Interpreting the Constitution Now that we have learned about the contents of the United States Constitution, we must now look at how it is used. The Founding Fathers knew the world would change in ways they could not predict. For this reason they attempted to keep the document as general as possible. Although they went into great detail about some matters, they left other matters open to interpretation.
The Two Ways of Interpreting the Constitution Way #1 Issues of Concern with this method: 2. 3. 4. Originalism this school of thought looks at reading the document according to the meaning it had in 1789. Originalists believe that the meaning of the words should NOT change over time. This view is strict interpretation of the Constitution. Way #2 Living Constitution this school of thought believes that the Constitutions writers left the document vague so it could be adapted and changed for modern times. This is a loose interpretation of the Constitution. Issues of Concern with this method: 2. 3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un0wmkxq2ak
The final authority for interpreting the Constitution rests with the United States Supreme Court. Over the years, the Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution in different ways sometimes strictly, sometimes loosely and with each new interpretation, our government changes The current members of the United States Supreme Court are... 1. John Roberts Jr. (Chief) 2. 3. Clarence Thomas Antonin Scalia conservative philosophy Originalism Interpretation 4. Samuel Alito 5. Anthony Kennedy "swingman" 6. Ruth Bader Ginsberg 7. 8. Stephen Breyer Sonia Sotomeyer liberal philosophy Living text Interpretation 9. Elena Kagen
Justices on the Court who are said to be originalist (Roberts, Scalia, Alito and Thomas) believe in judicial : restraint this is the belief that the court should not play a role in shaping government policies through its case decisions The living Constitution justices (Ginsberg, Breyer and Sotomayor and Kagan) believe in judicial activism: the belief that the supreme court should use the power of its court decisions to shape national policy Justice Anthony Kennedy is a "swing voter" who does not abide by any set political ideology. Many of our recent controversial Supreme Court decisions have been determined on a 5 4 basis. 5 4 Justice Scalia explaining his philosophy http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4448191n&tag=mncol;lst;2
The actions of Congress and the President also have caused new interpretations of the Constitution Article I of the Constitution lists all the powers of Congress. This Article also states that Congress has the power to "make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper" to carry out its duties. Known as the "necessary and proper" clause or the "elastic clause" this broad power allows Congress the ability to do things NOT specifically listed in the Constitution. For example, Congress created the Federal Reserve System as the nation's central bank because Congress has the power to coin money. Article II of the Constitution lists all the powers of the President. This article begins with a vague sentence simply stating that "the executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States". Called the "wild card" statement (think UNO!) this can be played by the President to change or create things in times of need. An example of this is the creation of the National Security Agency which monitors secret "surveillance" of American citizens because of terrorist concerns.