 2005 by bartender Todd Smith at San Francisco’s Bourbon & Branch, the Black Manhattan is a modern twist on a classic. It substitutes Averna amaro for sweet vermouth and adds a second type of bitters, creating a darker, more brooding version of the traditional Manhattan. The amaro brings notes of caramel, herbs, and spice, lending the drink complexity, gravitas, and a slightly bitter edge. I chose the Black Manhattan to accompany this month’s article because it mirrors the mood of the moment: a time to contemplate the foundational principles of American governance with both reverence and realism. Like the Constitution, the Black Manhattan is a reinvention of something older. It's rooted in tradition but evolved to suit a more complex world. It’s a drink for reflection, for spirited conversation, and for recognizing that what endures must also adapt.

Instructions:

1. Fill a mixing glass with ice. Mixing glass... Not a shaker.

2. Add 2 ounces of rye whiskey, 1 ounce of Averna amaro, 1 dah of Angostura bitters, and 2 dashes of orange bitters into the mixing glass. Stir for twenty times.

3. Strain into a chilled coupe glass.

4. Garnish with a brandied cherry.