The Ideas That Formed the Constitution, Part 9: Virgil and Other Poets
Commentary
Answering Questions About This Series
Some questions have arisen on this series, which I think best to clear up now.
First: As the series title indicates, these essays are about the ideas contributing to the American Constitution, not about the goals of the American Revolution. The goals of the Revolution changed over time. At first, the revolutionaries sought to restore American freedom and self-governance within the British Empire. But within 15 months, the struggle had evolved into one for Independence and for a wider scope of freedom and self-governance. After the war was over, the revolutionaries’ new aim was to design a form of government—a Constitution—to preserve what they had won….