The United States Constitution was initially ratified in 1789, marking it as the oldest constitution in contemporary society. Since the initial ratification of the U.S constitution in the early years, it has gone through numerous changes. This has been attained via the lengthy and traditional amendment procedure, which is clearly spelled out in Article V of the U.S Constitution. The U.S constitution has been criticized for being too brief and unable to address the future’s varied situations. This essay presents a proposal for reforming the U.S Constitution to function correctly to reflect the societal change in the 230 years since its ratification.
The constitution describes the basic laws of the United States federal government, and there have been over 25 amendments in the past years. Article V of the U.S Constitution offers two approaches to propose amendments; either through the Congress with a joint resolution supported by a two-thirds vote, or using a convention passed by Congress in reaction to applications from the state legislatures (Wegman 1). The previous amendments that have relied on traditional methods have often resulted in problems and a continued campaign for reform. This implies that the past amendments have not successfully accomplished the societal needs desired by the vast majority of American citizens.
Given the complexity of reforming the constitution, it is not a surprise that change in the country has continued to occur via the formal amendment procedure. In this case, the important practice of reforming the constitution by ways other than the formal modification procedure has historically occurred. It will continue to take shape in the following ways. Congress ratifies the first approach to reform the U.S Constitution to work perfectly. The second approach is through presidential actions, and lastly, activities of the political parties (Longley 1). These three key approaches are necessary and serve as a guiding path towards reforming the constitution to work properly and meet societal changes in future years.
The constitution supports that reforming may be suggested either by the Congress through a two-thirds majority vote. This can be attained in the House of Representatives and the Senate as well as via a constitutional convention backed by two-thirds of the State legislatures. It is important to note that none of the 27 adjustments to the U.S Constitution have been suggested by constitutional convention (Schmidt 1). Therefore, Congress recommends reform in the means of a joint resolution to help deal with the emerging changes in modern society. In this case, the joint resolution should not go to the White House for either approval or signature. Nonetheless, the initial document should be forwarded to relevant legal bodies, including Office of the Federal Register (OFR) for further processing and publication.
It is interesting to note that the initial constitutional framers evidently planned that Congress, via the legislative procedure, should add important changes and legal points to the skeletal bones of the U.S Constitution. This was intended to allow other leaders and legal entities to make important reforms based on the unanticipated future events deemed to come. Furthermore, as highlighted by Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18 of the United States Constitution, it is considered important to support laws “necessary and proper” to serve the people properly (Kowal 1). Guided by the above sections of the constitution, the U.S Congress can play a vital role in reforming the constitution to reflect current trends and societal change in the 230 years after its ratification.
Presidential leadership and influence have a great role in introducing relevant changes, particularly regarding reforming the constitution. The past years has seen many presidents of the U.S modifying the constitution through their actions. For instance, where else the constitution precisely empowers Congress to have a say in legal matters, it also considers the president as powerful and ‘Commander in Chief’ (Longley 1). While using this title, numerous presidents in the U.S have commanded soldiers into wars without having formal declaration of combat ratified by Congress. This implies that based on the emerging trends in the political and economic sphere, the president can play an important role in reforming the constitution through their actions.
As articulated in Article 11, Section 2 of the U.S Constitution, the president is given the power, especially with a high majority of the Senate, to negotiate and accomplish treaties necessary to bring the desired change in society. The aspect of treaty-making practice is essential to ensure that the constitution aligns with societal changes and reflects on important matters that improve people’s lives. The power of the citizens comes into play as far as the president is involved in reforming the constitution. The people are given the power to control the government’s actions and when the government fails to meet certain standards, then the people vote for new representatives who will accomplish specific interests arising in society.
Although the constitution does not necessary mention political parties, they have somehow enforced constitutional changes in recent years. This is a good illustration that political parties can be used as a tool or means to reform the constitution to meet certain societal needs. For instance, neither the federal law nor the constitution offers an approach of appointing presidential candidates (Wegman 1). However, the whole primary and convention procedure of appointment has been formed and frequently modified by leaders of the majority political parties. Moreover, while not needed or even proposed in the constitution, the two chambers of Congress are prearranged are perform the legislative procedure on the basis of party representation. Similarly, the use of political parties can positively influence reforming the constitution in a manner that aligns with the societal needs and interests of people.
Conclusively, the United States Constitution has been trapped in a position that reflects the time of the writing. However, it is worth noting that it is not easy to remodel it to reflect current and future issues, including the daily occurrences in the country. In addition, the amendment procedure is lengthy, which implies it takes a long time to amend significant changes in an immediate sense. The fact that important amendments take a long time to implement suggests the need to reform the constitution using other legal frameworks and means described in this essay. Based on this proposal, three means to reform the constitution include legislation ratified by Congress, presidential actions, and activities of the political parties. While there are other means to reform it, these methods are suggested because they create room for new developments and change, which is highly needed in modern society. The constitution has been effective for over 200 years with numerous amendments, implying there is a chance to reform it to reflect the societal change in the 230 years since its ratification.
Works Cited
Kowal, John. History teaches that constitutional reforms come in waves. We may be approaching one now. Politico, 2021, Web.
Longley, Robert. Ways to change the U.S constitution. Thought CO, 2021, Web.
Schmidt, Ann. The U.S constitution has 27 amendments that protect the rights of Americans. Do you know them all? Insider, 2021, Web.
Wegman, Jesse. Thomas Jefferson gave the constitution 19 years. Look where we are now. New York Times, 2021, Web.