Preview

How Has The Constitution Changed Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
509 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Has The Constitution Changed Essay
The Constitution has many amendments that do not apply to today’s society. This document is known as a living document, named that because it was meant to be able to change every thirty or so years to keep along with the times. Many people think that the Constitution should never be changed because of its importance to the history of our country, but, Thomas Jefferson thought otherwise in 3 letters that he wrote to Maddison addressing the matter. From September of 1787 to today, America along with the rest of the world has made many advancements. Looking back at the Constitution as it was originally written, it has already been changed. When the Constitution was written, only white men who owned land were allowed to vote, now, any person who is an American citizen who is eighteen years of age or older is allowed to vote. Also, when the Constitution was …show more content…
Because of the huge population change, we need to compensate for that by letting the bigger states, such as California, have more Representatives in the House of Senates. Along with that, states such as Wyoming, would not need more Representatives. Jefferson believed that not all generations to follow should have to live under the same guidelines that were set hundreds of years in the past. Each generation should be allowed to vote for what they need to change on the constitution. It has been proven that if people are able to vote or choose their own laws or amendments, there will be a lesser chance of them disobeying the laws. The Constitution should only be allowed to be changed if the majority agreed; also, if the change will not better the country, or if it worsens it, it should not be allowed to be changed. The constitution should be allowed to be changed but only on a vote; the President or the senate would not be allowed to make changes without the peoples vote. Along with that, it must only be changed to the needs of the country not its

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    DBQ ratify

    • 1151 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Constitution of the United States was written in 1787 yet there was a struggle for its ratification that went on until 1790. Some members of congress believed that the Articles of confederation needed to be changed meanwhile others disagreed. After the revolutionary war the people needed a…

    • 1151 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory 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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In order to support his principle, Jefferson gives examples of three particular propositions. First, Jefferson mentions property, specifically landed property. Every generation had the right to make a living on earth. If one during his time “[eats] up the usufruct of the lands” or keeps it from the future generations, then the lands would not belong to the living, it would be considered that it belongs to the dead. Second, Jefferson notes public debts. One generation should not be burdened with the debts of another generation. He questions would it not be sensible for France to add in its new constitution that no debt could be contracted beyond the term of nineteen years? Absolutely, Jefferson thought, such a plan would save the people from…

    • 226 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The U.S Constitution has changed many times, Many of these changes were during a Convection to discuss how to fix the problems with the way the constitution was made they did give the people power at first but to much. When the constitution was first founded it gave the government to weak and gave them to little power they couldn't enforce any of their laws when the revolts started they couldn't stop them without breaking the constitution so they had to start a convection. A convection is when representatives from every state comes together to discuss an issue occurs with either the constitution or when the government gets too powerful. The constitution was made to ensure that the government has its limits, it also ensures that our government…

    • 160 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Should the Constitution be Followed as Originally Written or Reinterpreted for Current Times? The constitution is a document where the rules for the United States are written. This is the most important document in American history because it tells a whole population what is right and what is wrong. There are arguments how the U.S. government should stop adding changes to the constitution and keep it as originally written. The constitution should be reinterpreted for current times because the founding fathers were not aware of the events that were going to happen in the future like freeing African Americans, banning gun stores, and giving the women the right to vote.…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    POLS 201 The Constitution

    • 700 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Constitution of the United States has always been known as the lifeblood of our government and the rights of the people. This historical document was not always in place however. Before this “living document” and basis for United States rights and laws was formed there was the Articles of Confederation. Signed in 1777 by the original 13 colonies as a means of establishing the United States of American and served as our new founded countries first constitution. This document however, “did not provide the centralizing force necessary for unity among the new states and were soon found to be so fundamentally weak that a different political structure was vital.” (Breckenridge pg.19) Congress authorized a Constitutional Convention to revise the Articles in February of 1787. In the months that followed the delegates assembled and addressed the concerns within our fledgling nation. This was the beginning of our Constitution of the United States.…

    • 700 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    as you might think. The Constitution gets most of its ideas from past documents. Without these other documents, we would not have the same constitution we have today. Without these documents, we would have a second Articles of Confederation. Without these documents, our country would be completely different.…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He believed that the ability of the common citizen to govern himself was an effective way to dilute the power from any one person, and along that same train of thought, keep that one person from developing an affinity for that power and developing the tendency to abuse that power. He acknowledged the ability of the majority to sometimes make wrong decisions, but argued that a wrong decision made by the people is often better than any made by a king or by a tyrant. Jefferson was so devoted to the idea of freedom that he even supported the idea of rebellion, saying that it should be a necessary part of any true…

    • 616 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
  • Good Essays

    Thomas Jefferson once said that the Constitution “belongs to the living and not to the dead.” This means that the Constitution is subject for change in order to be applicable to our fluctuating society. The Constitution can be changed both formally and informally. A formal amendment will change the letter of the Constitution. The two ways to amend the Constitution is by proposal and ratification.…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The protection of rights was so important to Jefferson’s ideas about government because he believed that the government does not grant us our rights, under the U.S. Constitution. He thought that our Creator gave human beings these rights as being humans. The people of our government must protect these rights against a government who would, slowly take them from…

    • 60 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    I compared the U.S.A. constitution and the Australian constitution. Their differences are as abundant as their similarities. The Australian constitution is extremely long and drawn out, where as the United States constitution sticks right to the point. All in all, the two constitutions have the same goal in that they wish to bestow the same basic rights to each person.…

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I think Jefferson feels that the rule of government is to be aware of whether it is corrupt or not. Its their duty to throw out or establish a new or better government.…

    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Constitution Essay

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Constitution of the United States created the form of government known as federalism. The national and state governments each have specific powers and functions, while also sharing some of the same powers. The Constitution made the agreement that any laws passed under the constitution would be the supreme law of the land. Three separate branches were created; the legislative, executive, and judicial. **********The new Constitution resolved the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation to the extent that it created a new system of government that was equipped with the necessary powers needed to implement changes through compromises, the passing of laws, and the levying of taxes.…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays