Part III — How Constitutional Fidelity Works: Identity, Governance, Fidelity, Force

 by Darius Lecointe, PhD, JD

America keeps treating the Constitution as a rulebook. But constitutions are not rulebooks — they are identity documents. They describe who a people are, and only then define the system built on that identity. This sequence is the key to understanding both 1621 and 2025.

1. Identity Comes First

Every constitution begins with identity, not law.

The Separatists tried to form a new identity in Holland, as the founders of San Marino did in 301, but failed. Their children became “Dutchmen,” and the community split. A divided identity made it impossible to form a stable constitutional order.

The same condition exists today: groups with conflicting identities all claim the same Constitution. No document can unify a people who do not share identity.

2. Governance Reflects Identity

Stable governance follows a stable identity. Confused identity produces improvisation.

The Mayflower Compact is often celebrated, but it was a survival measure by a group:

outside its authorized territory,

internally divided,

unsure who held legitimate power.

Governance was improvised because identity was unclear. America is improvising again today.

3. Fidelity Requires Shared Identity

Constitutional fidelity is not mere obedience — it is loyalty to a common identity.

Early American cases make this clear:

Hayburn’s Case: judges refused to enforce a law that violated the Constitution.

John Jay’s refusal to give advisory opinions: the Court protected constitutional identity.

Marbury: acts repugnant to the Constitution are void because they violate the people’s identity.

Today’s crisis is a crisis of fidelity because Americans no longer agree on who “we” are.

4. Force Is the Final Stage

When identity collapses and fidelity fails, force fills the vacuum. Not always violence, force can appear as:

executive overreach,

legislative paralysis,

judicial supremacy,

normalization of unconstitutional acts.

This is exactly what happened in 1621: three identities collided, no shared framework existed, and power determined survival.

5. The Sequence We Ignore

America keeps starting in the wrong place — trying to “fix” governance while avoiding the deeper identity conflict.

But the constitutional sequence is fixed:

Identity → Governance → Fidelity → Force

Reverse the order and instability follows.

The Lesson for 2025

America is not struggling because its Constitution is weak. It is struggling because its identity is fractured.

Until Americans agree on who we are, fidelity cannot return.

And without fidelity, force becomes the default — just as in 1621.