The Failure of the Constitution to Meet the Needs of a Rapidly Changing Society When the Constitution was written by the 'Founding Fathers back in 1787, they intentionally made it so that it could survive over time. They made it flexable so because they envisaged that there were problems that they could not forsee in the future, these are things such as the Depression of the late twenties and early thirties. 'The Framers' intended for the amendment process to be the main way of updating the constitution and through time this has been evident. An important part of a democratic government is the accountability of those in power, in recent times we have seen the system in America fail, in part this may be due to the fact that the constitution may be outdated. During Bill Clintons' second term of office there were a number of scandals that rocked the White House, the first being the Paula Jones affair. During a hearing about the Paula Jones affair Clinton stated that he had not had "sexual relations" with Monica Lewinsky, this turned out to be a lie and Congress attempted to impeach him. The impeachment failed due to the wording of the constitution as it was based on the fact that they believed he had committed 'a high crime or misdemeanour' but Clintons' lawyers asked for a definition of this and Congress could not give one. This shows that the wording of the constitution was outdated or the constitution was badly worded. There was also a lack of accountability during the Watergate scandal as President Nixon was able to escape with no punishment even though he was part of a conspiracy to commit a felony, all charges against Nixon wer... ... middle of paper ... ...ated in the constitution that all citizens shall bear arms, after a number of atrocities and the significant rise in gun crime, society is begininng to object but still there is no movement on any new amendments in regards to gun laws. The lack of movement may be due to the constitution being outdated but it may also be due to the power that the NRA and other pro gun groups have but we have seen great trides taken through time such as the moves against racism. The constitution was based on what was happening in the eighteenth century and what the 'Framers' envisaged would happen in the future, but there would seem to be the ability within it, due to its flexibility, to change with modern society. Through time we have seen how society has changed and not far behind is the constitution due to the amendment process.
Gordon Wood calls the new Federal Constitution a "radical experiment", and believes the framers of that Constitution to be political radicals, why does he believe so?
The above statement is somewhat mind-boggling. It is something that a revolutionist might have coined over 200 years ago and it leaves much to the imagination. It is about as close to being treasonous as one could get without actually committing the crime. The former Vice-President Albert Gore once stated that "the constitution was a living breathing document, open to change". His statement was quite controversial and it definitely created a stir with the patriot-cult crowd. Why would anyone want to scrap the entire Constitution of the United States of America? Has someone come up with a more impressive document that better signifies what this country is all about?
In this excerpt from Democracy in America Alexis Tocqueville expresses his sentiments about the United States democratic government. Tocqueville believes the government's nature exists in the absolute supremacy of the majority, meaning that those citizens of the United States who are of legal age control legislation passed by the government. However, the power of the majority can exceed its limits. Tocqueville believed that the United States was a land of equality, liberty, and political wisdom. He considered it be a land where the government only served as the voice of the its citizens. He compares the government of the US to that of European systems. To him, European governments were still constricted by aristocratic privilege, the people had no hand in the formation of their government, let alone, there every day lives. He held up the American system as a successful model of what aristocratic European systems would inevitably become, systems of democracy and social equality. Although he held the American democratic system in high regards, he did have his concerns about the systems shortcomings. Tocqueville feared that the virtues he honored, such as creativity, freedom, civic participation, and taste, would be endangered by "the tyranny of the majority." In the United States the majority rules, but whose their to rule the majority. Tocqueville believed that the majority, with its unlimited power, would unavoidably turn into a tyranny. He felt that the moral beliefs of the majority would interfere with the quality of the elected legislators. The idea was that in a great number of men there was more intelligence, than in one individual, thus lacking quality in legislation. Another disadvantage of the majority was that the interests of the majority always were preferred to that of the minority. Therefore, giving the minority no chance to voice concerns.
Right from the beginning of it’s creation the constitution of the United States has been a shaky document. The very basis for it being there was in fact illegal.
Since the fight for liberty from Europe, the political system of the United States had change for good. The United States had made improvement in their government structure to make the country a better place. The country has being affected in many different ways since the departure from the mother country. Due to the liberty the American people wanted, they had to make a government that could lead them to a better country than the mother country. The American people had being making many improvements to the government to make a strong self-governed country. The country had had some advantages and disadvantages that lead the country to the government what is today. The political history of Unites States from constitutional convention to 1846 was a growing influence for government progressiveness, slavery and women.
The United States Constitution was written up by delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, when many of the country 's leaders realized that the Articles of Confederation, the set of laws that the country had been following up until that point, were creating more problems than solutions. Once it was written, and approved and signed by delegates in 1787, it was sent to the 13 states for ratification. But many of the states saw flaws in the document, and refused to agree to it until changes were made. Both the writers of the Constitution and it 's critics were invaluable to the shaping of the final document. A few of the major flaws pointed out by critics were the lack of a Bill of Rights, the unlikelihood of one government ruling over such a widespread nation while remaining democratic, and doubt that such varied people would be able to exist under the same government without constant turmoil. The supporters of
Upon the opening words of the Constitution, "We the People do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America," one must ask, who are these people? While the American Constitution provided its citizens with individual rights, many members were excluded. Elite framers manipulated the idea of a constitution in order to protect their economic interests and the interests of their fellow white land and slave owning men' by restricting the voices of women, slaves, indentured servants and others. Therefore, the Constitution cannot truly be considered a "democratic document." However, because it is a live document, malleable and controllably changeable according to the interest of congress, it has enabled us to make reforms overtime. Such reforms that have greatly impacted America, making us the free, independent nation that we are today.
The U.S. Constitution has a unique history. Facing drafts and ratifications it was finally created under the founding fathers in 1787. The constitution is the foundation for the government we have today and influences almost every decision that government officials make. However, before the constitution was influencing, it was influenced. The political, economic, and diplomatic crises of the 1780s not only helped shape America, but also the provisions found the constitution.
The natural born clause is one of the worst provisions in the Constitution, America is supposed to be a “land of opportunity,” but with this clause it demonstrates the opposite. People leave their country of birth and come to America in search of the opportunities that are portrayed in the United States. Many foreign born people do not only leave their homeland behind, but they also leave their families behind. The reason for which they leave their homeland and come to America is because they believe they will be treated fairly and they will be provided with the same opportunities as the natural born citizens. Denying a foreign born citizen the opportunity to be a President simply because they were not born in the US territory counters the
The development of the U.S. Constitution was a series of many trials and errors. There were many problems starting from the Articles of Confederation and even the battle to ratify the constitution. Not everyone wanted the same thing for the new government, however they all agreed that they didn’t want the same type of government that they had unde English rule.
In writing the Constitution, the Framers were aiming to rectify the states’ inadequate attempt at establishing a democratic government. They wanted to create a stronger government while simultaneously keeping it a democracy and protecting the Peoples’ power within it. Wary of monarchy, they intended to constrain their envisioned government’s power by creating checks and balances between and within its branches. Did they do a good enough job? In Section I, we see the Framers’ intentions for the legislature’s lower chamber to be the government’s source of democracy. Section II reveals the absence of an essential check on the legislative branch, and how leaving the legislature unchecked in regard to its own elections threatens democracy in the Framers’ government. Section III shows how my amendment creates the necessary checks to address this threat, and thus protects democracy and the People in the Framers’ government.
The purpose of a revolution is to bring forth change in government and political standing. There has been revolutions happening throughout the course of history. The opposite of a revolution is a counter-revolution. A counter-revolution is revolution against a government recently established by a previous revolution. One particular culprit to the counter revolution is the United States' Constitution. This document is debated to be counter-revolutionary while still keeping the fundamental principles of the American Revolution alive. There is definitely proof for both arguments. Therefore, the U.S. Constitution was both a counter-revolutionary document and an extension to the American Revolution.
The United States' Constitution is one the most heralded documents in our nation's history. It is also the most copied Constitution in the world. Many nations have taken the ideals and values from our Constitution and instilled them in their own. It is amazing to think that after 200 years, it still holds relevance to our nation's politics and procedures. However, regardless of how important this document is to our government, the operation remains time consuming and ineffective. The U.S. Constitution established an inefficient system that encourages careful deliberation between government factions representing different and sometimes competing interests.
The scenes in creation being intellectual, the put together of constitutional democracy was very empirical. The Constitutional Convention was convened to formulate the constitution. What had to be clear was that the only way to assure a functioning constitutional democracy was the public's discussion. In philadelphia the delegates compromised. The outcome was to integrate states with large populations and states with small populations with a bicameral legislative branch. Also compromises that guaranteed say from both slave owning states and non-slave states could be listened to. The Bill of Rights
In 1787, The United States of America formally replaced the Articles of Confederation with a wholly new governing document, written by the delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. This document, known as the Constitution, has served as the supreme law of our land for the past 228 years. It has stood the test of time and a majority of Americans still support it today (Dougherty). The Constitution was designed in a way that allows for it to be amended, in order to address changing societal needs. Article V discusses the process by which the Constitution can be altered. This feature has enabled it to stay in effect and keep up with current times. The Constitution should not be rewritten every 19 years because it would not only weaken its importance, but it would also hurt foreign relations and continuously rewriting it would give political parties too much power.