Constitution
The American government has had difficulties in the operation of its constitution. The constitution bears a superficial resemblance to a democratic one. It is presented in a way as to seem to operate for the best of the common majority whereas in reality it does not.
As Linda Monk says in her commentary “We, the People” was not supposed to mean the whole American population but the people occupying influential posts. Linda’s argument is in agreement with justice Thurgood’s arguments that the founders did not have the majority in mind when they designed the constitution. Therefore, this clearly shows that the statement “We, the People” was designed to outline a group of individuals. As a result of this contradiction in the first words of the constitution, the American government has had to adopt a series of amendments in an attempt to make the constitution conform to the meaning of its words. Originally, the constitution did not encompass the poor whites, African Americans, American Indians or women.
Amendment
The situation has been changing gradually, and seeing resistance since human beings fear the unknown, as the American government has been amending the constitution to include these neglected groups of people. Every amendment has brought a notable improvement since now, these, formerly neglected groups, are enjoying their constitutional rights as the rest of the population. In Linda Monk’s critique, it is notable that the black men acquired the right to vote through an amendment, as well as women. It is also through an amendment that the eighteen years old people gained suffrage. It can be regarded as an achievement of the American government having adopted all these amendments to include more and more groups, previously disadvantaged, in the constitution’s sphere of operation. It has so far achieved the objective of improving the democracy granted by the constitution, by increasing the class included in the “We, the People” statement.
