Washington Monthly - September/October 2021 - 104

A Constitution
of Our
Own Making
Two hundred years of amendments have
moved America's founding document
almost entirely in one direction: left.
By Caroline Fredrickson
The People's Constitution: 200
Years, 27 Amendments, and the
Promise of a More Perfect Union
by John F. Kowal and
Wilfred U. Codrington III
New Press, 288 pp.
A
s taught in schools, the history of the U.S. Constitution is relatively straightforward.
In 1787, a group of 55 men gathered in Philadelphia to debate the rules
that would govern the new nation. Over four days, they hashed out the division of
responsibilities between the states and the federal government, established three
federal branches, and created a legislature with two chambers: the House, elected
by the people; and the Senate, chosen by the states. They made compromises and
decisions, especially over slavery, that have haunted the country ever since.
But as fateful and famous as those decisions were, in The People's Constitution, the
legal scholars John Kowal and Wilfred Codrington argue that they are only a small
slice of how America's Constitution came to be. That's because the contemporary
document is defined far more by its various amendments, enacted over the course
of 200 years, than it is by what happened in 1787. The delegates in Philadelphia were
not its only framers; the Constitution has been shaped by the millions of Americans
who have voted for, organized for, and at times literally fought for change. And
according to Kowal and Codrington, the upshot of these latter-day framers' work
has been immensely positive. They have made the U.S. Constitution " more democratic,
more inclusive, and more responsive to the needs of a changing country. "
(Full disclosure: Kowal works at and Codrington is a fellow at the Brennan Center
for Justice, where I am a senior fellow.)
The People's Constitution is structured as a chronological survey, moving from the
document's original amendments-the Bill of Rights-through to today. The authors
provide a chapter on each era when amendments were successfully adopted, as well
as those in which the process proved too complex and difficult for reformers. With
a focus on the people and strategies that changed a nation by changing its Constitution,
the book offers an insightful and captivating description of the country's popular
movements and the incredible challenges posed by the amendment process.
But though historical in nature, Kowal and Codrington's book has important implications
for modern constitutional law. Among conservatives, it is received wisdom
that the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted through concepts of either
textualism or originalism. The former holds that when scrutinizing a document,
judges must identify its " plain " meaning and rule accordingly. The latter, practiced
by Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett, holds that
constitutional provisions today mean the same thing they meant when they were
written in 1787. Both theories are used to strike down pro-democracy, commonsense
legislation.
104 September/October 2021

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