Category: Levinson Cynthia

"I Swear...!"

10/11/2022

Cynthia Levinson
A Scribe for Social Justice

The United States Constitution includes two oaths of office. The first, and better known one, is the presidential oath in Article Two, which reads, "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Why does it include “affirm” in parentheses? Because the Framers understood that an incoming president might object to “swearing,” which could indicate an oath before God. This might also explain why the Constitution does not add “so help me God” at the end, although most modern oath-takers do so.

The second oath, in Article Six, similarly requires all national and state officials to “be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution.”

Why are these provisions important? One answer is that our 18th-century forbears deeply believed in the magnitude of swearing oaths before God: violating an oath, after all, might lead to Divine, as well as secular, wrath.

Furthermore, note that allegiance is sworn to the federal Constitution. Before the Revolution, colonial officials swore fealty to the king. Afterward, but before the Constitution was ratified in 1788, state legislatures required members to swear loyalty to their particular state. As John Adams had said, “Massachusetts is our country.” The Framers debated which of these to follow—state or federal—and even whether to require oaths altogether. James Wilson of Pennsylvania argued that they were unnecessary because “a good government did not need them and a bad one…ought not to be supported.”[i] Requiring allegiance to the federal government was a major step.

But there is another crucial question: Can we tell when someone is, or is not, obeying the oath? What does it mean, “to the best of my ability, [to] preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States?” Donald Trump was impeached twice by the House of Representatives. Did he live up to the terms of his oath or not? How do we decide?
Presidents will always insist that they complied with the oath. Office-holders as varied as Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt, among others argued that they had the power to interpret the Constitution to do what they believed counted as preserving, protecting and defending it. Other people say the Supreme Court is the “ultimate interpreter” and presidents must abide by the justices’ rulings. The South African Constitution, for example, makes it clear that that country’s Constitutional Court takes precedence over any contrary assertions by the President. Would you support that?

Thomas Foley Oath of Office, 1965 signed his oath as a congressman

George Washington’s first inauguration, from a painting by Ramon de Elorriaga, c. 1899 Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, https://blog.library.si.edu/blog/2013/01/18/inauguration-trivia-fascinating-firsts/#.YAYNyJNKhTZ

Many of the political issues we struggle with today have their roots in the US Constitution. Husband-and-wife team Cynthia and Sanford Levinson take readers back to the creation of this historic document and discuss how contemporary problems were first introduced―then they offer possible solutions.
"A fascinating, thoughtful, and provocative look at what in the Constitution keeps the United States from being “a more perfect union.” " Kirkus Reviews - Best Middle Grade Nonfiction of 2017

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An Abecedary of Extinct Vocabulary

4/14/2022

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Cynthia Levinson
A Scribe for Social Justice

Absquatulate, means to: flee or escape

Boy running

Brabble: quarrel about unimportant matters
Curglaff: the shock of suddenly plunging into cold water
Deliciate: have fun
Excogigate: make a plan
Fuzzled: whoozy
Groak: watch someone eat in hopes of being invited
Hoddypeak: a fool
Hugger-mugger: to be secretive
Illicebrous: attractive
Jargogle: jumble or confuse
Jirble: pour messily
Kenspeckle: something that’s noticeable
Ludibrious: the flame or match used to light a fire

Kerosene lantern

Malagrugrous: dismal
Nail: a measure 2 ¼” long
Obambulate: wander
Pismire: a small insect

Soldier beetles and little black bugs

Quagswag: shake to and fro
Resistentialism: the appearance of bad behavior or thoughts by an inanimate object, such as a statue of a person who looks mean
Snoutfair: handsome
Twitter-light: twilight
Uliginous: slimy

Slimy Object

Verily: truly, certainly
Widdendream: confusion
Wonder-wrench: sweetheart
Xylomancy: telling the future by using the wood found in your path
Yex: hiccup
Zappy: lively

Usually, Cynthia writes “important” books for young readers about civil rights, social justice, and the Constitution, like this one, Fault Lines in the Constitution, which she wrote with her husband, Sanford Levinson, a law professor. Fault Lines shows the inequities in our constitution and the relationship between that document and issues arising today. But, she also has fun trying out circus tricks—and so do kids in her in-school and online visits.

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"I Swear...!"

An Abecedary of Extinct Vocabulary

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