Some people believe we have to follow the "original intent" of the Founding Fathers ("FF's.")
'However, the FF's never addressed "original intent' or specified that it be the standard for construing the Constitution.
Since the we do not know the FF's "original intent" on the doctrine of "original intent," if we want to follow "original intent" we cannot invoke that doctrine because it didn't exist.
Yeah, a bit of a twister....
"The statement below is true"
"The statement above is false."By the way, what does "original intent" mean when referring to the actions of the 55 people at the Constitutional Convention, and the couple of thousand who voted for (and against) adopting it?
Discussing the "intent" of a large group of people is a polite fiction, not an objective fact.
I suggest you read The Original Constitution: What it Actually Said and Meant by Robert G. Natelson.
ReplyDeleteIt actually takes effort to understand history. I know it is much easier to trust what the politicians tell us to think.