A More Powerful Government (Quick Thoughts)

This is an article I plan on diving much more deeply into in the future. In many of my discussions I have with people about the Founding Principles of the Constitution, one of the most common things I hear is something along these lines,

“The Founders wanted a strong central government because the Article of Confederation proved a weak one can’t work”.

With the exception of one word in this context, I happen to fully agree with the statement, the word “strong” instead of '”stronger”. No matter how you word it or state it, it is this concept and the difference between Strong and Stronger in this context that makes the World’s difference in the discussion. To often in my opinion, many who favor a very strong Federal Authority are the ones who use the word strong and use it with the Founder’s in this context to justify their position of a more absolute Federal power.

 

But Strong does not mean the same as stronger. Without doubt, the Articles of Confederation were far to weak for the United States to effectively operate in any aspect that stretched beyond the borders of any one state. Not was their much doubt the States could effectively govern themselves absent the influence of outside interests. The problem was when a State required to interact with any other State or Nation, or when the common interest of all States was in question. The Articles of Confederation failed to adequately address these two areas (Why the Articles of Confederation Failed). One of the most influential occurrences bringing about the Federal Convention of 1787 was the voiding of the Mt. Vernon Compact between Virginia and Maryland and the lack of power by either the States or Congress to made commerce between the States regular (Prelude, The Annapolis Convention of 1786). The Founders new a stronger Federal Government was needed.

The difference between strong and stronger is this.

Stronger implies to have greater power over the previous power’s ability.

Strong, in the manner used above, implies a power that is stronger than any other.

The reason stronger is the appropriate and correct word to be used is simple, the Founder’s simply wanted a system of Government that was capable of addressing the lapses of the Articles of Confederation while actually having as little power as possible to ensure the means to that end. It was not to make a Government with the power to dictate its terms in any manner or impose its will on any subject, but rather to be a Government that operated within a defined set of powers stronger than previously given, but not strong enough to take any other powers from the States or the People.

To say strong is what was meant, is to use the same logic as when a sheet of paper does not kill the fly on your wall you decide to use a sledge hammer instead of a fly swatter.

The Sledge Hammer is strong, but will destroy not only the fly but whatever it touches and around it intentional or not, whereas the flyswatter is stronger than the sheet of paper, but not not strong enough to harm what was not intended.