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Another
View:
Our
Magnificent
Constitution
William
Bradford
Reynolds*
Let
me
start
with
the
observation
that
I regardmyself
to
bemost
privileged
to
be
a
public
servant
at
a
time
when
we
celebratethe
200th
anniversary
of
the
Constitution-a
magnificent
docu-
ment
that
has,inmy
view,
no
equalin
historyand
every
reason
to
be
feted.
It
is
by
now
no
revelation
that
the
Framers
would
beaghast
at
the
size
and
reachofgovernmenttoday;
but
they
wouldalso
beenormously
proud
of
how
much
of
their
legacy
has
en-
dured.
Thevitality
of
the
original
Constitution,andits
variousamendments,
is
reflected
by
itsabilityto withstandspiriteddebate
over
its
content
andmeaning,
a process
that
thankfully
has
been
taking
place
with
more
and
more
enthusiasm
intownmeetings
and
forumsall
around
the
country,
involving
students,
public
officials,
and
citizensofevery
variety
in
evaluating
how
well
our
Constitu-tion
hasservedus
over
thepast
two
centuries.I
find
it
remarka-
ble-and
anenormous
tribute
to
the
Constitution-that
in
every
instance
about
which
I
have
read,these
gatheringshavebeen
hard-
pressedto
think
of
ways
in
which
to
improve
it
inanymeaningfulmanner.
That
is
not
to
say
that
the
original
Constitution
of
1787
wasflawless.
Andin
ourcelebration
of
the
document,
we
must
not
overlook
its
flaws
and
our
long
andpainful
struggles
to
correct
them.
If
there
was
any
tendencyto
do
so,
it
was
no
doubt
corrected
when
Justice
ThurgoodMarshallspokein
Hawaiion
the
Constitu-tion's
Bicentennialcelebration.
1
Whatever
degreeof
disagreement
one
might
have
with
JusticeMarshall's
comments,hehas
invigo-
ratedthedebate
on
the
meaning
andvitality
of
constitutional
*
AssistantAttorney
Generalof
the
United
States,
Civil
Rights
Division,
and
Counselorto
the
Attorney
Generalof
the
United
States.AssistantAttorney
GeneralReynolds
deliv-ered
this
speechon May
23,1987,
at
Vanderbilt
University,
Nashville,
Tennessee.
These
remarksare
reprinted
in
the
Vanderbilt
Law
Review
with
his
permission.
1.
See
Marshall,
The
Constitution'sBicentennial:
Commemorating
the
WrongDocu-ment?,
supra,
at
1337.
1343
HeinOnline -- 40 Vand. L. Rev. 1343 1987
VANDERBILT LAW
REVIEW
principles
ina focused
way
that
canonlyserve
to
underscore
the
importance
of
the
documentitselfand
why
it
is so
deserving of
this
Bicentennialcelebration.
In
recountinghisremarks,I
will
relyon
Justice
Marshall's
own
words.Hebegan
by
warning
againstwhat
hecalled
the "ten-
dencyfor
the
celebration
to
oversimplify"
the
adoption
andmean-
ing
of
the
Constitution
of
1787
andto
"overlook
the
manyotherevents
that
have
been
instrumentalto
our achievements
as
a
na-tion
2-events
that,
as
he
explains,included
the
Civil
War
and
the
amendmentsaddedto
the
Constitution
in
its
wake.
3
Thus,
here-
jectedwhat
he
described
as
a
complacentbelief
that
the
"vision
of
those
who
debatedand
compromisedin
Philadelphia
yielded
'the
more
perfect
Union'
it
is
said
we
now
enjoy."
4
Justice
Marshall
re-
marked
further
that
he does
not
believe-and
I
quote-that
"the
meaning
of
the
Constitution
was
forever 'fixed'
at
the
Philadelphia
Convention[;]
"
5
nor
doeshefind
"the
wisdom,
foresight,and
senseof
justiceexhibited
by
the
Framersparticularly
profound."
8
The
government
the
Framers
of
1787
devised,he
declared,
"was
defec-
tive
from
the
start,
requiring
several
amendments,
a
civil
war,
andmomentous
social
transformationto
attain
the
system
of
constitu-tional
government,
andits respect
for
the
individual
freedomsand
human
rights,
we
hold
as
fundamentaltoday."
7
Morespecifically,
Justice
Marshall
faulted
the
original
Consti-
tution
because,
as
he
put
it,
the
Framers
"did
not
have
in
mind
the
majority
of America'scitizens."
8
ThePreamble's
"We
the
People,"
the
Justice
said,included
only
whites.
9
Justice
Marshall
observes
that
the
Constitutiontacitly
addressed
the
slaveryissuein
two
ways:
inarticleI, section
2
bycounting
"other
Persons"
as
three-
fifths
of
"free
Persons"
for
purposesof
congressional
representa-
tion;
and
in
article
I,
section
9,
by
protecting
the
authority
of
statesto
continue
importing
slaves
until
1808.10
Because
the
origi-
nal
Constitution
was
defective
in
this
manner,Justice
Marshall
holds
that
"while
the
Union
survived
the
civil
war,
the
Constitu-
2.
Id.
at
1338.3.
Id.
4.
Id.
5.
Id.
6.
Id.
7.
Id.
8.
Id.
9.
Id.
10.
Id.
at
1338-39.
[Vol. 40:1343
344
HeinOnline -- 40 Vand. L. Rev. 1344 1987
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William Bradford Reynolds Another View Our Magnificent Constitution
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