Five decades ago, originalism wasn’t even an -ism. In the academy, at the bar, and on the courts, the Constitution was interpreted as a living, breathing document. Contemporary values mattered more than text, history, and tradition. Yet today, as we celebrate the Constitution’s 238th birthday, originalism is now the dominant approach — on the left and the right — to interpret the Constitution.
Even Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said during her confirmation hearing, “I believe that the Constitution is fixed in its meaning” and that looking to “original public meaning” is “a limitation on my authority to import my own policy.” Still, critics charge that lawyers and judges, lacking Ph.D.s, are not qualified to perform historical research and that originalism is partisan and lacking in any sort of neutrality. These claims do not hold up.
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