Why “strict constructionism” is a dangerous idea

Those who argue that the Supreme Court should be populated by "strict constructionists" or "originalists" should recognize that the Constitution was written by men who tried to embody "the Spirit of 1776" but who acknowledged in their deeds that the Republic was a work in progress.

On one hand you had men like Jefferson who went to his grave thinking that the Federal Judiciary was a betrayal of that "Spirit of 1776." Furthermore, he detested John Marshall and thought the entire idea of the Supreme Court was anathema to everything Jefferson stood for.

Of course, his views represented just one strain of thought. John Adams, et. al., had a different view, believing that the power of the majority must be balanced by mechnaisms that protected the rights of the minority.

A contemporary observer called Jefferson and Adams "the North and South poles of the American Revolution," meaning not just the geographical aspect (New England versus Virginia) but also the wide range of beliefs that joined together to make the Revolution manifest.

Today, we revere Jefferson and forget Adams. Frankly I think Adams should have a memorial in DC. That said, we should at least acknowledge that Jefferson's view is but one point on the American political spectrum.

Would it surprise you to know that another one of Jefferson's arch-nemises was Alexander Hamilton? And here's another surprise -- Adams was actually in the middle between THOSE two extremes.

The world has seldom seen an era as glorious as that represented by the the American Revolutionary era. Men like Jefferson and Adams (and their contemporaries) are giants. It's the least we can do to recognize what they stood for. I know it isn't easy -- they often disagreed and we are still trying to resolve their differences.

So to say that "originalism" is the right attitude to have when making judgements based on the Constitution, well, that's pretty shortsighted and narrow. There's a lot of distance between what Jefferson and Adams believed.

You should read the letters that these two patriarchs wrote to each other in the closing years of their lives. [Start with Joseph Ellis' marvelous book about Jefferson -- American Sphinx.] It will give you a much more complete picture of what the Founders thought the Revolution really meant. Surprise -- they didn't always agree! Which brings me back to the whole idea that "strict constructionism" and "originalism" is shortsighted.