De Valera supported the minority's view, which favored a body representing various professions with the ability to refer legislation to the people. In December of that year, De Valera took advantage of the Abdication crisis in England to force two pieces of legislation through the Dail. The first eradicated mention of the King and governor-general in the Free State Constitution and the second maintained the King's involvement in Ireland's foreign affairs. De Valera used the new constitution to set social principles before the State, presenting his view of a nation's responsibilities to its citizens. When the constitution was placed before the Dail the opposition's objections centered around the rights of women and the restrictions on the presidency. De Valera appeased those opposed to sections suggesting the women's role was that of homemaker and mother by amending the document to include sections on the equality of women and men. The minority who argued over the powers of the presidency were principally concerned that De Valera had designed the position with himself in mind, not realizing the superiority of the people that De Valera held intrinsic to the text. The Dail approved the constitution on June 14th. In a plebiscite "the constitution was passed by 685,105 in favor to 526,945 against" and was implemented on December 29th, 1937. The constitution created a balance between republicanism and the monarchy, democracy and theocracy, elitism and populism. De Valera's constitution was the realization of his dream of a republican Ireland. Of De Valera, Tim Coogan stated in Eamon De Valera: The Man Who Was Ireland, "As befitted a man who sometimes seemed to model his actions on the Roman Catholic doctrine of Three Divine Persons in One God, his tangible legacies are three also". Eamon De Valera's role in the Easter Rising of 1916 created his reputation of military acumen. His response to the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 dem...
