The Living Constitution 1787, 1987, 2187

This book presents essays by three distinguished scholarsMary Frances Berry, Milton C. Cummings, Jr., and Richard B. Morrisdelivered at a symposium celebrating the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution on October 17, 1987 at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. Each of the essays provides a perspective on the evolving nature of the Constitution in keeping with the theme of the symposiumThe Living Constitution. Professor Morris focuses on "The Living Constitution Revisited, 1787." Professor Morris believes one reason for the durability of the Constitution is its "plastic quality" which was a deliberate aim of those who drafted the document, he contends. In the second essay, "The Living Constitution Reexamined, 1987," Professor Berry emphasizes that the living nature of the Constitution has been essential for it to have meaning for those groups who were overlooked at the time of its origins and to address the needs of changing times. In the last essay, "The Living Constitution Redefined, 2187," Professor Cummings examines factors which have served as "engines for change" in the past to foresee some of the changes this living document may undergo in the next two centuries.