Why has it only required twenty-seven ammendments in over two hundred years?
2006-08-31 04:48:15 · 8 answers · asked by Meg 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Government
There are a few things: 1) It's amendable. (so it can be changed) 2) It's difficult to amend. (so it doesn't get so distorted that people just want to scrap it and start over) 3) It's intentionally vague (allowing broad interpretation of language which makes it flexible) and 4) It contains features that provide for unknowns, like the clause that leaves all things not included in the constitution under the control of the states.
There's another important thing to consider though, and it's not in the Constitution (arguably). In the case Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court asserted its right to interpret the meaning of the constitution in such a way that it could declare laws passed by Congress unconstitutional. This began a process through which, the Court has been very adept at applying provisions of the Constitution to issues never considered by its authors. What would the founding fathers have said about the regulation of the internet, for example? Or whether intercepting an e-mail without a warrant is an unlawful search and seizure? The court has used the Constitution to answer these questions.
In other words, the Constitution gets amended, in effect, everytime the court applies a 225 year old phrase to a modern day problem. This allows the document to remain fluid and modern without going through an actual amendment process.
2006-08-31 05:19:45 · answer #1 · answered by Homina H 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The document's longevity is attributable to what it does NOT say: It doesn't say anything about having a limited lifespan.
I agree with the other person who says that the reason there have been only 27 amendments is because of the difficulty in getting the amount of votes needed to amend it.
And I very strongly DISagree with the person who implied that the Constitution is perfect. HOO-BOY, is it anything but perfect!
2006-08-31 11:57:06 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It gives the executive branch the right to conduct foreign policy and---(not a feature of the constitution but a reason for it's longevity) the president has always had americans willing to fight and (if necessary) die to protect that constitution.
2006-08-31 11:59:59 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
A) Because there are so many different ways to view what the constitution says. At first, freedom of religion basically mean tthat the U.S. didn't care what sect of christianity you were, because that was really the only religion that the people coming to america really had, of course there were soem Jews, and over time as more and mor eimmigrants came, freedom of religion meant you can believe whatever you want.
B) The U.S. government rarly follows it anymore.
2006-08-31 11:54:33 · answer #4 · answered by locomonohijo 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The longevity could be due to it's openness to interpretation. As far as the number of amendments, that could be due to the difficulty in successfully amending it rather than characteristics of the document itself.
2006-08-31 11:53:59 · answer #5 · answered by jakejc795 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The beauty of the constitution is the ability to amend it. 27 amendments are alot to me.
2006-08-31 12:23:09 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Bill Of Rights!!!!
2006-08-31 11:53:53 · answer #7 · answered by Vagabond5879 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
why mess with perfection ! It is for the people by the people so help us GOD
2006-08-31 11:51:26 · answer #8 · answered by yahoo 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋