Our dormant Constitution

Revision as of 11:47, 18 November 2014

Study finds that political instability is linked to a lack of amendments to our Constitution

Uniting Amendment has released a new study on the correlation between a dormant Constitution and political instability. (The complete study is available at: UnitingAmendment.com)

When we allow our Constitution to become stagnant, it causes political instability; so says a study by Egalib, Inc., the organization sponsoring the Uniting Amendment. The study presents compelling evidence of the correlation between Constitutional stagnation and political instability, complete with a quantitative analysis of the Constitution's major amendments set within the context of our country's major domestic policy history. Whenever we amend the Constitution to increase liberty or correct an injustice, political stability soon follows.

Particular attention is given to the Civil War in the study. It notes that the Constitution had laid mostly dormant for nearly 70 years when the Civil War broke out, but in the period following the three major post-bellum amendments (the 13th, 14th and 15th), the country saw decades of relatively reduced political conflict domestically.

Several other periods of Constitutional stagnation are highlighted in the study, along with the political instability associated with them.

Currently the Constitution has gone about 45 years without a major amendment, and the conflict, divisiveness and corruption we're seeing today shows that we are well overdue for another amendment to restore liberty and justice for our country.

The study is in wiki form and, as with the Uniting Amendment, everyone is invited to help improve it.

Figure 1. <img src="http://unitingamendment.com....">

The Uniting Amendment is the comprehensive amendment to the Constitution of the United States that covers nearly all of the issues: Citizenship and immigration, Suffrage, Equity, Civil rights, The Budget and taxes, Responsibilities and duties, Representation, The Supreme Court, Integrity, Basic assistance, The Census List, The Environment, The right to teach and learn, Right of self-defense, Right to control your own body, Property rights and commerce, Privacy and Security, Right to religious expression, Due process, and much more...

The amendment is based on our country's common values of liberty and justice, with the goal of increasing integrity and compassion. Although the amendment covers many issues, it leaves intact the form and structure of our government: a democratic republic with the same three branches of government. All those who call America home may contribute their ideas to the document.

As part of a larger effort to rebuild the country, the amendment intends to reestablish a government that is more fair, more free, and has the integrity and compassion needed to move the country forward. The project has already developed many fresh, innovative ideas that solve long-entrenched, difficult problems.

The Uniting Amendment project is being facilitated by Egalib, Inc., a publishing company located in Orford, New Hampshire.

To schedule an interview or for other inquiries:

   email: pr@unitingamendment.com 
   phone: 603-360-1000 
   mail: PO Box 71, Orford, New Hampshire 03777 

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Introduction

When we allow our Constitution to become stagnant, it causes political instability -- particularly when there are no amendments to restore liberty and justice. The Civil War -- the worst political instability in our country's history -- came after a dry spell of over 70 years without a significant amendment to our constitution. Afterwards, we quickly added three of our most effective amendments to improve liberty and justice. After the dust settled and reconstruction was wrapped up, we saw a period of reduced corruption and growing prosperity, capped by the "Gay 90s". Later however, towards the end of the 19th century after decades without any significant amendments, the country began to fall back into more crime, corruption, economic disparity and political violence.

Finally, after nearly fifty years without a liberty-and-justice amendment, the 17th Amendment (direct Senate elections) was passed and began to take effect, along with the 19th Amendment which further expanded the franchise to women in 1920. The prosperity and good times of the Roaring 20s followed.

The Great Depression and World War II again put the amending process on hold. To respond to the effects of the Depression, the president pressured the Supreme Court into short-circuiting the amendment process with sweeping opinions that shifted power to the Congress and the Executive. By 1960, after another 25 years without a significant amendment, the country had seen a reckless assault on civil liberties from McCarthyism, and was facing rising racial tensions. The 23rd Amendment (Electoral College for Washington, D.C.) and the 24th Amendment (elimination of the poll tax) helped to relieve the tension, but the externalities of the Vietnam War along with continued racial injustices, extended tensions through the 60's and into the 70's. The last significant amendment to the Constitution was in 1971 with the 26th Amendment extending the vote to eighteen-year-olds.

The decades following the 26th Amendment saw mostly growing prosperity and a rapid acceleration in technological innovation. However, after another 25 years without an amendment, political tensions again began to grow. The campaign leading up to the 2000 presidential election was extremely divisive. The Supreme Court hijacked the election, stopped the counting of ballots and selected the president; which cemented the political divisions and destroyed the Court's credibility.

It has now been 45 years since the last significant amendment. The beginning of the 21st century has seen continually growing political instability rivaling that which the country saw during the antebellum. The Supreme Court decisions that were made during the 30s and 40s that shifted power to Congress and the Executive in order to address the immediate problems of the times, have been abused by the leaders who have followed and have been used to suppress political participation. The result is a severe erosion of civil liberties and justice -- and a stagnant constitution. The lack of avenues for civil resolution to the grievances of the people is leading the country to failure.

In order to avert this downward spiral, we need to restore liberty and justice by amending the Constitution. The Uniting Amendment is the comprehensive amendment that can provide a foundation to help rebuild the country.

Quantitative analysis

The chart below shows amendments that increased liberty and justice. Amendments that were primarily procedural or that reduced liberty or justice are not shown. The dates indicated for the amendments were the dates the amendments became fully effective, e.g., the 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913, but its full effect wasn't realized until all Senators had faced the electorate by 1918. The chart shows that, after the dust had settled from the amendment process, the periods following the amendment(s) were politically stable compared to the time immediately before or after the amendment(s).

List of amendments

In the following table, amendments indicated as the type, "Liberty and Justice", were restorative to political stability.