Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

How Accurate Is It to Describe the Us Constitution as Too Rigid and Difficult to Change?

Good Essays
707 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Accurate Is It to Describe the Us Constitution as Too Rigid and Difficult to Change?
How accurate is it to describe the US Constitution as too rigid and difficult to change?
The USA has a written codified constitution and as a result, it may be described as too rigid and difficult to change. The UK in contrast, has an unwritten constitution in the sense that it is not contained in one single document so it lacks a formal constitution but is made up of a variety of different sources along with long-standing traditions. This has led to some saying it is too flexible and easy to change. While it may be argued, that the US constitution is too rigid and too difficult to change and this is highlighted through the lack of new amendments, I do not feel that this is a bad thing, it was desire of the Founding Fathers to be this way in order to ensure long-term political stability.
In order to amend the constitution the Founding Fathers stated that Congress must call a national convention at the request of two thirds of the state legislatures or there must be a two-thirds supermajority in favour of the amendment of both houses in Congress, the first has never been used. For a proposal to be ratified the Founding Fathers specified that there should never be another supermajority in three-quarters of the state legislatures for this amendment to be added to the constitution.
The relatively inflexible nature of the US constitution is revealed through the number of amendments that have been made. Since the bill of rights, which was the inclusion of ten rights to the constitution, there have been only 17 amendments made. Even two of these cancel each other out, the 18th and 21st regarding to the prohibition of alcohol. This could be argued this is appropriate rigidity, some people would argue that it prevents the USA from adapting to changes in the national culture and situations. Many people state the ‘right to bear arms’ as the principle example highlighting the nation’s failure to set stricter gun laws.
However, the nature of the constitutional change in the USA requires that the majority of people to put pressure onto Congress to implement necessary changes. The fact that this has not happened in some ways shows that the constitution is fulfilling its role and preventing fundamental changes based on minority views, just as it was designed to do. While the limited number of amendments presents the USA constitution as being highly flexible, it has been kept up to date through judicial interpretation. The founding fathers granted the judiciary the power to interpret the document and this has allowed the rules of the constitution to be kept up to date. It has been flexible in the sense it can evolve along with the changes in society. In this role, the judiciary has been willing to interpret the words in the light of modern conditions and ignore precedent. It should be noted that when the Judiciary is mainly Republican, they are more likely to conserve the constitution in its present state, whereas Democrats are likely to be more willing to add and interoperate the constitution more freely.
The constitution was intended to be a full set of fundamental principles for the ‘new nation state’. If they are such fundamental principles, then it possibly could be argued that it should in fact be entrenched and difficult to change.
In the USA, constitutional law is above that of ordinary statute law where there is conflict between the two. In contrast, the UK does not have constitutional law. ‘Constitutional changes’ are implemented in exactly the same manner as statute law, by a simple majority in the sovereign parliament, such as the Devolution of Scotland, however, in America any change in power would need constitutional amendment, and as I have pointed out this is a difficult process, however though not many amendments have been enacted, a few have showing it does happen time to time.
The founding fathers set in place the rigidity of the constitution, giving the judiciary, the ability in making constitution to be flexible in terms of its interpretation, thus allowing it to keep it up to date. It has stood the test of time and has maintained political stability

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Civics Dynamic DBQ

    • 838 Words
    • 1 Page

    the flexibility of our constitution, we are able to change it on a day to day basis. The variation…

    • 838 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    • How can the Constitution be changed and why is it important that this can be done?…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many section of the Constitution have been debated and examined. One of the most interesting articles is Article V which details the process of ‘amending,’ or revising, the Constitution. There are two ways to go about the amending process. According to usconstitution.net, “the first method is for a bill to pass both houses of the legislature, by a two-thirds majority in each. Once the bill has passed both houses, it goes on to the states. This is the route taken by all current amendments. Because of some long outstanding amendments, such as the 27th, Congress will normally put a time limit (typically seven years) for the bill to be approved as an amendment.” Secondly, "Congress ... on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which ... shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States (Philip 26)." This procedure has never been used to amend the Constitution.…

    • 589 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the early stages of the United States, two political parties emerged disagreeing with each other of who should have the power and what kind of government the nation should be composed of. The Federalist party wanted a strong national government and was thought to have a loose interpretation of the Constitution through the Elastic Clause. Onthe other hand, the Jeffersonian Republican party maintained that the states should retain the power and thought that the Elastic clause allowed the national govt too much power. They were know as the strict constructionists. Although the Republicans maintained this characterization at the beginning, the two parties exchanged their roles with each other during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison, either because of certain political and foreign circumstances or ironically to make sure that the other party loses its power.…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first main strength of the U.S constitution is that it’s ability to adapt for changing America. The first ten amendments for example still are vital in American life as they ensure all Americans the basic rights such as free speech, freedom of religion and the right not be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. These are such vital rights which enable for a free society. Also many amendments are almost inviting for the federal government to interpret them. For example the 16th amendment which allows the federal government to collect income tax it doesn’t state how much income tax to collect and therefore it allows the federal government to decide for itself on what it thinks how much income tax to collect depending on the economic climate. This shows that the U.S constitution can adapt for changing economic times and state of the federal government. Also judicial review enables to federal government to be able to interpret the constitution best suited for that time. For example in 1972 the Supreme…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When the Constitution of the United States was first drafted, life was simply different. Not as many people were as educated as they are today, and politicians had to be the voices of the people; the big people and the small people. Farmers needed just as much say in the government as factory owners, and politicians gave them that opportunity. Over time, society changed. We industrialized. Technology, education, labor forces, and every other aspect of America advanced. With these changes, there had to be a way in which those same politicians who we put our trust in, would be able to modify the foundations of the country. (In other words, the Constitution.) Through loose construction, the early leaders of the United States were able to improve aspects of the Constitution, which eventually improved the overall life of the American citizens. Now today, the constitution is interpreted loosely.…

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The constitution is a plan for government and was written in 1787. Our society is constantly changing, so our constitution needs to also. The role of government is to protect us and they can’t do that with a constitution that isn’t fit for our daily life. The constitution doesn’t support a strong central government. There are corrupt officials, growing population, and it is outdated.…

    • 318 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Miranda V. Arizona

    • 897 Words
    • 4 Pages

    There are several reasons to why the Constitution is vague. The originally formed document by the founding fathers was the Articles of Confederation. This document lacked major things such as a Supreme Court, outlined basic rights of citizenship, and a central banking system. The states were not content with such a document, as they wanted a more integrated country. Quickly the founding fathers came back together to form the constitution we know today. They were sure to be very broad on this second draft. There are 2 reasons why. They felt if they were to explicit, the states would feel it too restrictive and not pass it. Then again if it was to broad, as the Articles of Confederation were, then once again, the states would not pass it. Therefore the fathers came to the basic Bill of Rights, and the catch-all Amendment 9, states rights. The framers completely intended on including this Amendment into the constitution, as they wanted a document that was stable, which could define central ideals, yet make them hard to change. This in turn created a document that can evolve over time, but keeping the original uniformed…

    • 897 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are two methods available to amend the Constitution: 1) Two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress, 2) Congress holding a convention. Since the…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Living Constitution

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages

    When the state decided to declare our independence from the British rule, every state had its own army called the militia. The first attempt to form a federal government was in 1777 under a Confederation called the Articles of Confederation, the archived to have a small federal government to have little power but to form a national army to fight the British. This form of government would not last long the Confederation was too close to anarchy; with the federal government have little power over the state governments. The Constitutional Congress fixed this problem by the written and the signing of the Constitution to set in motion government that should be in place today. Some people feel the US Constitution should evolve with the changing times a living document and the others feel the language of the constitution in written in stone and can only be changed by 2/3’s of the state ratifying amendments. The Constitution was written in 1787, and then passed by the Constitutional Congress but each of the nine states had to ratify the Constitution through the general election system.…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Constitution is a living, breathing document that is actively used by leaders and citizens alike. The reason why it is a living, breath document is because there are many parts of the Constitution that are changed every year to adapt to the ever changing United States lifestyle. One part of the Constitution, known as the elastic clause, changes almost every year. The elastic clause makes it so that Congress is able to add and abolish laws to fit the needs of the people. An example of the elastic clause is the Brown vs Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas.…

    • 665 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Flexible Constitution

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A good example of this is our traffic laws. Obviously, there wasn’t a single automobile in the world when the constitution was framed, so the subject of how the United States would govern traffic violations was left out. However in the eighth section it does establish congress’s rights including ”To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States.” So while the document doesn’t state word for word that the United States will give DUI’s, it does entitle congress to pass laws that are in the best interest of its citizens. By interpreting the constitution this way it allows us to maintain the ideals engrained into the constitution, while adapting them to our modern needs in our government. Now obviously this allows thousands of debates over which points to interpret which ways, and how to maintain the ideals the constitution was founded upon. But once again, I think these arguments were foreseen by the framers of the constitution and not just allowed, but seen as necessary to maintain a moral…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The most used defense in United States history has always been the Constitution. People have justified many deeds and/or criminal actions with this document. Written a little over two hundred years ago, it’s no surprise that the Constitution is highly debated. In fact, the United States has an entire branch of government specifically for interpreting the Constitution: the judicial branch. However, even the judicial branch’s interpretation is debated; the Supreme Court is constantly judged for its decisions. People wonder just what role the Supreme Court must have in interpreting the Constitution; many varying ideas have surfaced about this. Some take on a more literal interpretation of the Constitution when judging the level of constitutionality…

    • 1324 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    If you were to look at the constitution today, you would find that you could hardly read a section without coming across an amendment. When such a large amount of the constitution has been declared inappropriate and thus changed, can we really afford to hold the constitution itself at such a high level of importance?…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Constitution is still relevant today because it was created as a framework which would provide guidance but not unnecessary restrictions without flexibility. The Constitution and its interpretation grows and changes with time allocating rights to the American people and a framework for its government as well as a process to ensure that it can be altered to provide what is needed to ensure a lawful and just democratic society. The masterpiece of the Constitution is within the Bill of Rights ensuring the basic rights of the American people to be protected from the burgeoning power of an omnipresent government. It ensured a process for recourse to prevent government intrusion upon the individual’s private life while guaranteeing inalienable…

    • 1447 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays