How The Constitution Was Elevated

In my last post, I provided a brief history of the making of the Constitution--why it was necessary, how it was debated and drafted, and the clear intent of the Founding Fathers to create a government which--as President Lincoln would famously affirm in The Gettysburg Address--would be of, by, and for the people of the United States. The founders knew that all governments will tend toward consolidation of power, and so they installed a series of checks and balances known as the Separation of Powers to limit the broad reach of government into the lives of everyday Americans.

Over time, the Constitution has changed. Many of those changes have been made within the purview of the Constitution through the Amendment process called for under Article V. Some, particularly in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, have not.

This post will review the positive changes made to the Constitution through the amendment process.

The first series of changes came through what is now known as The Bill Of Rights, which encompass the first ten amendments. In the Bill Of Rights, Americans are guaranteed their "inalienable rights" of free speech, freedom of religion, a free press, the freedom to assemble, and the freedom to petition. The Bill Of Rights ensures the right to bear arms, protection against unreasonable search and seizure, the right of due process and a speedy trial by a jury of one's peers, and the definition of eminent domain. And the Bill Of Rights defines and limits the reach of the federal government by enumerating the rights of the individual states.

Beginning in 1865--after the nation had emerged from the crucible of the Civil War--the states ratified the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. (Remarkably, slavery was allowed under the original text of the Constitution as a political calculation to gain the votes and approval of the Southern states.) Months later, the 14th Amendment was sent to the states for ratification, providing full citizenship to all people born in the United States, regardless of race, and accompanying rights of due process and equal protection under the law. The 14th Amendment effectively overruled the notorious Dred Scott decision of the Supreme Court, which had held that neither slaves nor their descendants were citizens and held no Constitutional rights. The 14th Amendment corrected this egregious ruling of the Court.

In 1869, the 15th Amendment followed on the heels its two predecessors in prohibiting denial of suffrage rights based on race or color.

Finally, in 1920, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote for the very first time. (It's remarkable to think that it took the country nearly 150 years to correct this issue.)

Collectively, the Bill Of Rights, followed by the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 19th Amendments served to elevate our Constitution to truly reflect the ringing rhetoric of Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."


Before those amendments were adopted and ratified, America's full freedom extended only to male property owners--a far cry from the lofty phrases that still resonate with us.


But along with the great gains made by these Amendments, dark clouds also loomed--clouds of a more centralized and far-reaching federal government. More on that in the next post...