A Proposal for a Council of State in the Office ofthe Presidency: Exegesis on Wormuth andFirmage's To Chain the Dog of War

Two centuries ago fifty-five men from twelve states met secretly in Philadelphia with the assigned mission of revising the Articles of Confederation. They exceeded their mission and in a "runaway" convention produced the Constitution. When the conclave adjourned sine die in September 1787, only thirty-nine delegates were willing to sign the document (less than half of the eighty-four who were supposed to attend but about two-thirds of those who did take part). Since that time, and particularly in modern times, the Constitution has taken on a mystical significance: it is the chief artifact in America's civil religion of Americanism or patriotism.

This means, among other things, that any suggestion to make substantial revisions in the document is looked upon by most Americans as a type of secular heresy. Employing Wormuth and Firmage's To Chain the Dog of War as a point of departure, this Essay proposes a major alteration in the office of the presidency: establishment of a "council of state," overseen by a new joint committee of Congress. While this change can be accomplished without constitutional revision, it would, nonetheless, entail major changes in the decision-making process of the president.