The Constitution as a Living Document

Sources must be from a scholarly journal, no newspapers. The Constitution: Legal or Living Document? GOVT 2305 American Government The Constitution: Legal or Living Document? Intro The Constitution of the United States of America is the basis for all government decisions. The way the Constitution is interpreted is fundamental in the base of these decisions. Simply put: should the Constitution be interpreted as a legal or a living document? Interpretation as a legal document would be to strictly apply the Constitution as the Framers intended. James Madison penned the famous beginning, “We the people of the United States in order to form a more perfect union…” However, Madison’s “We,” does not refer to the diverse America of today.