Reflections On The Bicentennial Of The Constitution By Thurgood Marshall Summary

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“When contemporary Americans cite “The Constitution,” they invoke a concept that is vastly different from what the framers barely began to construct two centuries ago” (Marshall 611). This quote from Thurgood Marshall conveys his message in “Reflections on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution.” Thurgood Marshall is the first Black Supreme Court justice, and he wrote these reflections in 1987. He does not believe that the Founding Fathers’ idea of The Constitution should be highly celebrated, as it no longer exists in that state. His essay is filled with historical context and substance. Using a clever delivery, his message is conveyed emotionally and with logic. The method of organization allows the reader to better absorb …show more content…

Reading his reflections today affords people from our era a great perspective of those events. Logically, if today’s society views people as equal, and that is the right thing to do, then society in the past was wrong to not do that; and The Constitution is partially at fault for their ignorance. Logic was also very relevant in the emotion based arguments too. Many times emotion tramples over logic, but in this case they went hand in hand. For example, the Civil War is surrounded with emotion by many, but similarly to the point before this one, it requires logic. That logic is what affirms to the reader that the Civil War was …show more content…

Marshall generally writes his essay chronologically, excluding his introduction and his conclusion. Since the essay is written this way, the brain can easily follow along, allowing the reader to focus on the main point. This organization also allows for the reader to see the societal and legal changes that happen over time. Marshall also moves from the easy and light topics to the heavy ones as his essay continues. Early on he is talking about the drafting of the Constitution, then he moves into the Civil War. Both of these methods make the essay more impactful for the reader. “Contemporary Americans” have a lot to earn from Thurgood Marshall here. In his eyes The Constitution does not deserve the high-praise that it gets. He uses context, logic, and emotion to convey his message, and his presentation facilitates

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