How Do You Write a Constitution in Today’s Conditions?
America’s founding fathers had the luxury of secrecy. Modern attempts to write constitutions are bedeviled by polarization and hyper-scrutiny.
Illustration: Vartika Sharma for Bloomberg
At the start of the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention of 1787, the delegates voted to keep their discussions secret. This, argued Pierce Butler of South Carolina, would prevent “licentious publications” of the proceedings, and would allow the framers to conduct their deliberations without fear of being second-guessed by uninformed or misinformed outsiders.
Some of the founding fathers took opposing views on the decision. James Madison thought secrecy was a necessary precaution, writing to James Monroe: “I think the rule was a prudent one, not only as it will effectually secure the requisite freedom of discussion, but as it will save both the Convention and the Community from a thousand erroneous and perhaps mischievous reports.”