\u201cWe the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union\u2026\u201d are the first words of the U.S. Constitution, the supreme law of the land. This document, ratified in 1787, was created to outline the general laws of the land and establish a system by which the people can live by. It originally was made up of seven articles, and was later modified with the addition of amendments. And while this 227-year-old Constitution is great in how it has helped shape our nation for today, it also needs work and updating.<\/p>\n
In 1789, Thomas Jefferson wrote to James Madison and said, \u201cNo society can make a perpetual constitution. The Earth belongs always to the living generation and not to the dead\u2026Every constitution, then, and every law, naturally expires at the end of 19 years.\u201d Thomas Jefferson meant that the very Constitution he helped write would one day be inapplicable to the society that it was meant for. The 227-year-old U.S. Constitution that still survives today must need to be changed.<\/p>\n
One might argue that even though the Constitution seems to have holes in it, it does not, because amendments fill up those holes. However, they do not enough. What it comes down to is that the basic rulings behind the Constitution were meant for 17th century United States, and do not apply to 21st century United States. Major events have changed our country, and the Constitution needs to account for a different set of circumstances that the country is in today which it was not before. It needs a major update.<\/p>\n
When Egypt was creating a new government in 2012, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg advised them that she would \u201cnot look to the U.S. Constitution, if [she] were drafting a Constitution in the year 2012.\u201d The problem with the U.S. Constitution is, at the same time, one of its biggest strengths: stability. The U.S. Constitution was drafted in 1787 and has guided us for 227 years. However, this stability means that the constitution is outdated and not entirely applicable to modern day society. If the Constitution were to be changed, it would better address the problems in the United States.<\/p>\n
One big issue with the Constitution is representation. The United States government tries to get equal representation for all citizens. Through voting, people elect who gets into office. Voting laws have changed, and over time more citizens were given the power to vote (US male citizens, females, minorities, etc). And while these amendments were put into place to edit the Constitution, there are still problems with the voting laws that are inherent to the Constitution. One example is the Senate. Each state has two Senators, no matter the population size from that state. Thus Wyoming, the state with the smallest population of almost 600,000 citizens, has the same amount of Senators as California, the state with the largest population of about 37 million citizens. Thus, there is the same amount of representation for 0.18% of the population as there is for 12% of the population, which shows that representation in the Senate is not equal.<\/p>\n
Another issue is the election of the United States President. Citizens vote for \u201cElectors\u201d pledged to one of the tickets, and these ors\u201d will vote for that candidate. Each state has a certain amount of Electors, which is the number of Senators and Representatives added together. For most of the states, when more than 50% of its population votes for a specific candidate\u2019s Electors, that candidate will receive all of the Electoral votes, a \u201cwinner-take-all\u201d system. The candidate with the majority of the Electoral votes then becomes President. While the system has been mostly successful, it does not ensure that each citizen is represented equally. For example, North Dakota and South Dakota are both States with just three Electoral votes. However, according to the 2000-2010 U.S. Census, there are approximately 200,000 more people in South Dakota than there are in North Dakota, which means that 800,000 South Dakotans have the same representation in Presidential elections as 600,000 North Dakotans.<\/p>\n
Now, those who still believe that the Constitution does not need to be updated may insist that there are ways for equal representation to exist in voting. The House of Representatives was created to mirror the amount of people in each state so that each state has a proportional amount of representation within government. Also, the system of checks and balances allows the Senate and the House of Representatives to theoretically remain equal in power. However, the Senate has powers the House does not, such as the ability to ratify treaties, the potential to appoint federal judges and other execute officials, and the trial of federal officials impeached by the House. Senators also serve a term of six years, while Representatives only serve for two, meaning Senators stay in office for longer and can hold more power per Senator.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, \u201cWe the People\u201d need to change our own Constitution. We need to update it and adjust it to better fit the needs of the United States and its citizens. This Constitution must be better drawn to account for a different society. No number of amendments could do what changing the Constitution would do to better our nation. \u201cWe the People\u201d need a new Constitution \u201cin Order to form a more perfect Union.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Works Cited<\/p>\n
Constitution of the United States<\/em>. United States Government, n.d. Web. 2 Feb. Seitz-Wald, Alex. “The U.S. Needs a New Constitution — Here’s How to Write it.” United States Census 2010<\/em>. U.S. Census Bureau, n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2014. \u201cWe the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union\u2026\u201d are the first words of the U.S. Constitution, the supreme law of the land. This document, ratified in 1787, was created to outline the general … Continue reading
\n2014. <http:\/\/www.archives.gov\/exhibits\/charters\/
\nconstitution_transcript.html>.<\/p>\n
\nThe Atlantic<\/em> 2 Nov. 2013: n. pag. Print.<\/p>\n
\n<http:\/\/www.census.gov\/2010census\/data\/>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"