Okay.  Here’s the way I understand it.

In 1776, the Thirteen Colonies declared their independence from Great Britain.

Love this painting of  Franklin, Adams, and  Jefferson working on rough drafts of the Declaration of Independence.  Those wadded-up sheets on the floor were not copies of cut-and-paste from a handy Epson. Clearly a highly idealized representation.

Prior to independence, the colones were very separate and independent.  Once they became the first states, they still valued this separateness and independence.  For a new country, this would never do.  A unifying government and supporting documents would be needed.

This would not be easy.  First we had the Articles of Confederation, which were fairly loose guidelines.  Then, the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia met between May and September of 1787 to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation. Keep in mind that this is eleven years after Independence.

What was taking so long?  Well, of  course, travel and communication was laborious in those days.  No photography either, so we just have some rather fanciful paintings of the creation of our Founding Fathers.

Bringing the separate states to the signing took a lot of campaigning.  This was undertaken primarily by John Jay, Franklin, and Hamilton with the writing and disseminating of The Federalist Papers, promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution.

So, you see, the Constitution was under fire long before the final draft was signed.  It was never thought to be a perfect. sacrosanct, or infallible document, and it was understood from the beginning that amendments would be needed.  The Framers of the Constitution never thought of themselves as divinely-inspired neo-gospel writers,

Here is yet another highly-idealized painting.  This one of the signing.

G.W. seems about to bust a button and Franklin seems to be looking into the camera as if to say, “Lord, how I wish I were back in France.”

Then, as now, painters took liberties.  Do you think that in the midst of battle Washington, in his Sunday dress uniform, got off his horse and knelt down in the woods in the snow?

And that beautiful steed in regal tack seems to be exhaling heavenly fire.

Here, a modern painter even inserted The Lord and Abraham Lincoln, among notable others, into the constitutional scene.

Still and all, even today with misinformed politicians misunderstanding the Founders, Original Intent, and the Constitution, is this a great country or what?

Happy Presidents’ Day.