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THE CONSTITUTION: WHY WAS THE TITLE CHANGED?
>When I was in the 7th grade I asked my teacher why the title to the
>Constitution had been changed and she was unable to answer me. I
ask you
>the same question now.
>Whenever I see a copy of the Constitution in our schools, this is is how
it
>appears:
>" THE CONSTITUTION of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA " When I
look at an
>exact replica I see this: " THE CONSTITUTION of the united STATES
of
>AMERICA " I feel that this is an important difference and it affects the
>way people think about it on a level that most are not aware of. What
do
>you think?
I think you are right. At the beginning of this nation, the importance of a
separation of powers between the federal and the state governments
was much more on the minds of the Founders than it is on people's
minds today. Since those times, there has been a steady movement
towards consolidation that Jefferson was quite aware of in his time, and
that he spoke out against all his life. I recommend you look at the
section on my website titled, "Against Consolidated Government" at:
http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jeff1060.htm