The American story series continues…

A New Nation Born Pt II
by Michael Doyle

In the haphazard wake of 1776
There were so many constructs to fix
The ancients had always taught
Only a smallish sized republic should be sought

Originally, the states had been the focus
With power centered in their locus
Leading to the Articles of Confederation
Which made due as a national constitution

Passing finally in the year of 1781
The words of friendship would have to be redone
The primacy of states was overly protected
To the point where our nation was barely connected

Hysterical fear of centralized power
Near paralyzed our nation's first hours
Under its guise, the Northwest Ordinance passed
Giving guidance for westward expansion as population massed

Spanish and the British throttled our economy
Underselling and bringing ruin to our country
The impotence felt could have led us to implode
As the pressure cooked into a tinder box ready to explode

Daniel Shay led his quaint farmers rebellion
Seeking mostly what was just and seen as a hellion
The near anarchy led to Hamilton's review of deficiencies
The Federalist Papers argued corrections sufficiently 

Within four months, the Convention yielded its Constitution
With only the Ten Amendments left to their added disposition
As Madison set America as the standard of republican government
And by this, in no way, was pure democracy ever meant

The very best of thinking that thinking could bear
Always cautious least the political buyer beware
Approaching the formation as the art of the possible
That of which the wisest minds might be capable

Showing the fullest of how a young nation matures
Washington warned of too much reliance on human nature
The Philadelphia Experiment was one of sobriety
One that would combine powers balanced in legacy

Madison's Notes of the Constitutional Convention
Were offered up without any vain pretention
But that all might gain a documented explanation
Of what we thought best in governing our nation

Virginia and New Jersey disputed representation
Of how our nation would go about its legislation
It became a compromise between population
And the idea of fair say in an equal nation

Compromise such as these simply recognize that conflict
Will always exist between interests that might constrict
Into unnecessary arguments between natural allies
If entered into without thought toward compromise

This desire for power is part of the human condition
Even if ever able to provide its best rendition
The best of these explosions are channeled into the drive
And became the basis for how this republic did survive

Working with the grain for the general good
Is how our government is best understood
September 17th is our Constitution Day
For more than 231 years this has been our way

The Constitution is functionally our national identity
Unfolded through the days of our time as our legacy
Establishing that we are a nation of all under law
This is engraved as it is on the fabric of our history's wall

(c) March 25, 2020  Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved