Essay On Is The Us Constitution Outdated

“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 has been operative since 1789 after the ratification of nine states (American Vision and Values, Page 52). Today many question the relevancy of a document 222 years old to our society. The Founders created a governmental framework, defining three branches and giving powers to the government and others to the states. It also guarantees the rights of the people. It took two and one-half years for the 13 colonies to ratify the Constitution. This ratification period was one of great debate and produced a series of essays complied into The Federalist. Authored by John Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay during the ratification debate in New York, they tried to get public support for the Constitution. Thus began the first

The Constitution is the framework of America’s government as well as the supreme law of the United States. It was written and signed during the Philadelphia Convention on September 17, 1787. In the Constitution there are various amendments that outline the powers and duties of the government, the state’s rights, and the rights of the people, and the process of amending and ratifying the document (Sidlow, Henschen 26). Even though there have been new laws issued by the government, they have failed to be successfully passed as an amendment. Proposing and ratifying an amendment is not an easy or short process. The difficulty of amending the Constitution is due to the various steps before the ratification of an amendment.

In 1787, the Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia in hopes of revising the Articles of Confederation before the new, established country would become unsustainable. The Articles of Confederation had failed the country as the central government was not strong enough to uphold the country and protect the people’s rights. They were then abandoned and the Founding Fathers began to draft a new government system, what we now know as the US Constitution. At the time the dilemma was, should the Constitution be ratified? The Constitution should be ratified considering that it averts abuse of power, is effective in regulation, and is in the interest of the people.

Upon considering whether the Constitution in its current form should be ratified, four main points of consideration come into focus: the four main arguments determining the future for the United States and its people. Under the current form of government, the Articles of Confederation, a question of whether a stronger central government is needed is asked. This question is followed by if the United States would be more prosperous under a confederation of loosely governed states, and if a powerful national government consolidates the states. Next, the question of whether the Constitution provides a fair, honest system of representation for all classes of people, and finally, whether the document supports natural and

The Constitutional Convention was held at Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. The purpose of the convention was to revise the articles of confederation. However, what happened instead was an entirely new system of government being created to replace the failed articles. The true results that came forth from the convention is known today as the United States Constitution. Many topics were discussed during the convention, many which have been changed or altered in the decades after the convention. Nevertheless, some stayed as they were since the conventions. The most debated topics at the convention were; how to elect the senate, how “proportional representation” was to be defined, whether to divide the executive power between three individuals or all to the president. How to elect the president, how long he can run and if he can run for reelection, what offences can be impeachable, the fugitive slave clause, if to abolish the slave trade, and whether if judges should be chosen by the legislative or executive branch. These topics were the main points that were the most debated during the convention, many which have been revised and edited to fit with different times and circumstances that have happened in American history. These topics have been at the forefront of many debates since then, and have led to other major and tragic events in our history. However, without the convention, we as American’s would not have the system of government we have today which has

At first glance, it may appear deeply enmeshed in happenstance or hyperbole to compare our glorious United States Constitution (from the 1700’s) to a popular culture/television series from the 1960’s; however, when all is said and done, incredibly, the “best” – and most able – analogy ever concocted and constructed for our Constitution may rest in the humble ranch-house home of The Brady Bunch (Schwartz, 1969, p. 1). That is, strict constructionists stridently see it as a set-in-stone document, never changing (a la Greg Brady and his own rather annoying, even cloying doctrine of holding his longsuffering parents to their “exact words”); and, conversely, those apostles of a more modernist camp view the same Constitution (ever changing) as a

Although the constitution was written over 200 years ago, the constitution continues to form the foundation to our modern day america. Nowadays the general consensus is that the constitution is a reliable document that is still relevant to this day. However the trust that we now place in the constitution wasn’t always present. During the time of its ratification there were two political factions ,the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, whose view on the power vested by the constitution clashed. Creating a massive political debate that would shape the future of the nation.

Is the Constitution Outdated? There is a large amount of debate on whether or not the Constitution is outdated, and although both sides have clear points, the answer is simple: yes. Although the Constitution has created the basis for the country and government which we now have, it also has a large amount of flaws which have been revealed in many of the problems in our modern society. The documet was highly effective in its beginnings to create a functioning government, but its original intents and purpose is solely holding our country back from its potential now.

The Constitution should be revised, but it should not be completely discarded. The foundation of the Constitution just needs to be stronger and more stable and it should be revised, because times have changed and are still changing. The Constitution is becoming outdated more and more everyday and it doesn’t address today’s needs anymore. We need to have a better handle on gun control and the use of guns and add some restrictions to the use of guns. Guns should not be illegal, because people use them to protect themselves and for the safety of their families, but if you are using them to harm others, it’s not okay. In the Constitution, it states that African Americans are only ⅗ of a person and it is not like that anymore, because everyone is

Signed by 55 delegates in 1787, the United States Constitution has preserved the American people and her country from the dangers of internal and external rebellions and wars leading to a full-scale destruction of the American empire. Throughout the past 250 years, American nationalist ideas, which founded the framework of the new nation and preceded the creation of the Constitution, and the practiced law in society implemented by the birth of the American Constitution in 1787, have survived through the tyrannical era of British influence, the seven year American Revolutionary War, a division of political thought that divided the nation and led the country into a civil war, and contemporary issues that surround political platforms today.

At length, 225 years ago, on September 17, 1787, the delegates of the Constitutional Convention signed their names to the final draft of the United States Constitution. Less than a year later, on June 21, 1788, when New Hampshire became the 9th state to ratify it, it became, as it states in its own Article VI, the supreme law of the land. All these years later, few of us realize how cantankerous the arguments were that brought this document into being. This country was founded on the articles of confederation which was ratified in 1781. A first for a nation, it served as a charter.

Preserving life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness has been atop all priorities of the United states of America (United States Constitution, 1776). To maintain this mission, a framework for the organization of the United States Government and it’s relationship to the people was developed. This creation has become the supreme law of the United States. It is known as the Constitution (United States Constitution, 1776). This oldest written Constitution still in use by any nation in the world holds a central place in the United States of America as it used to maintain peace all across the nation (GPO Access, 2010). This document lays foundation on which to build a Democratic

Within this class’s short amount of time, I have learned a great amount in what our government is as whole and what specific roles it has on our society. One of my favorite things that we were assigned was to go over the constitution and the amendments within the document, and although I had a fair share of knowledge of what it was about, there were a few new things that I had learned from sitting down and reading it. I was able to put things that have happened in history that was a result in the constitutions role in our laws and regulations, and I was also able to sort out what things went against the most important document in U.S. history. For this paper I will answer question by question from information I have attained from this class, and also from people’s point of views from the internet. The first question of this topic reads “Do you believe the constitution is a living document?” and before I state my opinion on this subject I would like to inform this reader on information I have come across as to why I have come to my opinion on whether the base of our rights and laws are either dead or alive in today’s world.

The United States Constitution established America 's national government and fundamental laws and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens it was signed on September 17th 1787 by delegates to the Constitution convention in Philadelphia presided over by George Washington. Although other countries have changed their Constitution over years the United States Constitution has been kept the same. The Leviathan, Two Treatises, and the Declaration of Independence serve as underpinnings of the Constitution to keep and protect our freedoms.