Political Quotes

Charles Sumner: “Let the people change, and the Constitution will change also; for the Constitution is but the shadow, while the people…”

On the record
Let the people change, and the Constitution will change also; for the Constitution is but the shadow, while the people are the substance.
Said by
Charles Sumner
Massachusetts

Editor's note · Context

Sumner believes that as society evolves, so too will the interpretation of the Constitution.

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Opening of United States courts to colored, XI. 389.

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