Originalism Essay

‘Transformed beyond recognition from the vision of the Founding Fathers.’ Discuss this view of the modern US constitution.

“The United States Constitution is the oldest written national constitution still in use” (Confederation and the Constitution, pg. 71). After more than 200 years, the Constitution is still changing to support the next generations needs. This “living document” has many different reasons that allow it to “fit in” with the new generations.

The Constitution should change with society. Like all societies, ours changes with time. Like it or not, things will be different in the future. Although we agree with things we are doing now, we may not in the future. Our constitution is ment to be part of a lasting government in the land of the free. If the USA really wishes to be held up to that title, its people must be able to agree, and if needed, change the Constitution.

The Constitution of the United States of America was ratified in the year 1787. Ever since that date, the document has enforced the laws set forth and created a base for the country to stand upon. The Constitution was created to provide strict, but amenable guidelines that Americans could follow, which could result in a functional country. Aside from the fact that the Constitution was written over two hundred years ago, the document is still necessary and relevant to modern times. The three branches of government, the First Amendment, as well as the Fourth Amendment, are all still present in today’s America. Many of the rules in the Constitution are still accordant to society today, primarily because of the perceptive founding fathers who created them.

This book emphasizes the alternative interpretations offered by Americans on the origins of the Constitution. Holton’s purpose with this book was to show that the framers interests involved making America more attractive to investors. In order to do so, they purposefully made the government less democratic with the writing of the Constitution. However, with the addition of the Bill of Rights, one could argue the Framers had at least a slight concern for the American people and their civil liberties.

It was crucial for the colonists to figure out a way to live and work together. This was their first time making decisions without being commanded by a king or Queen and it was important to formulate and then implement a plan of action. (Schmidt, 2017). The idea of a constitution was thus created for the betterment of those living in America and has served as a rallying cry, a defense mechanism, and a safeguard for all citizens within the United States. This irreplaceable document has survived throughout time not only on paper but also in the hearts of many Americans. The Constitution of the United States officially went into effect on “September 17,1787” (Schmidt,2017, pg.35). The greatness of this constitution is still seen today as it serves as a solid base, with room allowed for re-examination or change if needed. Every now and then an issue may arise and the laws set forth into the constitution are reexamined and an amendment may be set

In 1776 Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. In the Declaration of Independence, many important concepts were written some of these are Equality, Democracy, Government protects rights, and the people have a right to change the government. In 1787 the U.S. Constitution was written but, it wasn’t ratified until 1788. James Madison wrote the document that formed the model of the constitution. In the constitution, there are many civil rights or personal freedoms. The U.S. Constitution did live up to the ideals in the Declaration of Independence about how the people have a right to change government and government protects rights, however, it didn’t live up to the ideals of

The United States Constitution is the very foundation that the nation has been built upon, but its birth was not easy. The framers of the Constitution divided over many key issues relating to it and often argued at length over the creation, ratification, and implementation of this imperative document. Since the Constitution came into being it has been the epicenter of Civil Rights reforms, questions of state sovereignty versus national supremacy, and recently it has been looked to for questions about universal healthcare and what may or may not constitute a marriage. Currently the oldest “living” Constitution in the world; interpreting the United States

The framers of our Constitution knew that time has a way of changing countries and their citizens. Our country was in a whirlwind of change in 1789 as people were experiencing freedom from the tyranny of England for the first time in their lives. Our country was being molded and formed into a great nation by the founding fathers. Expectations and rules had to be set to protect the rights of the minorities and majorities. Amendments to the Constitution were written to ensure equality for all in changing times.

“The Constitution devotes the national domain to union, to justice, to defense, to welfare and to liberty” (Maier 154). This quote, stated by William Henry Seward, displays the strength and stability that the Constitution had over the nation, and the liberty and justice it supplied for all of its citizens. Although the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation have similarities, they have many differences, which proved that the Articles of Confederation were a weaker document in comparison. It can be said that the Articles were the “rough draft” to the final living document, which significantly influenced and “ruled” our government, as it still does today.

On september 17, 1787 the U.S constitution was written, but was it original? No it wasn’t, it was actually highly based off other documents. Such as the Magna Carta, the Articles of confederation, and the Shays Rebellion. All of these documents affected the Constitution in their own way.

This theory was also carried over into the legislative branch, where the public opinion was foregone in favor of elected and appointed lawmakers (recall that the early Senators were appointed by their respective state’s legislature). Another was the militant nature of their world. Still entrenched in the difficult life of the pioneer era, the Revolution was a sign of a wonderful future but a still exceedingly difficult present, and ensuring the protection of our newborn nation was a huge priority. Though that appears similar to the present-day psychology of a nation at war with terrorists, it is the monumental difference between knowing who was enemy and friend then, and believing anyone can be an enemy today. It is clear that the Framers lived in a completely different world than the modern-day American, but that in and of itself does not prove the obsolescence of the Constitution. The Constitution was inherently designed to last forever. The original Bill of Rights specified freedoms and liberties in a vagueness that, ideally, created a clear-cut definition of any ideological dispute but also left room for evolution. But, were they successful? Is the Constitution a truly timeless document? For the purposes of this particular debate, we will focus on the First, Second, and Fourth Amendments of the Constitution; these three

According to Scott (2008), the Constitution of America has undergone several translations within the history of America because they found it to be unclear. Whereas it appears discrepant that the unclear Constitution could be useful, the disagreement is the case (Robertson, 2005). Americans regard the Constitution to be helpful for the reason that it allows for diverseness of views. In the history of America, a variety of thoughts would develop with alarming and formidable support through various factions (Robertson, 2005). Today, the main political arguments are presented from the Republican group or Democratic group. During the early periods of the American government, arguments on politics were made by Thomas Jefferson

The originalist believed that “to determine the meaning of a particular constitutional phrase, the Court should look to the intentions of the founders” (Sidlow & Henschen, 329). However, this approach was a little stiff because the drafters viewed the issues with the thinking of that time. The United States has experienced the Civil War, the World War and a plenty of movements that strove for various rights toward the African American, female, homosexual and some other groups. It has become one of the most open-minded countries in the world. So

In this essay I will try to explain and critique the two dominant methods of constitutional interpretation. Which are originalism and non-originalism. I will do this by taking help from “How to Read the Constitution” by Christopher Wolfe, and different source’s from Internet. I will start by giving what Wolfe says originalism is, and then I will give some background to other ways to interpret the constitution, and the founders and interpretation and I will finish up with my view on originalism and non-originalism and the critics to that.