On Perennial Re-examination of the U.S. Constitution

The United States Constitution is still shrouded in myths, clothed in broad terms and garbed with ambiguities. These require constant reinterpretation. If a continuing constitutional convention is thus endemic to the American political system, then is it, as Jefferson said, "a mere thing of wax...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of economics and sociology 1985-07, Vol.44 (3), p.348-350
Main Author: Forkosch, Morris D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Civil wars
Constitution
Evaluation
Judicial system
Political systems
United States
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The United States Constitution is still shrouded in myths, clothed in broad terms and garbed with ambiguities. These require constant reinterpretation. If a continuing constitutional convention is thus endemic to the American political system, then is it, as Jefferson said, "a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary"? Justice Jackson wrote that "we are infallible only because we are final," but it is a maxim of American politics that the Court follows the election returns. In the last analysis, there is a higher court in a republican democracy, the Court of Public Opinion (of which scholars and publicists are the officers) which achieves revision by periodic reinterpretation and re-examination.
ISSN:0002-9246
1536-7150
DOI:10.1111/j.1536-7150.1985.tb02353.x