‘Columbia’ Category

 

Basic – The Constitution

Posted from the capital city of Little Rock, Arkansas by Linda Lou Burton – For $19.95 you can order a facsimile of the Constitution of the United States as it was originally written, way back in 1787. Not kidding – the folks at the National Archives have gone to the trouble of printing all four pages in a 23 x 28 size, on paper that is crinkled and aged in appearance. Go to their store at if you want to see it as it was handwritten, and signed. If you have trouble reading the flourishing script, get yourself a copy of the transcribed version. Or go digital. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript

The point is – if you live, and work, and play, and sleep, and eat, in the United States, it’s vital that you understand just what that means with regard to your responsibilities, and your privileges. So start by reading the Constitution.

The United States Constitution consists of a Preamble and seven Articles, addressing the idea of a country of united states (there were 13 at the time), and providing directions for how it would work; a “recipe” for a new country. It was created and presented in September 1787 by 55 men representing the states of:

  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Georgia
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Virginia

Note: Rhode Island declined to send delegates.

The Preamble

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Article I – Legislative

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Sections 2-10 describe the scope and limits of these powers, and specify the who, what, and when for election of a person to legislative office.

Article II -Executive

The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

Sections 2 and 3 outline the duties, responsibilities, and powers of an elected president and Section 4 addresses the removal of an elected president.

Section 4.

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Article III – Judicial

The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

Sections 2 and 3 further outline the duties, responsibilities, and powers of the United States judiciary.

Article IV – States and Citizens

Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.

Section 2.

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.

Sections 3 and 4 outline the admission of new states, and the protections for each state.

Article V – Amendments

Provisions made for amendments to the Constitution as deemed necessary and appropriate.

Article VI – Debts and Oaths

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.

Article VII – Ratification

The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.

What Happened Next

Only 39 men actually signed the Constitution, which illustrates just how hard a task it was to get agreement on this “never done before” undertaking. It was crafted by men representing very different interests and views, who cared enough to come together and, after three hot summer months of thrashing out ideas, move forward in compromise. The delegates ranged in age from Jonathan Dayton, aged 26, to Benjamin Franklin, aged 81, who was so infirm that he had to be carried to sessions. Five states – Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut – ratified the Constitution quickly; followed by Maryland and South Carolina; the ninth state to ratify was New Hampshire. It was agreed that the Constitution would go into effect March 4, 1789. Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island were the last four states to complete the ratification process, by May of 1790.

Today the United States Constitution is the oldest written constitution in operation in the world. It consists of 4,543 words. Check out that original, the beginnings of the framework of the United States.

Give it a read. It’s a basic.

A BONUS – The National Archives not only offers you the opportunity to see that document and all those signatures, beginning with George Washington’s, but allows you to add your digital signature!  https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/join-the-signers

Footnote: Jacob Shallus was the “engrosser” who penned the document on four sheets of parchment made from treated animal skin (the conservator at the Archives says it was either calf, goat, or sheep skin). He used a goose quill with ink made of iron filings in oak gall. It started out black, but has aged to a brown color. Jacob, who was 37 at the time, was paid $30 for his work; he was Assistant Clerk to the Pennsylvania Assembly at the time, so likely was chosen for the job due to the Convention’s desire for speedy drafting; he was there and available to do the job. His name appears nowhere on the document.

Upcoming posts: Amendments, Growth, Changes

Tomorrow: The Oaths

 
 
 

Back For The Future

23 marker Chesnut and CatherineLinda Burton posting from Columbia, South Carolina – Mary Chesnut and Catherine Bruce. I want you to remember those two names. Though born in different centuries, these women have several things in common. First of all, they both lived a part of their lives on Hampton Street in Columbia, South Carolina. Catherine still does; she owns and resides in the Visanska-Starks house at 2214. And Mary lived for a time during the Civil War in what is now a B&B called “The Chesnut Cottage” at 1718. Neither place is open to the public as a house museum, but both sites are identified by Historic Markers strategically placed near their front sidewalk. It was near one of those markers that I met Catherine Bruce; I was in front of the Chesnut Cottage marveling 23 marker Chesnut Cottagethat I was there and snapping pictures, of course. A woman passed by, bundled against the blustery afternoon wind. She commented about my camera; I commented about her headscarf; then she spotted my car and our conversation began. Catherine, it turns out, is a doctoral student at USC; she was headed for the library. She asked about my Journey and I asked about her studies but it was much too cold to stand and talk; we agreed to meet for lunch later in the week. And that’s when I discovered what else Mary Chesnut and Catherine Bruce have in common. » read more

 
 
 

Leapin’ Lizards!

21 menu proppedLinda Burton posting from Columbia, South Carolina – Home Meal Replacement. That’s the designation the Lizard’s Thicket country cooking restaurants give themselves, and it fits. As I stood at the counter to pay my bill, a woman just ahead placed her “To Go” order – green beans, squash casserole, cornbread dressing, and a triple portion of meatloaf. “I’ll be able to get it all on the table before my husband gets home,” she said, looking very pleased. She moved onto a counter stool to wait and I turned and told her about a restaurant in Tennessee that provided eggshells and potato peels for your garbage can, so you could convince your husband you cooked it all. “Honey,” she replied, “as good as this food is, my husband will know I didn’t cook it!” Apparently these are the sentiments of much of the population of Columbia; they enthusiastically support 15 Lizard’s Thicket “country 21 menu boardcooking” restaurants around the city, and, as I was informed by the manager of one, “49% of our business comes from Take Home.” But people like to eat in the restaurants too, hanging out with neighbors and friends in a comfortable booth facing the big blackboard on the wall that lists the 25 vegetables they serve (yes, macaroni and cheese IS a vegetable). And being waited on by a staff that seems to remember faces, and preferences. » read more

 
 
 

Bootjacks And Cabbages

19 propped palmettoLinda Burton posting from Columbia, South Carolina – “About $800.00” That was the answer to my question, “How much does a big tree like that cost?” I was referring to the large palmetto trees on the grounds of my hotel, propped securely in place by a system of support boards angled to hold them upright. The newly planted trees are more than twenty feet tall at the moment, offering a “South Carolina look” on each side of the doorway. They have been planted at the entrance to the parking lot as well; the signs beside read “Pardon Our Dirt.” A South Carolina look? For sure; the palmetto is the state tree and has been on the state flag since 1861. It is part of the design on the state quarter, issued in 2000, and its image occupies the center spot on the South Carolina vehicle license plate. Real live palmettos frame almost every residential lawn and there is even a “Palmetto Trail” 19 coin south carolinathrough the state, connecting the mountains of South Carolina to the coast, and running right through the state capitol lawn in downtown Columbia. The sabal palmetto, also known as the “cabbage palm” is the state tree of Florida too, and is native to the subtropical warm and temperate southeastern United States, as well as Cuba and the Bahamas. Can you guess why it is called a “cabbage” palm? And what on earth is a bootjack? » read more

 
 
 

And Here’s The Steeple

13 Columbia square

Linda Burton posting from Columbia, South Carolina – It was a little more peaceful in downtown Columbia today than it was on this day 148 years ago. February 17 was the day in 1865 when much of Columbia was burned; General Wade Hampton’s Confederate cavalry surrendered the city to General William Sherman’s Union troops; a story that is told and retold in historical markers all over town. Today’s downtown is moderate in size; the streets are wide and palmettos edge the sidewalks. The tallest buildings appear to be banks, clustered near the State House on Main, or Gervais, but holding their own in the height department are the church steeples, some topped with crosses, some not. Columbia is a “planned” city; it was chosen as the new state capital in 1786, incorporated as a village in 1805 and a city in 1854. Designed as a town of 400 blocks in a 2-mile square along the river, the blocks were divided in lots of 0.5 acres; perimeter streets and two through streets were 17 First Baptist front150 feet wide. Thank the mosquito for that – it was the belief at the time that dangerous mosquitos could not fly more than 60 feet without dying of starvation! As I drove those wide streets today, I couldn’t help but notice steeples poking up everywhere, so the GPS and I decided to do a little bird-dog tracking. It was an easy search on a sleepy Sunday afternoon; traffic was almost nil. I tried to imagine the noise of 1865, the smoke, and the fear. What would be burned next? What saved? And that led me to the First Baptist Church. » read more

 
 
 

The Best Laid Plans

15 capitol side angleLinda Burton posting from Columbia, South Carolina – How long does it take to build a State House? When you’ve been around as long as South Carolina, it might take a while. South Carolina was one of the Thirteen Colonies, you know, and was the first to declare independence from the British Crown (March 26, 1776) when it adopted the “Constitution of South Carolina” and became the first republic in America. But that didn’t last long; it was also the first to ratify the initial governing document of the United States, the Articles of Confederation (February 5, 1778). It was the 8th state to come into the Union (May 23, 1788) and the first state to secede from that same Union (December 20, 1860). After a costly war that killed more than a third of the state’s male population, it was readmitted to the Union June 25, 1868. Where, and in what buildings, did 15 star on wallall these important statehood decisions take place? As I walked around the grounds of the State House in use today, I saw bronze stars noting Civil War cannon damage, plaques identifying the building’s architects, and a 1976 National Historic Landmark designation. A lot of history here, and, I learned, a lot of ups and downs. Sometimes even the best-laid plans have to change. » read more

 
 
 

Famously Hot

13 hot and cockyLinda Burton posting from Columbia, South Carolina – If you’ve got it, flaunt it, the saying goes, and Columbia jumps ahead of the game by promoting itself as “Famously Hot.” Does that refer to the climate? Or is it sizzling with things to do? Well I’m checking it out – in addition to the undisputed facts, just how hot is it? An undisputed fact is that Columbia is the capital of South Carolina, and has been since March 22, 1786, by legislative vote. It is also the largest city in the state (population 129,272, US Census 2010), and the US Army’s largest and most active training center, Fort Jackson, has officially been within the city limits since 1968 (by Pentagon approval). A geographic fact is that Columbia, like many colonial cities, is located on a “fall line;” that point in a river where you can’t float your boat upstream any more, and there isn’t enough water force coming downstream to power a mill (the Saluda and Broad Rivers meet here, and form the Congaree). An educational fact is that the University of South Carolina was founded here in 1801 (as South Carolina College); its initial hope was to attract young men from both the “Backcountry” and the “Lowcountry” and keep them from heading off to England for their education. Did they find Columbia hot? » read more