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The constitution as it was written allows for amendments. The 13th and 19th Amendments outlawed slavery and gave women the right to vote, respectively.
by Consultant32452 6y ago
The constitution as it was written allows for amendments. The 13th and 19th Amendments outlawed slavery and gave women the right to vote, respectively.
- zimpenfish 6y agoBut those amendments didn't exist when it "was written" - if you're an Originalist claiming to interpret the Constitution "as it was written", that excludes amendments. If you change it to "as it is written", sure, that includes them but you lose the claim to be an Originalist given the timestamps on everything after the 12th Amendment since that's 76 years later and I'm reasonably sure none of the framers were alive then.
- Consultant32452 6y agoThe 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920. It was written then. The fact that other parts were ratified at different times doesn't stop you from interpreting each part "as it was written." But you know that.