They Did What !

The insistence by some of our Supreme Court Justices on interpreting the Constitution based on the intent of our founding fathers when they wrote it is something we might want to question. The decisions these Justices make, about what is and is not constitutional, affect all of us, now and in the future.

An article by Mark Kurlansky* made an interesting point about this modern day emphasis on the intent of the founding fathers. Kurlansky said, “…the founding fathers, unlike the Americans of today, understood their own shortcomings. Thomas Jefferson warned against a slavish worship of their work which he referred to as ‘sanctimonious reverence’ for the Constitution. Jefferson believed in the ability of humans to grow wiser, of humankind to make progress and he believed that the Constitution should be rewritten in every generation."

Jefferson’s own words, carved in the stone of a wall of the Jefferson Memorial, make this point and contradict those who claim the founding father’s intent should be the sole basis for deciding constitutionality. In 1816 Jefferson said,

“Laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."

Perhaps there should be a plaque of this quote hung in the office of each of the Supreme Court Justices. Perhaps then when they consider the intent of the founding fathers, they will realize that at least one thought of it as a living document that should grow and change with the times.

That is not to suggest that the Constitution should be changed willy nilly. It does, however, suggest that we should remember this document was written in a time when slavery and chauvinism were the order of the day. It was written by men who condoned and participated in these now illegal practices. And it further suggests that for those who think intent is so important, then statements like the above quote from Jefferson should carry quite a bit of weight.

* Mark Kurlansky is the author of many books, including, most recently, “The Big Oyster: History on a Half Shell" His article was written for the Los Angeles Times and reprinted in the San Jose Mercury News, July 9, 2006