Preview

Why Is The Constitution Outdated

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1105 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Why Is The Constitution Outdated
The constitution is not outdated. It's the American government and people in power, that have been unofficially changing or not following the Constitution the way it was intended. Our founding fathers wrote a document that would uphold overtime. The US Constitution is the oldest written Constitution still in use today. (“Oldest Constitutions Still Being Used Today”) The American Constitution serves as a model for other nations drafting new constitutions. Constitution drafters include similar Provisions from a presidential system of government, for the right to bear arms, and for the prevention of quartering of soldiers during wartime. These countries also have adopted the ideas of federalism and separation of powers. (Rotunda)

The American federal system is not simply a decentralized hierarchy. The states are not administrative units that exist only to implement policies made by some central government. The states are fully functioning constitutional politics in their own right, empowered by the American people to make a wide range of policies for their own citizens. The founding fathers expected the states to be the principal policymakers and the federal system. The powers granted to the federal government are relatively few in number and deal mainly with foreign, and Military
…show more content…
A prime example is the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act is a violation of the Constitution and the judicial system is overstepping their powers. Six weeks after the attack on September 11th, the 107th Congress passed the USA/ Patriot Act. and overnight revision of the nation's surveillance laws that vastly expanded the government's authority to spy on its own citizens while simultaneously reducing checks and balance on those powers like judicial oversight, public accountability, and the ability to challenge government searches in court. (Rotunda; “Additional Amendments - Bill of Rights Institute”; “[No

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The United States Constitution is a very highly recognized document. There are several factors that contribute to it process.…

    • 778 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good 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

    frgdgrgrs

    • 1172 Words
    • 5 Pages

    States seem to have power over the more local and personal issues (school, marriages…). These personal liberties were too important for the framers to put into the hands of the national government. Governments closer to the people (the state governments) would be more in tune with the feelings and cultures of their area.…

    • 1172 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Constitution gives certain powers to the federal government, such as regulating interstate commerce and national defense, while reserving other powers to the states, such as education and licensing. This division of powers allows for a balance between national unity and state autonomy, ensuring that both levels of government can operate efficiently while maintaining their respective authorities. The Federal System helps prevent tyranny by spreading power across different levels of government and allowing for diverse policies to address the needs of various…

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The federal government has powers that are more general and apply to the country as a whole, while the state government has powers specific to their area. According to Madison in Federalist Paper #51 written in 1788, federalism guards against tyranny because, “The different governments will control each other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself.” (Document A) They are able to control their separate areas of government while still controlling the power of the other, ensuring that the other does not accumulate too much power and turn the country into a…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The states serve as as a check to balance the powers of Federal government does the same for the states. It is described as a “Compound Government.” with a double security and arises to the rights of the people. It offers double security to the people. Two-tiered system of government; State governments.…

    • 426 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good 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

    al. 2014: 34) There was no executive or judicial authority and therefore no means of enforcing the Congress’s will and hence the states would do it for the Congress. Therefore, to prevent conflicts and turmoil between the various states and to reach to a common solution, the Constitution provided for vesting certain important powers within the federal government and not to the states.…

    • 1344 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The United States Constitution is the fundamental framework for our country and the most important document in its history. It establishes the form of the national government and defines the rights and liberties of the American people. The Constitution has survived and stayed current for over 220 years because it was written in such a way that gave it the ability to adapt to changing times while adhering to basic principles. This capacity to adapt makes the Constitution a living document.…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some states would not abide by all of the federal government laws that where set or make their own laws that interfered with ones that were made. The Public Administration Quarterly said “The constitutions provided for varying degrees of decentralization. Nome, however, were as decentralized as the national government under the Articles. In all states, there was an executive in some form and in New York, Massachusetts, and Hew Hampshire he was elected by the people at large. Other states, however, provided for an executive chosen by a legislature or legislatively appointed body. In most states, the executive was essentially part of the legislature.” The US Constitution divides power between the Federal government and state governments. Giving certain power to the federal government to keep the country in stability to grow in the future like declare war on another country or treaties so the entire country stays on one side of the decision. When the federal government makes a law, the states have to follow it and change any laws that has conflict with it to fit within the parameters of the law. The States have reserved powers with are specifically for the states to regulate. This was the tenth amendment to the constitution and has similar tis to the Articles of…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    These things are constantly being applied by the amendments and without this document many laws would not have prior history to fall back on or precedent. There are four things that are involved in the constitution that provided information on how this document is a living document. These things are Separation of power, checks and balances, judicial reviews, and the amendment process. When the constitution was created the Framers believed that separation of power was necessary to protect against potential tyranny within the three branches. Checks and balances happened to be one of the…

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Constitution Still Works

    • 252 Words
    • 2 Pages

    When changing the Constitution Act Is not it makes people think that if you can change laws in the Constitution, then the Constitution is no longer the supreme value. I think you can work worn only when we'll announce it as a supreme value, something above the law, something important. Constitution can work only if written carefully and ancient thought that when we write something that is above the law, we must take…

    • 252 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
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Just because the constitution was written over one-hundred years ago in a different era does not make it not relevant because it can be altered and retouched. If the U.S constitution was not allowed to be altered it wouldn’t be relevant as things have been altered since the period it was written. For example, now you could be the age of eighteen and over to vote versus as back then when the constitution was written which allowed only white men of the age of twenty-one and over to vote. In over the past of one- hundred years the constitution has been tweaked with 27 times to be exact.…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays