Greyson Ward Articles 6 and 7

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Looking back at the Articles of Confederation, the framers of the Constitution created the Sixth and Seventh Articles in order to address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, which allowed the states too much power, and to ensure the Constitution was passed by a supermajority. The 6th Article declares that all debt the states had accumulated would be transferred to the new federal government. The second clause of the Sixth Article creates a hierarchy of law in the United States with the Constitution being at the top followed by federal, state, and municipal laws.

All the laws proclaimed by the Constitution and federal government, including treaties, must be upheld by federal and state judges. The final clause illuminates how all government officials are duty bound to follow the Constitution and that officials are free to practice any religion. The 7th Article declares that consent from the convention of the nine states is necessary to pass the Constitution. The Constitution can be ratified if there is a vote where nine out of thirteen states approved the new Constitution. Mark Graber in “Why Nine Meant Thirteen” highlights his view of the Seventh Article, which was that it was made to prevent the blockage of acceptance votes by only one or two states seeking more favorable terms. On the other hand, Michael B. Rappaport states in the article, “Desirability of the Constitution,” that Article Seven was passed because

it was important to get a supermajority of the population behind the Constitution. He illuminates how the protection of states’ rights and the Bill of Rights was included in the Constitution because it reflected the factions in the supermajority, not just the majority. Rappaport’s argument was aligned with the framers, who had been influenced by John Locke’s concept of the protection of the inalienable rights along with Rousseau’s social contract, who wanted the supermajority because it was important that the new Constitution expressed the will of the people.

The Seventh Article was designed in a way that put pressure on states to ratify quickly, as the longer states held out, the less influence the state would have on the forming of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. A case that challenged the Seventh Article was McCulloch vs Maryland, which was a feud over whether Maryland, a state, could tax a federal bank.

The outcome of the case was that the federal government held more power than a state government, resulting in a ruling supporting the view of McCulloch that a national bank is not required to pay a state tax. The case illustrates that the law of the Constitution, ratified by the states, stands atop the power pyramid of the United States, which demonstrates the enlightenment thinker’s view of the protection of the inalienable rights gained from the social contract, the United States Constitution.

A way to update this article would be to allow a state convention to repeal their vote for the ratification of the Constitution. Fortunately, the ratification process does not allow for this, as a repeal of their ratification vote would undermine the Constitution and destroy the rights Americans hold dear to their hearts. 

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