The constitution was created in the year 1782 for a society that no longer exists. The society that it was created for was one that demanded independence from that of an English oligarchy. I agree that there are many elements within the constitution that are still relevant to this day such as those within the bill of rights. However, during this time period, there were a number of social groups that weren’t in mind when the creation of the constitution took place. For example, the institutionilization of race and gender discrimination were reinforced when these groups were left out of the the constitution. The constitution was created for a society that was predominantly made up of white men that were land owners.
This isn’t the case so much anymore within the United States; today’s society is made up of a multitude of races, ethnicities, genders, etc. Thomas Jefferson once stated that he believed that any form of a constitution should expire after approximately nineteen years and I completely agree. Our society is extremely complex with an abundance of moving components because we are constantly changing, adapting and evolving over time. For instance, society today is almost a completely different world in comparison to twenty years ago, let alone two-hundred years ago.
People of color and women did not have the right to vote or even own land during this time. A constitution that has these groups in mind should be created because they make up a large fraction of citizens within the United States now. Another instance in which the constitution is considered outdated is the usage of the outdated senate system. By this, I mean that the senate was meant to have all states created equal, however it has done quite the opposite.
127 our experts are availableright now
First, the senators of each state are not chosen by votes, but instead by state legislators. Senators that were supposed to represent the people of a state were not even chosen by the people of that state. Second, state sizes vary drastically, therefore their needs are also different. With each state being represented by two senators, their needs aren’t satisfied in an equitable manner. If the senate needs to vote on a matter that only affects a select number of states, the other state senators have no incentive to vote on the matter since it isn’t personally affecting their state. It is a system that was set up to fail, especially when you add a two party system into the equation. With a two party system in effect with the senate system, it then becomes a game of monopoly.
Whichever part is the head of the most states will then be able to control a great portion of what goes on in the United States. The system is not completely broken but it certainly is a dysfunctional and malleable one that could benefit from tweaking through possible amendments. Finally, the difficult process that comes with adding or altering the constitution is one of the last issues that leads the constitution to become as ineffective as it is. Ratifying an amendment is nearly impossible with all of the branches of government. This means we have to take what the founding fathers have created and act on this as if it were perfect.
Changes should be welcomed and at least discussed because it is completely naive to believe that the constitution is a perfect piece of writing that is just for all Americans. The last amendment to the constitution was passed in 1992, almost 30 years ago. Our society is constantly evolving anf changing, so I would think that our law and rights would evolve with it. Instead, the constitution has laid dormant and has almost hit stagnation for decades and will likely continue to do so for decades unless something is done to change this.
