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How can the constitution be just and followed if it changes so much & once supported slavery?

2007-12-21 07:20:38 · 7 answers · asked by Shaiesh 2 in Politics & Government Law & Ethics

7 answers

Our Constitution has only been changed or amended 27. The first ten changes to the constitution are known as the, "Bill of Rights." The last time our Constitution was amended was between 1983-1992, and it was declared ratified on May 7, 1992. So there hasn't been too many changes to it after it was drafted in 1787. Slavery had also existed in the North American English colonies for 168 years before the U.S. Constitution was drafted in 1787. It had existed all accross colonial America. The majority of the Framers were slaves owners. The slaves were considered property and not humans, therefore, no human rights were given to them. That's why after the Constitution was created it had to be amended to address the problems about slavery and inequality issues. Remember that when the Framers drafted the U.S. Constitution, poors, women, minorities, and blacks were not included on, "All men are created equal..." Still the U.S. Constitution is the best constitution in the whole world. And we have the U.S. Supreme Court to guard it and make sure that it is not violated by the Executive branch, Legislative branch, or any branches of the states governments.

2007-12-21 08:51:12 · answer #1 · answered by mike_0913 1 · 0 0

The fact that it changes IS the reason it can be just and followed! Times change and people change. The fact that we finally recognized that slavery did not belong there and the fact we removed it is further proof that the Constitution IS just, not the opposite. The Constitution provided us with a means of amending it to do what is right as history advances and we recognize what was once thought of as right is now wrong, and vice versa. That is a GOOD thing. Besides, you are judging the entire barrel based on one apple. One bad thing does not make a large, volume made up of many parts bad in itself. You are actually committing one of the fallacies of logic.

p.s. One thing in your favor: it is funny that the people above me are telling you to read the thing when they obviously haven't. We had to amend the Constitution to get slavery out, and the support of slavery is evident in the sections of the Constitution allowing southern states to count slaves as 3/5 of a person in calculating their population for voting. If that was not support of slavery, then what is? Alas, it doesn't matter now. It's amended and fixed now.

2007-12-21 07:26:45 · answer #2 · answered by Mr. Taco 7 · 0 0

The Constitution didn't explicitly mention slavery, but the fact that black residents of a state counted for less than a full citizen's worth reflected the prevailing view of the day that black people were sub-human - certainly not supporting of abolition.

Others mentioned that the Constitution allows for amendments, which is certainly true. But the more prevalent view of the Constitution is of a "living document" which needs to be understood based on the conditions of the day. The Supreme Court has an extensive history of interpreting the Constitution to tell us, for instance, what "Due process" really means, or "Congress shall make no law concerning the establishment of religion."

2007-12-21 07:29:47 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0 1

The US Constitution never supported slavery.

2007-12-21 07:25:47 · answer #4 · answered by Mark B 5 · 1 1

The founders 'knew' that culture would change as time progressed, and they allowed for it.

That's why they inserted a mechanism for future generations to amend the Constitution so that it could grow to adapt to changes in society.

They also made sure that amending it was a big deal, and a long and complicated process, so that changes wouldn't be made willy-nilly in response to the 'fad of the moment'.

As an edit... specifically to Adams claim that the "3/5" count was because society considered blacks as sub-human, that is totally false.

If you read the actual debates from the time, you'll see immediately that it was the SLAVE STATES that wanted slaves counted in their full numbers when assigning the numbers of representatives. The non-slave States didn't want slaves counted at all. The "3/5" number was a compromise, and it didn't even directly refer to slaves - or to blacks - at all. It merely said "other persons". A free black man - even in a slave state - was counted fully.

Richard

2007-12-21 07:24:09 · answer #5 · answered by rickinnocal 7 · 1 0

The Constitution can be amended, with ratification from the States.

2007-12-21 08:03:12 · answer #6 · answered by Jim P 4 · 0 0

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2016-10-02 05:37:18 · answer #7 · answered by ? 4 · 0 0

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