The Living Constitution

6 Pages 1554 Words

The “Living Constitution”

One of the main influences among the minds of Americans is the notion of the federal constitution is a “living document.” What does this mean exactly? It means that the constitution was written to lay a foundation of laws for our country to follow, but instead it means that the federal government interprets the law in way it sees fit and rarely even pays attention to what the original document was trying to say. Through our system of government a law can be amended to whatever the government sees fit at that time with very little regard to what the framers of our constitution had in mind. The main question of concern is where does the adaptation and amendments stop. In twenty or thirty years will there be any original constitution left or will it all be what the government of that era sees as best. This is a major problem in the legal systems of our country right now, because if you keep changing the foundation to an already great nation soon it is going to fall.
For an law, right, or bill to get amendment there are a couple things that must go first, but it is not very hard for someone to amend an original law of the constitution. The framers of our constitution tried to make it difficult to change the laws that they set for. In order for a person or group to amend the constitution they must have three-fourths vote in Congress, but with America constantly growing it is coming easier to convince Congress what is good for the government. This is a formal way to amend a constitution while the informal way is the main reason things continue to change among or society. The Congress can basically pass anything it wants as long as it is within it restraints. Some examples of this are the Judiciary Act of 1789 and The Civil Rights Act of 1964. The President can use an executive order, with the presidents and the president of a foreign country signature, to pass laws and change laws pertaining...