As I sat in my dorm hurriedly scratching away a legal memo for one of my public policy courses, an intriguing thought I had never once considered occurred to me–the United States’ most remarkable attribute is its propensity for compromise. In modern America, politicians and pundits often act as though our current issues threaten the very fabric that binds us together as a nation. Yet, our leaders rarely reach across party lines to workshop solutions, primarily because dogmatism and hyper-polarization have become the governing political philosophies of our time.
By contrast, the framers of the U.S. Constitution took a radically different approach as they, far more astutely than I in my dorm, sketched out ideas for the new American government in Independence Hall’s drafty corridors. During this time, one threat loomed large: slavery. This issue carved a deep chasm through the heart of our country’s domestic politics. The threat was so significant that one framer, Thomas Jefferson, eventually dubbed the question of slavery’s expansion in 1820 the “[death] knell of the Union.”
Faced with such dire circumstances, our framers chose a strategy antithetical to that of our modern politicians. They vigorously debated the issue, ultimately arriving at a series of compromises like the Fugitive Slave Clause, Importation Moratorium, and Three-Fifths Compromise. While these compromises were undoubtedly abhorrent and violated the natural rights of millions of people, they demonstrated our leaders’ ability to reach workable solutions. Workable for whom? Not everyone, certainly, but workable in the sense of maintaining a fragile union.
These compromises and others like them throughout the 19th century aimed to achieve a lasting peace within the United States but were ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the Civil War. This conclusion may seem to contradict the earlier praise of compromise, but it illustrates a crucial point: the value of compromise lies not in its outcomes but in its process.
The beauty of compromise lies in its ability to force us to confront our shared humanity. Modern politicians nearly unilaterally reject compromise, leading to the dehumanization of the opposition and an increase in negative partisanship as they retreat into their echo chambers. By cutting themselves off from dissenting opinions and viewing their counterparts as adversaries, our current leaders cannot even conceive of compromise as a viable political strategy.
In contrast, the framers of the U.S. Constitution engaged in fierce debates on every single issue, from slavery to the First National Bank, from the Alien and Sedition Acts to the structure of government itself. Despite their deep disagreements, there was always an attempt to understand and come to an agreement with the other side. This “spirit of compromise” is what we so desperately need today.
However, it’s crucial to recognize that even the founding generation, for all their successes in crafting compromises, did not fully live out this spirit. They resolved themselves to the strength of their words but allowed their character and belief in bipartisanship to erode year after year. This erosion ultimately led to the Civil War, demonstrating that compromise alone is not enough – it must be paired with a genuine commitment to understanding and respecting opposing viewpoints.
The lesson for us today is clear: we must revive the spirit of compromise that once defined American politics. This doesn’t mean accepting morally repugnant positions or abandoning our principles. Rather, it means engaging in genuine dialogue, seeking to understand different perspectives, and working tirelessly to find common ground where possible.
In our hyper-polarized era, embracing this spirit of compromise may seem naïve or even impossible. But it is precisely because of this polarization that we must recommit ourselves to this foundational American value. By doing so, we can begin to bridge the divides that threaten our republic, address the complex challenges facing our nation, and perhaps most importantly, rediscover our shared humanity.
The path forward is not through dogmatic adherence to party lines or the demonization of those who disagree with us. It is through the difficult, often frustrating, but ultimately essential process of compromise. This is the forgotten strength of America – a strength we must rediscover if we hope to overcome the challenges of our time and build a more perfect union for future generations.
By: Sherman Criner
