When the Constitution was penned and signed some 231 years ago, it was a conglomerate of ideas – a product of careful, pensive thoughts and principles that set a nation on its eternal course. The crafters of this Constitution were mere men, men of various persuasions, passions, and ideas, all diverse and sometimes even diametrically opposite each other. Jefferson had his inclinations toward libertarian individuality. Hamilton had his passion for strong national defense and commerce. Washington had his nearly isolationist foreign policy. Madison had his doubts about excessive democracy. Yet, through all of these differences, debates, and arguments, the Constitution was born and remains today one of the most influential documents in political thought, law, and national public policy.

How did this come to be? It’s a difficult question. In a culture as polarized as ours, where insight and productive discussion is all but lost and replaced by 30 second sound-bites that have a lot of punch but no substance, it’s hard for us to grasp the concept of statesmanship.