Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Facts

 

To communicate, argue, and persuade, facts need to be described or defined in context and both questions and answers must be specific.

 

For example, take “the date” of the U.S. Constitution.  There are many significant dates. To get a true (specific) answer, specific questions must be asked, and, in turn, the answer must be specific.

1.  From May to September 17, 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention met and wrote the proposed constitution; delegates from 12 states [Rhode Island did not send delegates] approved it and recommended to the Congress [of the then-existing federal government, the Articles of Confederation] that it be adopted by ratification of nine of the 13 states..

Specific questions for the above:  When was the U.S. Constitution written?  When was the U.S. Constitution adopted by the Constitutional Convention?

2.  By June 21, 1788, nine states had ratified the U.S. Constitution.  According to the US Constitution Center, on this date, the Constitution became the official framework of the government of the United States of America.

https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-day-the-constitution-was-ratified

Specific questions for the above:  When was the U.S. Constitution ratified by the states? When did the U.S. Constitution become the framework of the US government?

3.  On March 4, 1789, the House of Representatives met but did not have a quorum.  The US Senate also met that day, but also without a quorum.

[On April 1, 1789, the House of Representatives first achieved a quorum and elected its officers.]

[On April 6, 1789, the US Senate first achieved a quorum and elected its officers.]

Specific questions for the above:  When did the first House of Representatives meet?  When did the first US Senate meet?  When did the first House of Representatives meet with a quorum?  When did the first US Senate meet with a quorum? 

4.  On April 30, 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as the first president under the U.S. Constitution.

Specific question for the above:  When did the first US president take office?