More Milley: Americans in Uniform Are Willing to Die for a Document

In Federalist 49, Madison wrote of  the" veneration which time bestows on every thing, and without which perhaps the wisest and freest governments would not possess the requisite stability."  At The Jack Miller Center, James Ceaser writes:

The idea of a written constitution is coupled in The Federalist with another important contribution about how the people should regard the document. What kind of thing is a written constitution? From a legal standpoint, a written constitution is higher law. But is it merely law, or does it perform a further function and have a different status? Is the Constitution something to be venerated—something that endows government with respect and contributes to its stability and endurance— and that provides a bond that connects the people to the nation? 

As with the idea of a written constitution, many today can easily overlook the originality of this doctrine. But there is no logical connection between what are just words on a page and the veneration we apply to them. The idea of reverence for the Constitution was a creation of The Federalist.

General Milley: