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The Constitution of the United States: Contemporary Ratification | Teaching American History

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Justice William Brennan (1906–1997), who was appointed to the Court in 1956 by President Eisenhower, was the architect of some of the most important decisions of the Warren Court (1953–1969) and one of the most influential associate justices in Supreme Court history. In response to Ed Meese’s speech calling for “originalist” interpretations of the Constitution, Brennan offered a full-throated defense of living constitutionalism. In Brennan’s view, originalism was “little more than arrogance cloaked as humility” because it was impossible to know how the authors of the Constitution would have responded to particular circumstances today. The Constitution, he said, contained “majestic generalities and ennobling pronouncements” that “are both luminous and obscure.” Because of the inherent ambiguities of the text, justices must interpret the Constitution “as twentieth-century Americans,” asking “what do the words of the text mean in our time?” I am deeply grateful for the invitation to parti

Edited and introduced by Joshua Dunn Introduction Justice William Brennan (1906–1997), who was appointed to the Court in 1956 by President Eisenhower, was the architect of some of the most important decisions of the Warren Court (1953–1969) and one of the most influential associate justices in Supreme Court history. In response to Ed Meese’s speech calling for “originalist” interpretations of the Constitution, Brennan offered a full-throated defense of living constitutionalism. In Brennan’s view, originalism was “little more than arrogance cloaked as humility” because it was impossible to know

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