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Hello, it’s Congressman Matt Van Epps. I represent Tennessee’s Seventh Congressional District! Over the past several months, I’ve had the honor of visiting several locations in Cheatham County!

Hello, it’s Congressman Matt Van Epps. I represent Tennessee’s Seventh Congressional District! Over the past several months, I’ve had the privilege of visiting several places in Benton County. 

The U.S. Constitution, Just Ink on Paper?

In the summer of 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention convened in the Pennsylvania State House to discuss the formation of a new government. For several months, the delegation debated, and what came out of the convention was the United States Constitution. As many have said before, the Declaration of Independence describes the why behind the American government, but the Constitution lays out the how. Both are important. 

Our Founders were not just fighting for the chance to be free. They were fighting for the opportunity to govern themselves. That is why they chose to create a republic.

Yet, our Founders also understood that freedom devoid of self-government devolves into lawlessness, and that eventually leads to tyranny. They knew that maintaining a Republic would require virtuous people.

“If you Can Keep it.”

The Constitutional Convention is, to this day, one of the greatest miracles of human history. Somehow, 55 men from diverse backgrounds and interests came together in the sweltering summer heat of Philadelphia and agreed on a brand-new form of government. Upon leaving the convention, a woman asked Benjamin Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Franklin famously replied, “A Republic, if you can keep it.”

With the fast-approaching 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, I’ve been reflecting on what makes our country unique, and the word that keeps ringing in my ear is liberty. 

On the eve of the American Revolution, Patrick Henry asked a crowded room in St. John’s Church, “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?” 

Edmund Burke, often considered the Father of conservatism, once stated that to love one’s country, it ought to be lovely. From the purple mountains of Colorado and Tennessee to the amber waves of America’s heartland, few would deny that geographically, the United States is a beautiful nation. Yet the things that really make America exceptional are the principles on which we were founded.