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→Living Constitution
''Also see Woodrow Wilson's lasting impact on the [[U.S. Constitution]]: [[Seventeenth Amendment]]''
''Also see Woodrow Wilson's lasting impact on the [[U.S. Constitution]]: [[Seventeenth Amendment]]''
Wilson argued for a “[[Living Constitution]]” that “must be Darwinian in structure and in practice.” Government for him was “not a machine but a living thing. . . .It is modified by its environment, necessitated by its task, shaped to its functions by the sheer pressure of life.” He noted that the Framers "followed Newton" as they created the Constitution, making a comparison to planets in orbit around the sun. Interestingly enough, the Framers used that same analogy during the [[Constitutional Convention]].<ref>[http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/debates_607.asp Madison Debates, June 7]</ref><ref>[http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/debates_608.asp Madison Debates, June 8]</ref>
Wilson argued for a “[[Living Constitution]]” that “must be [[Darwinian]] in structure and in practice.” Government for him was “not a machine but a living thing. . . .It is modified by its environment, necessitated by its task, shaped to its functions by the sheer pressure of life.” He noted that the Framers "followed Newton" as they created the Constitution, making a comparison to planets in orbit around the sun. Interestingly enough, the Framers used that same analogy during the [[Constitutional Convention]].<ref>[http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/debates_607.asp Madison Debates, June 7]</ref><ref>[http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/debates_608.asp Madison Debates, June 8]</ref>
Wilson believed that the citizen must “marry his interests to the state.” Wilson, therefore, dismissed the Declaration's assertion that rights are endowed by our Creator. Wilson lectured that, “If you want to understand the real Declaration of Independence, do not repeat the preface.” “The rhetorical introduction,” he declared, “is the least part of it.”
Wilson believed that the citizen must “marry his interests to the state.” Wilson, therefore, dismissed the Declaration's assertion that rights are endowed by our Creator. Wilson lectured that, “If you want to understand the real Declaration of Independence, do not repeat the preface.” “The rhetorical introduction,” he declared, “is the least part of it.”