We've been told for years that only lawyers can understand the Constitution.
It's amazing that we fall for this.
For those who have tried to read the Constitution and became stumped on a word they didn't understand, there is a man named Michael Holler who has written the Constitution in modern language. The book is called
"The Constitution Made Easy." Michael juxtaposes the original writing on one page in parchment and the same document on the opposing page in modern English. He says that this is not a commentary on the constitution. It's like comparing the King James version to the NIV.
Google-------http//1828.mshaffer.com - for Webster's dictionary of words and their meaning. This is much closer to the time when the Constitution was written.
Holler says that contrary to Lincoln's "Of the people, by the people, for the people," the Constitution in it's entirety says "Of the states, by the states, and for the states." The people were never to be ruled by a national government but by the states. They weren't to be directly taxed but the states furnished taxes for the defence, interstate commerce etc.
The federal government was granted only seventeen powers.
Something has gone badly wrong. Don't go to your grave having never read the Constitution, Articles of Confederation, Declaration of independence, and the Federalist Papers
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1 comment:
What a great thing for school kids. I do think that the older language of the Constitution is difficult for children who have not yet read old American and English literature. And language does indeed change over time.
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