The United States has something that no other country has and that is the Supreme Court. A team of nine justices deliberate cases in private. They follow a 200-year-old document, the Constitution, which determines their rulings. All justices must utilize the constitution to keep the legislative and executive branches in control. This is called checks and balances.
Stated in the video, the Supreme Court would not work if the American people didn't trust the system. In 1801, Chief Justice John Marshall used the highest power of the Supreme Court to deny an act of Congress. This helped the Supreme Court be seen as an equal part of the government. But, that doesn't mean the Supreme Court always made correct decisions.
When it came to the issue of slavery, the nation was divided and the Supreme Court made a decision that would haunt America for centuries to come. Dred Scott, a slave, freed himself based on an act of Congress, but the Supreme Court decided that Scott was not, in fact, free and that black people would never be considered citizens.
After the Civil War, the Constitution was amended to define citizenship and ban slavery, among other amendments. The Supreme Court saw its wrongs and made things right.
We the People was created when the people included white men and no one else. Now, the Supreme Court must take into consideration who the Constitution was written for and the time period it was written in. Times have changed and that is how the Constitution is interpreted in the current time.
As Americans, I think it is necessary for us to look at our past and use it so that we do not repeat the bad parts of history. In the grand scheme of things, the Constitution is an old document, but we must interpret it through a modern lens and the Supreme Court does just that.
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