Learning the Constitution Is Essential for Americans
Caitlin Huey-Burns

Debate over the legality of the healthcare law makes knowing the Constitution important

During the runup to the recent midterm elections, candidates frequently debated whether various legislative initiatives like national healthcare were constitutional, while others argued how far the First Amendment could stretch. "Ultimately, a democracy can survive only if people are informed about the Constitution," says Erwin Chemerinsky, founding dean of the University of California-Irvine School of Law and author of The Conservative Assault on the Constitution. "It's stunning to me how often" public figures make claims that are "flat-out nonsense," he says. He points to the Alaska senatorial campaign, during which candidate Joe Miller questioned the constitutionality of Social Security. Chemerinsky says that while anyone can argue about what benefits the federal government should provide, "under current constitutional law, it's clearly established that Congress can create Social Security."

The efforts of political figures to wrap their arguments in the Constitution, however wrong or right they may be, are hardly new, particularly during heated election seasons. Scholars say that comparing the current political climate with that of 1787, when the Founding Fathers drafted the Constitution, can be instructive. Like partisans today, the Framers differed greatly over issues such as the limits of executive power and how the government should levy taxes.

David Eisner, CEO of the nonprofit National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, says America's founding document offers tangible proof "that people with deep, deep divisions," who "couldn't agree on almost anything, were able to come together, compromise, and build something that's stood the test of time."

Ironically, when delegates to the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia on Sept. 17, 1787, for the signing, some Framers thought the document would last little more than a few years; others gave it a few decades. Virginia's Patrick Henry opposed it altogether, predicting "doom and gloom and that the country is going to fall and that America's liberties are going to be stolen," says Richard Beeman, a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania and author of The Penguin Guide to the United States Constitution. "He sounds like a Tea Party guy."

However, the Framers presciently -- and correctly -- realized that some weaknesses in the Constitution might only become apparent to future generations. Black Americans were not recognized as full citizens until the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, and a black man could not vote until ratification of the 15th Amendment two years later. Women had to wait another five decades until they were given suffrage under the 19th Amendment in 1920.

With the subsequent amendments and judicial interpretations, Eisner says, "more and more people have been added to 'We the People.' " The Constitution is an evolving document that aspires to be fully inclusive, he observes, "and over time, we've been coming closer and closer to its aspiration."

Yet two schools of thought continue to debate the Constitution's role in society: "originalists" who believe it should be strictly interpreted according to the Framers' original intent, and an opposing school of those who believe in a "living Constitution" that was written so it could adapt to a changing nation. No wonder scholars call the document "America's civic religion." It is what we use to define ourselves, says Beeman.

And this will only continue in coming years, scholars agree, as issues like national healthcare legislation, same-sex marriage, and immigration reform are argued, perhaps even before the U.S. Supreme Court. "Everything we are dealing with," says Eisner, has "such deep constitutional implications."

Given the spotlight on this historic document, you might want to reread it. Better yet, experts suggest, immerse yourself in the history of its evolution. The National Constitution Center (www.constitutioncenter.org) near Independence Hall, where the original document was signed, features interactive exhibits to help visitors experience the Constitution. For example, you can decide real cases from the center's Supreme Court bench. Other media, from movies to stage plays, shed light on how individuals are affected by the Framers' decisions.

At the National Archives in Washington, D.C., you can view the original parchment Constitution in the handwriting of the Framers. Doug Swanson, visitor services manager, says he has seen people "burst into tears" when they stand before it. The Archives website (www.archives.gov) offers the full text as well as an "Inside the Vaults" video featuring papers that helped to shape the founding document, like Edmund Randolph's Virginia Plan and George Washington's annotated draft of the Constitution. Since the document's language can be tricky, a book such as Beeman's Penguin Guide, which analyzes every article and amendment, and gives the historical context and modern applications of each, can help your understanding.

For more in-depth research, consider the many books written by or about the Founding Fathers and influential Supreme Court justices. Examples include Ralph Ketcham's James Madison: A BiographyandJim Newton's Justice for All: Earl Warren and the Nation He Made, which describes the chief justice's decisions on landmark cases like Brown v. Board of Education(1954).And the Federalist Papers, a compilation of essays by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, describe the reasoning behind each constitutional article. These works can be read online through the Library of Congress website (http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fedpapers.html).

"The Constitution is like the owner's manual for the government," says Eisner. "It's the simplest, shortest, fastest way to look at America in terms of where we've been and where we aspire to go." Getting reacquainted with the nation's most vital document could turn out to be an essential exercise for every citizen.

Available at Amazon.com:

Decision Points

Winner-Take-All Politics, How Washington Made the Rich Richer -- And Turned Its Back on the Middle Class

Jimmy Carter: The American Presidents Series: The 39th President, 1977-81

White House Diary

The Feminine Mystique

The Disappearing Center: Engaged Citizens, Polarization, and American Democracy

The Virtues of Mendacity: On Lying in Politics

Bush on the Home Front: Domestic Policy Triumphs and Setbacks

The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House

Revival: The Struggle for Survival Inside the Obama White House

Renegade: The Making of a President