On Sept. 17, 1787, the U.S Constitution was signed into law. Since its ratification, it has inspired other nations to create similar documents. For people who uphold the virtue of liberty, the U.S constitution's germination and global influence are feats to admire.
When the Declaration of Independence was being signed, the delegates knew the world was watching. In fact, drafters of the constitution noted how the "Decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind" obliged them to declare liberty; which, according to the University of Baltimore is the third main function of the Constitution.
As the American Heritage writes, "Americans of that [the late 1700s] era were not mistaken in supposing that the ship ["the ship" being the constitution] they were launching was undertaking a voyage of interest far beyond their own borders." Many other countries would later base their own constitutions on America's highlighting its global significance.
Even so, creating the constitution wasn't easy given that a document that inscribed all these unprecedented rights and laws would be the first of its kind. America was an experiment, and fortunately, this ambitious move to enforce a social contract proved to be monumentally beneficial as evident in its hegemonic position in the world.
But what's new? America was built on risk. Commencing from when the adventurous Columbus first arrived in America, to the early European settlers who battled the bitter cold winters, to the courageous pioneers who explored the West, to defeating the British, and to finally trying to be a constitutional republic in an era stuck in totalitarianism.
With America's ratification of the constitution, American became the embodiment of liberty. And other nations looked up to America so much so, that one can trace all other constitutions thereon after to the U.S'.
France and America were cloaked by an authoritative monarchy during the late 18th century. Thus, French and American rebels bonded over their belief in liberty and their joint delight in ousting any monarchy. Both nations became close, so when it came time for France to draft their constitution, it was quite similar to America's.
In 1848, Germany was planning to write a liberal constitution, and the end product had numerous indirect elements from the U.S constitution. Carl Mittermair, an illustrious constitutional scholar from Germany who also had a degree from Harvard, called the U.S Supreme Court the "highest decoration of the American constitutional system", and continued by saying, "Let us follow the American example and we shall harvest the most splendid fruits."
Lastly, the underlying reason for the global significance of American's constitution is that it created a government based on the sovereignty of the people. America translated what freedom-thinkers around the world wanted and put it on a formal paper.
While the constitution is far from perfect, the architects of it were, in my opinion, geniuses, and I think many governments and individuals would agree with me.
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