[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 105 (Friday, June 22, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E896-E897]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RATIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 22, 2018

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the year was 1787. The American 
experiment was in trouble. After the Revolution, the colonies came 
together to draft the Articles of Confederation, which enumerated the 
powers of the new government. This document, however, left the 
government unable to regulate interstate commerce, raise revenue 
through taxes, or support a national defense. Many of the colonists had 
become restless, and some like Daniel Shays even began openly revolting 
against the newly founded government.
   It was time to act. Fifty-five men from around the colonies made the 
arduous trek to Philadelphia, where they crammed inside Independence 
Hall, the same venue where, just eleven years before, many of the 
individuals present hammered out and ratified the Declaration of 
Independence. Under the leadership of the gentleman from Virginia, Mr. 
George Washington, the delegates debated a new direction for the 
fledgling government. The document that was finally agreed upon by the 
delegates was what we know today as the United States Constitution. The 
document outlined a federal government made up of three branches that 
could each check and balance the powers of the others.
   After much debate, it was up to the delegates to gain the 
ratification of their respective states. They returned home and 
attempted to whip up support for the Constitution, needing nine states 
out of thirteen to successfully bring the Constitution into law. Some 
went to great lengths to promote the Constitution. Alexander Hamilton, 
James Madison, and John Jay published the Federalist Papers under 
pseudonyms, a series of essays that highlighted the advantages of the 
document.
   Slowly but surely, the ratifications trickled in. Delaware, 
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut were the first to 
support the document. Massachusetts, Maryland, and South Carolina 
followed suit, and finally on June 21, 1788, New Hampshire provided the 
ninth and decisive ratification. The Constitution was adopted by the 
U.S. government on March 4, 1789, and the other colonies soon ratified 
the document, successfully uniting the nation.
   More than any individual or group, the documents drafted and adopted 
by our Founding Fathers shaped who we are as a nation. The Constitution 
provides us the structure to defend, govern, and implement the beliefs 
and freedoms enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill 
of Rights. It establishes that we the people, not a king or tyrant, 
would govern our nation.
   Mr. Speaker, George Washington hailed the Constitution as ``the 
guide in which I will never abandon.'' Today, on the occasion of the 
230th anniversary of the ratification of this document, let us remember 
the oath that we took before taking office to support and defend this 
guide, the very essence of our democracy.
   And that is just the way it is.

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