Read the statement on the US Constitution delivered by Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African American justice on the Supreme Court.
[T]he government they [the founders] devised was defective from the start, requiring several amendments, a civil war, and momentous social transformation to attain the system of constitutional government, and its respect for individual freedoms, and human rights, we hold fundamental today.”
–Thurgood Marshall, May 6, 1987
Which best describes Justice Marshall’s view of the United States government?
A.It has not required any changes over the years.
B.It has promoted equal opportunity for all from the start.
C.It has not always upheld the ideals of the Constitution.
D.It was flawed from the beginning and cannot be fixed.