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Leadership Quote by John Engler

"The current Michigan Constitution was written in 1961 and '62"

About this Quote

Engler’s line is the kind of “just-the-facts” sentence politicians love because it smuggles an argument in under the guise of trivia. By anchoring the Michigan Constitution to 1961 and ’62, he’s not merely timestamping a document; he’s aging it. In politics, a date is never neutral. It’s a lever: old enough to feel out of step, recent enough to be blamed for today’s mess.

The specific intent is procedural and strategic. A constitution is the rulebook for taxes, labor rules, local government powers, courts, and ballot initiatives. Saying when it was written quietly invites the next sentence: “So it’s time to update it,” or “It wasn’t built for the economy we have now.” Engler doesn’t need to argue the merits of any particular reform yet; the calendar does the work.

The subtext is a generational challenge. 1961-62 evokes an America of different demographics, different unions, different industry, different assumptions about the relationship between government and markets. Even if the listener can’t name a single clause, they can feel the implication: this framework was made before suburban sprawl, deindustrialization, and today’s partisan gridlock. It’s a subtle way to frame constitutional constraints as accidental artifacts rather than deliberate protections.

Context matters because Michigan’s 1963 Constitution is a product of mid-century modernization efforts. Engler, a Republican reform-minded executive, often spoke to business climate, government “efficiency,” and restructuring. The date becomes rhetorical shorthand for permission: if the rules were made in another era, rewriting them can be cast not as ideology but as maintenance.

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APA Style (7th ed.)
Engler, John. (2026, January 17). The current Michigan Constitution was written in 1961 and '62. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-current-michigan-constitution-was-written-in-59067/

Chicago Style
Engler, John. "The current Michigan Constitution was written in 1961 and '62." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-current-michigan-constitution-was-written-in-59067/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The current Michigan Constitution was written in 1961 and '62." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-current-michigan-constitution-was-written-in-59067/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.

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Michigan constitution written in 1961 and 1962 - John Engler
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John Engler (born October 12, 1948) is a Politician from USA.

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