How Should the Constitution be Interpreted

Date Written: 5/2/2023

Questions: (1) “Is it unreasonable to confine ourselves strictly to the text of the Constitution. (2) What is the idea of a “living Constitution”? In what way could it be argued that the American Revolution was a war against a “living Constitution”?

The American Constitution is a remarkable document. It lays out in plain terms how the government should act. However, many people like to interpret the Constitution very broadly, so the central government can usurp an ever increasing number of powers. Is this the correct way to look at the Constitution? Perhaps the central government should be limited to only the powers the Constitution expressly gives them.

What is the Point of a Written Constitution

Let’s take a step back and look at what the purpose of a written constitution is. There have been many Constitutions through the ages and most of them haven’t been written. In these situations everyone just knew what the operations and powers of the government were through tradition and customary practice. A great example of a Constitution like this is the British Constitution. There has never been one single document that spells out the British Constitution. Everyone knew what powers the government possessed through tradition and customary practice.

One might think that a written constitution is needed to define the inner workings of government, however this is not the case. The questions of how long does a President or Congressman stay in office or some other function of government don’t need a written constitution to be answered. These things can be known without a written constitution. Once again, Britain proves this statement; in Britain, everyone knows how long someone stays in office, but they have no written constitution.

The whole point of a written constitution is to put limits on the government. When the powers a government should possess are written out for all to see, their actions can be accurately judged. It is easy for everyone to judge whether the government is exercising a power they are supposed to have; all they have to do is consult the written constitution. When the constitution is not written, determining this can be more challenging. It is much harder to think of all the traditional practices of a government and decide whether they are relevant or not. So, the purpose of a written constitution is to provide express limits on government. That is why there is a section of the U.S. Constitution that defines and limits the central government to the stated powers.

The Idea of a “Living Breathing Constitution”

Many people claim that we need a living breathing constitution and that we can’t follow the dead constitution drafted 200 years ago. The Constitution needs to change with the times and follow current public opinion. Therefore, judges can interpret the Constitution in any way they think is in line with public opinion, so that the central government can take more powers.

What people always seem to forget is that the Constitution itself accounted for the possibility that the Constitution might need to change with the times. For this reason, the ability to amend the Constitution was created. If people go through the required process, a change to the Constitution can be made and the central government can either gain or lose powers. But according to the supporters of a living breathing constitution, this process is too annoying and cumbersome. Therefore, they think government judges should be able to interpret the Constitution differently when they deem necessary. This way the government can basically give itself more powers whenever it pleases, as it can always interpret the Constitution differently.

The idea of a living breathing constitution is exactly what the American Colonists fought against in the American revolution. A living breathing constitution is exactly what the British had. The Americans believed that the British government was limited by tradition and customary practice. However, the British government wanted to enact more controls over the Americans, so they decided to interpret their Constitution differently. Now the British government claimed that if Parliament passed it, then it was constitutional. Essentially, they claimed that a law was constitutional because they said so. This is the result of a living breathing constitution. All it does is increase the government’s power. The Founding Fathers created a written constitution to try to prevent this from happening.

How Should the Constitution be Interpreted

Now that we know all this let’s look at how the Constitution should be interpreted. The Constitution is not meant to be a “living breathing document;” it is meant to expressly limit the powers of government to a few defined things. Therefore, the text of the Constitution should be strictly followed by the government. If they exercise some power that isn’t expressly given to them in the text of the Constitution, then they shouldn’t have that power. If the Constitution is interpreted any other way, it can not do its job of safeguarding our liberties. The government would always be able to reinterpret the Constitution to give themselves more power.

In the end, the Constitution’s purpose is to define and limit the powers of government to protect our freedom. Trying to interpret it as a living breathing document is directly against its purpose. The American Colonists fought a war against that idea. A living breathing constitution empowers the government to define it’s own powers, which would make them ever grow. Today the Constitution is violated every day by the government. People have lost sight of the Constitution’s true purpose, so the Constitution’s limiting powers on government are falling away.