[Sgt_Tropo]

Bluehawk wrote;
"Our Constitution has some serious defects, very serious defects, produced in total secret against the mandate of the people who sent those fellows to Philadelphia back then... once I read Patrick Henry's version of what happened at the convention my whole attitude about the Constitution changed considerably... "

Okay, I'll bite. How in the world did you come to this conclusion ? The Consttution was written by a group of elected / appointed respresentatives from each of the 13 colonies. Each colony representative had their respective constichuents desires at the forefront as the constitution was being written and voted upon.
Yes, there were many disagreements as to exactly what was to be included and how these desires where to be worded. Good old Patrick Henry was miffed because he couldn't get his way at every turn. However, he DID sign and support the final draft of the Constitution and the subsequent Bill of Rights, which insured that most of his and others' concerns and reservations as to the lack of explict wording regarding certain "freedoms" were addressed.
Yes, the representatives of the 13 colonies met in "secret". This was nessasary to preserve their lives, NOT to conceal their work from the supporters of the revolution. The Framers of our constitution placed their very lives, those of their familes and thier respective fortunes at risk, just to meet and draft our Constitution. Many of these men were hung, shot or otherwise killed as "traitors" by the British, during the War of Independence.
Patrick Henry wrote his memorours during the latter days of his life. He had spent several years nursing a sick and dying wife and died angry and virtually penniless himself a few years later. He was upset at the loss the war had put upon him.
He was a preacher and a pastor of a small congregation when the war began. He was not known as a great speaker or statesman when he and the other brave men began working on the Constitution, but over the course of the work, but by the time it was fionished, he had engaged in many lively debates and had become quite passionate about a few closely held beliefs, which virtually none of the other men agreed with, save the case of liberty.
We owe men like Patrick Henry an unfathomable gratirude for their efforts in creating our Constitution and our Bill of Rights. However, we also owe them the honor of not taking a snapshot in time as their lifelong beliefs.