So, this is an odd book to review, to put it lightly. It’s also worth noting that if you paid attention in school or follow United States news, this read is more-or-less a quick refresher of basic principles. The copy I got from my library only contained Articles I – VII, though I did also find a copy of the Bill of Rights and subsequent seventeen Amendments—for completionism sake.

To quickly summarize, Article I details the role and body of the legislative branch (the House of Representatives and the Senate), Article II covers the executive branch and federal government, and Article III establishes the judicial branch (or the Supreme Court and lower courts). Article IV details the relationship between the different states and federal government, Article V oversees how Amendments may be added to the Constitution (a 2/3 vote passed in House and Senate, followed by ratification of 2/3 of the states), Article VI covers laws and treaties, and Article VII establishes how the Constitution was to be ratified.

The subsequent 27 Amendments cover a wide range of federal level laws. Of the Bill of Rights, I believe the 1st Amendment is perhaps the most discussed, as it impedes Congress from infringing on the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the freedom to assemble. The next time a self-proclaimed constitutionalist tells me that my disagreeing with them is “infringing their 1st Amendment rights,” I think I will just start leaving copies of the actual Constitution as a response. Folks on twitter seem to forget that everyone has 1st Amendment rights, and it does not shield them from criticism, but that’s enough of why I find twitter tedious…

Overall, I must confess that I am inclined to treat [b:The Constitution of the United States of America|89959|The Constitution of the United States of America|Founding Fathers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328756752l/89959._SY75_.jpg|86823] as a living document and am reviewing it as such. More so, I think the fact that there are written measures that allow for Amendments to be added is great, but given how crucial some of these Amendments are for basic rights just shows that at no point in history has this ever been a truly perfect document.

All crucially important: the 13th Amendment was passed in 1865 to abolish slavery, the 15th Amendment in 1870 made it illegal to deny the right to vote based on race, and the 19th Amendment to give women the right to vote in 1919. YET, the reality is that people of color, including women, did not actually have access to the right to vote until Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. That century-long wait makes it hard to feel too impressed by the power of the Constitution in and of itself.

Furthermore, there are currently (as of 2020) six Amendments that have been passed by Congress, but have yet to be ratified by the required 2/3 number of states. This includes the Equal Rights Amendment which would guarantee the equality of Americans regardless of sex. For all of these points, while I consider the Constitution to be an essential and important document, there is simply no perfect form of government that will ever get it 100% right. Humans are forever changing beings, and the very nature of “justice” will change as the people change.

I doubt this explanation will please any originalists, but until I hear a better argument that addresses these points, this is more or less where I stand. Perhaps an unconventional read so near the holidays, this was actually surprisingly fun (in the nerdiest of senses), so I actually recommend it. Maybe a law professor somewhere will even get their wings.

For more unconventional and unnecessary book reviews, feel free to read my review of The Bible.