Article Five, clause two to the United State Constitution states, "under the Authority of the United States, the Constitution shall be the supreme law of the land." More than two hundred years after its ratification, the Constitution is still the operating charter of the United States. Many such documents throughout history have either failed or have outgrown its developing societies. But there is one unique aspect of the United States Constitution that separates it from all other such documents, it is neither self-explanatory nor a comprehensive description of our constitutional rules (Burns 42). It is because of the Constitutions vagueness that our government is able to interpret it to fit our developing society. Many believe the Constitution has become irrelevant because no guiding principles seem to exist. Thomas Jefferson once said, "The Constitution belongs to the living and not the dead" (Malone 130). Accordingly, it is often referred to as a "living" document because of its regular alteration and reexamination; therefore, the Constitution has not become irrelevant in defining the goals of the American Government. This will be shown by examining how the Constitution ens

Judicial power extends to all cases in which law and equity arise under the Constitution. The Supreme Court consists of eight associate justices and the chief justice, all appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate. Members of the Court are appointed for life terms and can be removed only by resignation or impeachment (Chase 10).

In order to be a Representative, one must be twenty-five years of age or older, a United States citizen for at least seven years, and reside in the state from which he is elected (Irving 180). On the other hand, Senators must have attained the age of thirty years, be a citizen for at least nine years, and also reside in the state for which he is elected. While Representatives serve two-year terms, Senators serve six-year terms (Irving 180).

The Constitution is extremely ambiguous concerning individual rights and personal freedoms of man. It does, however, prohibit the passage of ex post facto laws, which punish people for an act they committed before such an act was illegal. It disallows bills of attainder, which punish offenders without a trial, and it also prevents suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, which requires a detained man to be notified of the offense he committed (Burns 363). The Constitution also prohibits religious qualifications for seeking and holding a governmental office, and it secures the right of a trial by jury of peers in a criminal case (Adams 236).

Throughout United States history the Supreme Court has been called upon to interpret the Constitution in one or two possible ways. First, a "strict constitution" of natural law, which upholds the belief that the states are vested with ultimate governmental authority, while the federal government should only have secondary authority. Second, a less strict, more federalist position, which maintains that the Constitution, due to a broad interpretation, hints toward implied powers in the central government. The second view was especially prominent from 1801 to 1835, under chief justice John Marshall (Chase 25).

Although people argue that the Constitution is irrelevant today because it doesn't properly define the goals of American government, the Constitution has not become irrelevant, and it is still the driving force behind our society. American's idea of rights are shaped daily by the Bill of Rights and the acts that Congress is prohibited to amend. The Constitutional rights will always pertain to the needs of society, although society changes from generation to generation. The Founders knew the Constitution would need to develop and change with society, which explains its vagueness and why each individual

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