How Has The Constitution Changed

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The U.S. Constitution is a remarkable work, one of the greatest declarations of liberty and law in human history. It has survived as the law of the land for 227 years; however, things have changed quite a bit since then. The interpretation of this document has led to much controversy over the years. The Constitution has served well as this country’s foundation; nonetheless, the Constitution is due for a much needed modernization to fit present day ideals. The U.S. Constitution was written in a cramped room in Philadelphia in 1787. It was signed by thirty nine people. At the time, America only consisted of thirteen states. Congress had twenty six senators and sixty five representatives. The entire population was about one percent of today’s…show more content…
Thomas Jefferson even believed the Constitution should be changed every nineteen years to be able to stay with the times. "[The purpose of a written Constitution is] to bind up the several branches of government by certain laws, which, when they transgress, their acts shall become nullities; to render unnecessary an appeal to the people, or in other words a rebellion, on every infraction of their rights, on the peril that their acquiescence shall be construed into an intention to surrender those rights," (www.famguardian.org Thomas Jefferson: Notes on Virginia, 1782). Almost all countries that have Constitutions change them or revise them after certain periods of…show more content…
“The men who wrote the Constitution were opposed to the idea of an all-powerful head of state. The role of presidency was thought to be a position of great recognition and nobility; however, one with little real power” (www.scholastic.com). So, in drafting the Constitution, they prepared for three separate branches, legislative, executive, and judicial. Article I of the Constitution handles the roles of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The president is not even mentioned until Article II. This article says that the president shall be the head of the executive branch of the government. To limit the office, the Constitution gives Congress checks opposed to any president who could try to manage too much control. Early in the history of the republic, the men were able to keep on the duties of their office with a small amount of help. When George Washington served as first president, his staff was made up of a secretary, one or two clerks at the most, and household servants who served as messengers. The office of the presidency has to be run by a huge staff, consisting of over fifteen hundred people, because of the massive growth in presidential power and
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