REVOLUTION EASY; GOVERNING HARD

With this Constitution now written, we face the teal task of making it work. -- Benjamin Franklin

KENNETT, Mo. -- Benjamin Franklin's words, uttered as his fellow delegates completed their work of writing the first Constitution of the newly independent United States, quickly became a disturbing prophecy for those who expected that the just-concluded war with Great Britain would be their greatest challenge. Events would soon enough dissuade them.

Just as Americans heaved a sigh of relief at the end of World War II, only to discover a new enemy from the field of former allies, Americans after the Revolutionary War faced the challenge of creating a government that would fashion policies that had been mere national slogans before the ratification of the 1789 Constitution.

Citizens of our new nation quickly discovered that as dangerous and difficult as it was to field armies -- after all, our supreme commander, George Washington, lost more battles than he won before the British abandoned the war -- they faced an even more challenging task of creating a government that would serve not only their physical needs, but would assure them freedom from the transgressions of a hereditary monarchy.

Except for brief periods in history, this goal had seldom been articulated, much less attempted and achieved.

The new world's attempt at creating a democratic republic started out on an encouraging note. The nation's foremost, and unquestionably its greatest, leader was Washington. Destiny seemed to choose him our first president, seconded by a new electoral system that recognized the authority of selected voters.

From the moment he took the oath of office until the end of his second term, Washington battled enemies he had never been trained to fight: the affairs of state and policies designed to influence and control those affairs. Today we call these leaders politicians, an inflammatory word with a notorious connotation. Washington found them to be no less inflammatory, no less notorious than have his successors.

As president, Washington found domestic and foreign crises that would try the soul of today's chief executive. He faced armed taxpayer rebellions, attempts to weaken smaller states by the bullying tactics of larger ones, even efforts by his former friends to privatize a national banking system in an effort to enrich themselves. Numerous armed skirmishes, including the notorious Shay's and Whiskey rebellions, threatened domestic tranquillity to an extent rarely experienced during the Revolution. But that was only the beginning.

As chief executive, Washington found it had become his inherited responsibility to oversee the founding and tenure of the other two branches of government while at the same time dealing with the financial earthquake that threatened the stability of a new federal government that sorely needed the approval of the independent colonial governments.

Washington had become the de facto creator, underwriter and manager of an untried and unproved system of government that had been envisioned by a majority of constitutional convention delegates who had never held public office or had experience in planning, much less implementing, a federal system of government.

Historians often refer to the genius of the Founding Fathers, but a more likely recognition belongs to our first president whose genius made the work of the delegates seem so remarkable.

On top of all this, Washington felt the need to devote a large measure of his time to foreign affairs, particularly as they related to developing treaties with past or potential enemy nations. Dispatching John Jay to England to fashion a treaty that would assure a peace guarantee with the hated enemy of his colonial constituents, Washington's prudent and essential efforts generated a lasting animosity from many of his former admirers and supporters: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, even Thomas Paine.

It undoubtedly was painful as Washington read the hateful messages that Jefferson, Monroe, Edmund Randolph and numerous other signers of the Declaration of Independence were now distributing against him. Paine, who became the voice of freedom before the war, even stooped to labeling Washington a "British spy." Urged on by distrust among the economic divisions separating the new nation, there was soon lost the unanimity that followed the winning of America's independence.

The rising political ambitions of John Adams and Jefferson became obstacles to Washington's attempts to unite his country: Jefferson hinted the president had grown senile. Adams suggested to supporters that it was time for Washington to resign. There was little relief from the anti-tax beliefs of the public who passionately wished for an effective system of governance but only if it cost them nothing.

Despite all of these obstacles, none of them visible at the start of his administration, Washington continued to lead as best he could a nation that often seemed headed toward self-destruction. He was right in insisting that he serve only two terms, while rejecting suggestions that he assume greater power to strengthen federal authority.

Washington took comfort, as many of his successors have since, from any enlightened support by the governed, while ignoring the predictable deprecation of his enemies. This moderation, while severely criticized by his enemies, served -- and saved -- the union just as surely as did the colonial armies he led in the 1775-81 war for independence.

Among the more thoughtful readers of this column, I am sure there have been moments of comparison between the times described herein and today's America. Only the names and situations have changed.

The message remains the same.

~Jack Stapleton is the editor of Missouri News and Editorial Service.