Our whole constitutional heritage rebels at the thought of giving government the power to control men's minds.
Thurgood MarshallRead
I cannot accept this invitation [to celebrate the bicentenial of the Constitution], for I do not believe that the meaning of the Constitution was forever 'fixed' at the Philadelphia Convention... To the contrary, the government they devised was defective from the start. [Progressive]
Interpretation
What this quote means
Thurgood Marshall emphasizes that the Constitution is not a static document and requires continual adaptation to address societal changes.
In this quote, Thurgood Marshall argues against the notion that the Constitution's meaning was permanently set during its drafting at the Philadelphia Convention. He highlights the idea that the Constitution was inherently flawed and must evolve to meet the needs of a changing society, reflecting the belief that legal interpretations must be progressive to effectively address contemporary issues.
Themes
ConstitutionProgressAdaptationSocietyLaw
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on constitutional law, this quote can illustrate the importance of evolving interpretations of legal texts.
More from Thurgood Marshall
All quotes →The United States has been called the melting pot of the world. But it seems to me that the colored man either missed getting into the pot or he got melted down.
Thurgood MarshallRead
When in Gregg v. Georgia the Supreme Court gave its seal of approval to capital punishment, this endorsement was premised on the promise that capital punishment would be administered with fairness and justice. Instead, the promise has become a cruel and empty mockery. If not remedied, the scandalous state of our present system of capital punishment will cast a pall of shame over our society for years to come. We cannot let it continue.
Thurgood MarshallRead
If the First Amendment means anything, it means that a state has no business telling a man, sitting alone in his house, what books he may read or what films he may watch.
Thurgood MarshallRead
In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.
Thurgood MarshallRead
I have a lifetime appointment and I intend to serve it. I expect to die at 110, shot by a jealous husband.
Thurgood MarshallRead
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I am truly free only when all human beings, men and women, are equally free. The freedom of other men, far from negating or limiting my freedom, is, on the contrary, its necessary premise and confirmation.
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This my goodness does to endow the souls of the just more fully with spiritual riches when for my love they are stripped of material goods because they have renounced the world and all its pleasures and even their own will. These are the ones who fatten their souls, enlarging them in the abyss of my charity. Then I become their spiritual provider. The Holy Spirit becomes their servant.
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Before I die many will die with me and they'll deserve it. See you in Hell.
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When we struggle for human rights, for freedom, for dignity, when we feel that it is a ministry of the church to concern itself for those who are hungry, for those who have no schools, for those who are deprived, we are not departing from God's promise. He comes to free us from sin, and the church knows that sin's consequences are all such injustices and abuses. The church knows it is saving the world when it undertakes to speak also of such things.
Oscar RomeroRead