And the way to do this, he says, was right under our noses all the time. Attention to this clause, he says, can make the difference between self-destruction or survival. He calls the procedure set forth in Article IV, Section 4 a roadmap for our survival provided by the framers of the Constitution who knew, in the end, we would be our own worst enemy. This clause, he argues persuasively, was the most significant in the entire Constitution. Indeed, it was the moving force moving behind the delegates convening in Philadelphia in 1787 to create a new and more powerful federal government.
Diamond leaves no doubt that the latter was considered by the framers as the more weighty worry.
They considered Article IV, Section 4 to be the emergency part of the Constitution. No limits could be placed on how to terminate such dangers. All necessary human and financial resources were to be used. All lesser agendas must be put aside. Competing personal, political, and financial interests must take a back seat until the danger has been met and overcome.