Word: constitutionalized
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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"A constitution," said Justice Benjamin Cardozo, "states, or ought to state, not rules for the passing hour but principles for an expanding future." In the U.S., most state constitutions pay no heed to Cardozo's dictum.
Instead, most begin by floridly invoking the help of what at least one refers to as "the Great Legislator of the Universe." From there, they wander. A wordy example is Louisiana's 1,000-page backbreaker, which gets into such minute areas as declaring Huey Long's birthday...
Perhaps as worthwhile as any other achievement is the fact that the new constitution is only 23,000 words long -v. 47,000 in the old one. Under the new provisions, citizens were explicitly given standing to sue the state for the first time. The diverse local welfare programs will...
The clause prohibited New York from aiding "any institution of learning wholly or in part under the direction or control of any religious denomination." The new constitution opens the door to aid to private schools, religious or otherwise, so long as their rolls are open to persons of any race...
On balance, Bobby Kennedy liked the new constitution, so did the AFL-CIO state executive. New York's Roman Catholic archdiocese was delighted, since its parochial school system is in bad financial straits. But all three of New York City's major dailies came out against it. So...