Discussion On Whether The U.S. Constitution Is A Living Document
The U. S Constitution grants Americans simple laws and basic rights. Is this document a living document or a framework set for us to follow? This is a topic that many people have been discussing for a while. Some people say it is a living breathing document, and others say it is set the way that it was meant to be set, and it should not change no matter what.
The U. S. Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787. It was made for the purpose of having a set government with set laws so that we would have a governmental structure in place. It was signed by representatives from each state, they called themselves the Constitutional Convention. At the time of the signing, each state was acting like their own independent country, this would bring the states together and help put rules in place. There are 27 amendments in the Constitution, not all of those where in the Constitution upon signing. The Constitution is not totally finalized we can add to it, the last amendment was put into the Constitution in 1992.
At the time that the Constitution was written, there is no possible way they could have guessed what 2019 would have been like. So should we be able to change the Constitution to today's standards or should we just keep it the same? If you say yes then you are saying that the Constitution should be a living document and I agree with that. The U. S. Constitution should change as the times go on, it had been over 200 years since the Constitution was written. Over those 200 years, many things have changed along with society and the way we looked at things has changed. I believe that the Constitution still is kind of up to date, it is still keeping up with the laws but I believe in the future many things will change and we will have to change the U. S. Constitution.
James Madison said “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness. ”
I agree with what James Maddison said in his quote, he says “Whenever any form of Government becomes destructive it is the right of the people to alter it”. The way I interpret that is if the government is abusing our Constitutional rights we can alter the Government and the Constitution. There may be an exception to that, what if one of the amendments becomes outdated and the law doesn't matter anymore are we going to leave that in the Constitution. In the future, we are going to have to take that out it can’t stay in there forever if it becomes outdated. When they have to take out an amendment at that moment, the Constitution will become a living breathing document.
Take a moment to think about it. If the Constitution is just a framework that's great, but we are going to have to alter the Constitution and I believe that it will end up being a living document because of that. It can’t always be the same thing because technology will begin to advance at a fast rate. Criminals will have better weapons and technology, and maybe we will have to add a new amendment and take one out. If we never have to alter the Constitution that will be amazing.
As a living document, the Constitution would have many more amendments added to it. I believe this because if we have the right to change the Constitution we are going to add more amendments, that will add more laws and maybe we will be better off in the end with a ling constitution. If we have a living Constitution I think it would make the Government more strict. I think this because if we have a Constitution where we can add to it whenever we want we will add a law when one gets passed and that will make the Government more strict.
The Constitution is great. It helps us with laws and other things. The Constitution right now in today's society is not a living document. Is a framework at this moment in time I believe. In the future, it will be a living document. This is because right now we do not need to change anything about the Constitution. In the future, I believe flaws will come up and other things will come up, I believe those things will make us change the Constitution. As we live in our society the people are not being affected by the Constitution. That may change I believe. People will find ways to get around laws and some amendments I believe. That will force us to change the Constitution into a living document.
“I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such, because I think a central government is necessary for us… I doubt too whether any other Convention we can obtain may be able to make a better Constitution. ” - Benjamin Franklin
As Benjamin Franklin said the Constitution has faults we may have to change the faults of the Constitution. If we change the Constitution that might not be good at the same time. People may think that they can get a lot of things changed and they will try and get around the amendments so we can get new ones. This may not be good, people may be committing more crimes than usual. If they do not like something and they want it changed what are they willing to do to get it changed. It might be a good thing at the same time. People may think if the government can change anything at any time then they may cut back on doing illegal things. I believe that there may not be a way to make the Constitution better. Yes, we can add amendments but will that actually make it better? If we have all the amendments in the world it will give the Constitution more power, but it may not make anything better.
Goerge Washington once said, “The Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon”.
In conclusion, I think that the Constitution is going to be a living breathing document. It is a framework at the moment and I believe that we will have to alter the Constitution. When we alter the Constitution it will become a living breathing document. Without a living document, I believe that it would be much harder to pass amendments.
References
- BrainyQuote. (n. d. ). Constitution Quotes. Retrieved from
- https://www. brainyquote. com/topics/constitution
- Goodreads. (n. d. ). The Constitution of the United States of America Quotes by Founding Fathers. Retrieved from
- https://www. goodreads. com/work/quotes/86823-the-constitution-of-the-united-states-of-america
- History. com. (2018, October 4). Constitution. Retrieved from
- https://www. history. com/topics/united-states-constitution/constitution
- Strauss, D. A. (2010, September 27). The Living Constitution. Retrieved from
- https://www. law. uchicago. edu/news/living-constitution
- U-s-history. com. (n. d. ). Amendment Summary: 27 Updates to the U. S. Constitution. Retrieved from
- https://www. u-s-history. com/pages/h926. html
