U.S. Constitution

While God or worshipping God is discussed in all fifty state constitutions, we are going to focus on the governing documents of the original thirteen states that existed when the U.S. Constitution was created. If a state’s foundational governing document mentions worshipping God or being thankful to God, then it was a reflection of the culture and the priorities of the people in that state. If it wasn’t important to them, then they wouldn’t be putting it in their constitution. So, if God was important to the people in all thirteen states, then He was important to the people in the entire nation and thus was reflected in the U.S. Constitution, even if it wasn’t blatant.

The Constitutional Convention was one of the pivotal moments in U.S. history, and it nearly crashed and burned. Yet, Benjamin Franklin’s speech pushed the quarreling delegates to stop focusing on that which was contentious and served their own interests and to start focusing on what would be best for the nation as a whole. His call for prayer reminded them that even though they were intelligent and insightful, if they proceeded without God’s guidance and succor, their efforts would be in vain. After a 4th of July timeout for an attitude adjustment, the delegates resumed their debates. This time, a workable compromise was found.

The Articles of Confederation were a disaster and needed to be replaced. However, the public would not accept tampering with them unless the one man they knew and trusted - George Washington - was involved in the process. He had to be convinced to come out of retirement and to oversee the Constitutional Convention. His sense of duty that led him to lay aside what he wanted to do to serve his country, his serene leadership that promoted cooperation at the Constitutional Convention, and his noble character that led to a single president in the executive branch and promoted ratification were all crucial for the success of the Constitution. Yet Washington didn't take the credit for it; he said it all happened "by the good pleasure of Providence."

Between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution our nation was governed for a few years by the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. Since the Founders abhorred the strong, centralized British government so much that they declared the American colonies independent from Britain, they didn't want to create another strong, centralized government for the new American nation. However, the government they devised in the Articles of Confederation was ineffectual and weak during a pivotal time of recovering from the Revolutionary War, addressing the squabbling among the colonies, and dealing with a financial crisis. Therefore, they quickly realized they had to scrap the Articles and start over again to devise a more suitable governmental structure.

Our Founders, who created the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, meant for them to work together. 1) The two documents helped unite the fledgling nation. 2) The Declaration outlines why the United States was created, and the Constitution then outlines how the United States government would be created. 3) The Declaration describes fundamental God-given liberties, but the Constitution (particularly in the Bill of Rights) creates the legal framework to protect these liberties.