The Jubilee of the Constitution (1839)

Summary

John Quincy Adams' "The Jubilee of the Constitution" argues that the U.S. Constitution is the completion of the work begun by the Declaration of Independence, both founded on the theory that the people are the only legitimate source of power. He refutes the "anti-revolutionary theory" of State sovereignty that distorts the Constitution into a mere league of friendship. Adams asserts that the Constitution, like the Declaration, derives its just powers from the consent of the governed and is not a tool for confederate corporations.

The book contends that the Revolution, a thirteen-year process, was fully accomplished on April 30, 1789, when George Washington took office. This day marked the culmination of the people’s act of dissolving one government and instituting another based on the Declaration's principles: securing natural rights and the people's right to alter or abolish degenerate governments. Adams emphasizes that the Constitution itself, the work of a convention that fell back from a league of states to the constituent sovereignty of the people, embodies these foundational truths.

Key concepts

• Constituent sovereignty of the people — The idea that governmental power originates solely from the collective will of the populace, not from sovereign states.
• Anti-revolutionary theory — The doctrine that opposes the principles of the Declaration of Independence, particularly by asserting State sovereignty against the constituent sovereignty of the people.
• League of friendship between confederate corporations — A mischaracterization of the Constitution, portraying it as a mere alliance between independent entities rather than a government derived from the people.
• Natural rights of man — Fundamental rights inherent to individuals, which governments are instituted to secure.
• Consent of the governed — The principle that governmental authority is legitimate only when derived from the agreement of the people.

From the book

At this day it cannot but strike us as extraordinary, that it does not

That committee reported on the twelfth of July, eight days after the

Where, then, did each State get the sovereignty, freedom, and

Popular questions readers ask

• If you had to explain the "celestial armor" metaphor to someone who has never heard it before, what is Adams trying to convey about Washington's character and the foundational elements of American governance through each piece (helmet, spear, sword, corselet, shield)?
• Adams describes the Constitution as a "shield... embossed by heavenly hands with the future history." Explain, in your own words, how this imagery elevates the Constitution beyond a legal document and implies a predetermined destiny for the American people. What are the potential strengths and weaknesses of such a perspective?
• Adams highlights the diverse origins of the colonists ("heterogeneously composed") yet claims they shared "one clear, steady flame of liberty, kindled at different furnaces, but all furnaces of affliction." How might the experience of "affliction" from varied backgrounds have uniquely prepared this diverse group to forge a unified nation, and what potential difficulties might it also have presented?
• Considering Adams delivered this speech in 1839, 50 years after Washington's inauguration, how might his view of the Constitution as a "predestined and prophetic history" be influenced by the actual historical developments and national challenges that had occurred during that half-century?
• Adams assigns the "self-evident truths of the Declaration of Independence" to Washington's spear and the "Constitution of the United States" to his shield. What does this specific pairing of these foundational documents imply about their complementary roles in the formation and defense of the nation, according to Adams?