Flaws Of The Constitution Essay, Research Paper
Flaws of the Constitution200 years ago, when the Convention of Philadelphia met, its purpose was to revise the Articles of Confederation. Nobody knew that when they met on May 25, they would finish on September 17 with a new government for the United States, known as the Constitution. To this day, the same Constitution is still used as our framework for governing. One reason that a document could last so long is because of its vagueness. It allows amendments to be added on as they are needed. Vagueness though, is also the main reason it has flaws. Overlapping of the powers result because of the vagueness. One of the most obvious imbalances of power occur between the first and second article. The Constitution grants the Congress the power to declare war (A1 S8 C11). Looking further into the second article, it also grants the president the power to be the Commander in Chief (A2 S2 C1). The problem happens when the two disagree on a war issue. The Congress might feel that war is the best option while the president doesn’t. War could be declared, but the Commander in Chief isn’t commanding. It’s like a child asking his parents about something and they disagree, the child is caught in the middle. Another good example of the overlapping of powers can be found between the second and third articles. It states in the second article that the President “shall have the power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States (A2 S2 C1).” The whole third article goes into detail of how the Judiciary system works. It explains how everyone, except in impeachment cases, goes through a trial by jury. The President can skip that whole step and simply pardon somebody. One confusing imbalance of power exists within Article one. Under “Powers Denied to Congress,” one of them was no export taxes (A1 S9 C6). One section down, it states that a state cannot lay export taxes without the permission of Congress (A1 S10 C2). So if Congress decided to put an export tax on oranges leaving California, it couldn’t. On the other hand, if California wanted to put an export tax on oranges, all they need now is a consent from Congress.
The Constitution tries to balance itself out by the checks and balances system. This would mean that not one branch of the government would have more power or rights over any other. It should all equal out. Even though the Congress included in the checks and balances system, it is granted a power which seems to make it more powerful than the rest. It is allowed to make all of the laws (A1 S8 C18). Finally, both the Congress and the President, has the ability to do business with foreign countries. Congress can “regulate Commerce with foreign Nations (A1 S8 C3).” The President on the other hand, with the Senate beside him, can make Treaties (A2 S2 C2). The President and his Senate may have good relations with another country. He could benefit from this country and become very friendly. But on the other hand, the Congress decides that there is something that it doesn’t like about the country, so you have the Congress and the President disagreeing on issues of foreign policy. As one can see, the Constitution does have its flaws. Considering the fact that it was written over 200 years ago, it is still a good document. With new amendments every now and then to update the Constitution, there is no need to revise it. The Constitution can be paralleled to the Bible. Both have been put together long ago, and both still work well today.