July 4 is traditionally celebrated as Independence Day in the United States, to commemorate the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress, to establish the United States of America.
249 years ago, the formal vote, taken on July 2 by delegates of the 13 colonies, established the United States as a new independent nation. Initially, it operated under the Articles of Confederation, which broadly left each colony with its own constitution and gave the Continental Congress, as delegates of the Colonies, authority to fight the war. The union brought together communities that had their origins in groups seeking religious freedom, in former Swedish and Dutch colonies, in free settlers (including some former German soldiers who had served for British Crown) and in transported convicts (as a more humane sentence than hanging). It also included native Americans and slaves.
Those who did not like the new arrangement, Empire Loyalists, moved north and resettled in Upper Canada, now Ontario, and in New Brunswick. Their story forms one of the threads that contributes to the formation of a Canadian nation, distinct from the United States.
Once hostilities ceased with the surrender at Yorktown in 1781 and the ratification of the Treaty of Paris in 1784, the Congress found it increasingly difficult even to raise money to pay off the debts incurred in the war. As a result, work began to draft a revised constitution, which was finally approved by the Congress in 1787. It is not a lengthy document and consists of only seven articles. One might reasonably expect that any President of the United States should have read it.
Article 1 sets out that the Legislature consists of a Senate, which has two members per state, and a House of Representatives, whose numbers reflect the population of the States. Amongst other things, it gives the Legislature the authority to raise money by “Duties, Imposts and Excises” and to “regulate commerce with foreign nations”. It specifies that “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law”, of which the legislature is the source. And it specifies that “The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.”
Article 2 defines the executive authority which “shall be vested in a President of the United States of America”. The President “shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States”. The President also has the authority to appoint judges to the Supreme court, subject to the approval of the Senate.
The article also provides that
“In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.”
Article 3 defines the Judicial element of the constitution, creating a Supreme Court as original jurisdiction for issues of Federal origin and as court of appeal for issues arising under state jurisdiction.
Article 4 defines the relationship among states and with the Federal government, establishing citizenship of the United States, rather than of the individual former colonies.
Article 5 defines the process by which the Constitution may be amended.
Article 6 includes the wording
“The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
The debate, that led to the ratification of the constitution by the individual states, resulted in the addition of a set of amendments that were adopted in 1791, in the case of North Carolina, as a condition of ratifying the Constitution.
These ten amendments are collectively referred to as the Bill of Rights. Safeguards of Liberty are covered in Amendments 1 to 3 and the 1st Amendment is worth quoting in full.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Safeguards of Justice are covered in Amendments 4 to 8 and include
4th Amendment – the protection against search and seizure without warrant;
5th Amendment – the need for indictment by a Grand Jury for major crimes, the right to due legal process and the right in any criminal case to not be a witness against yourself (hence the expression “taking the 5th”);
6th Amendment – the rights to trial by jury and to counsel for criminal offences.
Having fought for independence from the British Crown, the Founding Fathers were determined to create a system of government that precluded a single, authoritarian executive function. They therefore adopted a separation of powers that made the Legislature responsible for the drafting of law and control of finance and created an independent Judicial function to interpret the law. Their deliberate intent was to establish legal checks and balances to ensure that the President could not act unilaterally, as King George III was perceived to have done.
Article 2 provides some food for thought. At what point will a President, exhibiting apparent signs of dementia, be considered unable “to to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office”? Evidently posts on “Truth” Social, that are increasingly detached from reality, do not yet raise doubts. With a Republican majority in Congress, and apparently held in thrall by Trump supporters, who can challenge his mental capacity? For his family and immediate supporters, it is far more advantageous to protect his position, limiting damage by confining him as far as possible to Mar-a-Lago and the golf course. The Trump family continues its ruthless exploitation of business opportunities created by the Presidency. Musk now holds a comprehensive data set of all US citizens, thanks to DOGE. And US billionaires are set to get further tax breaks. Who has an interest in rocking the boat?
Readers of a certain age may recall the period when Leonid Brezhnev was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It was apparent for some years before his death that his health was deteriorating and that his appearances in public were increasingly symbolic. But the difficulty of agreeing a successor and the risk of challenging his position made it easier to leave him in position as an inanimate figurehead, with the power exercised elsewhere. Is this the 250th year of the United States to which we can look forward?
The constitution prescribes that, in the event of the incapacity of the President, the responsibility should devolve to the Vice President. It is reasonably clear that Vice President J D Vance shares many of the policies promoted by Project 2025 and the right wing think tank, Heritage Foundation. These are already in play under Trump, although attracting less attention because of tariffs, Ukraine, Air Force One, insults to other world leaders and the endless list of Trump-centric distractions. Enhancing the power of the executive, dismantling government bureaucracy, reversing diversity, equity and inclusion programmes (DEI), loyalty rather than merit as the basis for appointment to the federal civil service, a Gestapo-like police force against immigration, Christian right policies for banning abortion, reducing environmental regulations to favour fossil fuels and denying climate change – the list is long. It makes “The Handmaid’s Tale” into a manifesto, rather than a dystopian warning.
As the United States enters its 250th year, “God bless help America”.
