From the Jan. 15, 1908 NYT:

THE CONSTITUTION

Old George the Third of merry fame
Possessed a great Big Stick,
J. Caesar had another one
With which he loved to lick;
O. Cromwell armed himself with one
To smite his fellow-man;
In fact, each tyrant, good or bad,
Had one since earth began.

When this Republic's fathers met
To make a nation free,
They took all big sticks in the world
That were or yet to be;
They ground the wood into a pulp,
A deed of might note,
And on the paper thus produced
The Constitution wrote.

McLandburgh Wilson

Perhaps Mr. Wilson was a bit optimistic?