The former general reminds us what helped ignite the Civil War.
What pushed former Defense Secretary James Mattis over the edge, to denounce President Donald Trump, in the strongest possible terms?
Only the former general knows for sure, but a clue is provided by the title of his statement: “In Union There Is Strength.”
Another clue is provided by the most important words in his text: “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us.”
With those words, Mattis is signaling a national challenge that goes back to the founding era, that almost derailed the American project from the very start, that helped start the Civil War, and that has had to be managed with great care during every national crisis.
Shortly after the American Revolution, the new nation was at grave risk of falling apart. To many people, diverse affiliations and identities made it difficult to speak of the “United States of America.” Under the Articles of Confederation, intense loyalty to states, and competition among states, seemed to outstrip loyalty to the nation. Prominent politicians fueled the divisions.
The Constitution was designed to solve that problem. You can see what its framers had in mind if you look an early draft of the document.
It began: “We the People of the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York,” and so forth, “do ordain, declare, and establish the following Constitution.
