Originally Posted By: Shannow
re amending...when enough people reach critical mass...isn't that how constitutional amendment happens ?
If it's the 2A...then clearly, someone thought it was a decent idea to change what was before it.
I would like to address this misconception...common among people who don't understand our Constitution and how we came to have it...sadly, this includes many who live in America. Our Constitution didn't spring, fully formed like Athena, from the head of James Madison...
When we fought for our independence, through the use of arms, I might add, we existed as 14 colonies...13 banded together under the Articles of Confederation, while Vermont decided to remain an independent republic. The Continental Congress approved them in 1777.
The Articles of Confederation didn't work, however, for a variety of reasons, including an inability to levy taxes and raise funds to pay for the war...
In 1787, a meeting, now known as the Constitutional Convention, began to reconsider how to organize the Colonies, now called states, by amending those articles of confederation. It lasted for over a year. There was considerable debate, and in a very bold move, they closed the proceedings and determined to re-write everything...going way beyond their original scope and intention.
Once an approved framework was adopted, the Constitution, it was presented for ratification by the states, but many representatives were unhappy that specific individual rights were not enumerated. So, James Madison, who argued that the enumeration of natural rights was unnecessary, as they were so obvious, was given the task of adding a set of amendments to codify those rights.
He got over 250 suggestions from his fellow delegates.
He worked for six months, and drafted ten separate amendments, which were included with the agreed-upon Constitution for consideration by the States. It was adopted in 1788, and implementation took place in 1789, with the election of a new President, and Vermont joining the new Union that year, as the 14th (and first new) state.
The first 10 Amendments became known as the "Bill of Rights".
But while they are amendments, they are part of the original document that was sent out for ratification and approval. They've always been there. They pre-date the implementation of the Constitution.
The Constitution provides for future changes, and that's been done 17 times since, on notable issues, including prohibition, women's suffrage, term limits, senatorial elections, poll taxes and others. It is possible to repeal amendments, as clearly happened with prohibition.
But the process requires an overwhelming majority, it isn't easy to accomplish.
Incidentally, James Madison, a brilliant man, who spoke several languages and is often considered the principal architect of the Constitution, once said, "But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature. If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In forming a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
A challenge that continues to face us today, and is absolutely at the crux of most of our present political issues.
