Constitution Then And Now Essay

The constitution first starts by reciting its preamble, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” The preamble is used to introduce the constitution, laying out the purpose of government and explaining why a constitution is needed. The constitution allows for changes because the founders did not know what the future may hold. Due to this unknown future that existed, they came to the conclusion that amendments were needed. As of today, the constitution has been changed, or amended 27 times. This shows the ability for restrictions and laws to be changed due to the people's change or opinion. This term is referred to as popular sovereignty, otherwise known as rule by
Meaning, they had more rights than those of colored skin and females. With the changing state of the United States the government brought change to these requirements. First, the property requirement was removed. This prevented women the right to vote, because majority of the land was owned by their husbands. In addition, African Americans were denied the right to vote because they did not own land. Those of colored skin were usually slaves, and at the time, they were considered property. Although the government may have been the factor to this problem, they soon became the solution. Starting with the 15th amendment, African Americans were given the right to vote. Followed by that was the 19th amendment which granted women the privilege to vote. Finally, the 26th amendment lowered the age restriction to the age of 18. The government noticed a problem in the voting system and amended the constitution in order to provide more equality to people concerning voting