The United States Constitution was created and signed in 1787, almost two hundred and thirty years ago. Although the purpose of The Constitution is to keep America stable, there are still significant differences in how life was in 1787 versus how life is now in America. When The Constitution was written, issues like slavery and equality only for rich white men who owned property were occurring. However, even though America still follows the same Constitution in 2016, all Americans are now seen as equals. In this way, America has undoubtedly changed. “The United State Constitution: A Graphic Adaption” proves that Modern day America is a more accurate depiction of the US constitution than the old America, which was applicable when the constitution was written, by using colors to differentiate the old versus the new.  

On the top of the second page of the comic, there are two side by side pictures. One is of a real compass and the other is of a compass being depicted on a cell phone. The colors that are used in both of these pictures help to differentiate which one is old and which is modern. The picture of the real compass contains dull, brown and dirty white colors. These colors make the picture itself look rusted, unused, and decayed. The colors also make the compass seem faded, as if the idea of the compass itself has faded into history and is no longer seen by modern Americans. The picture of the cell-phone contains the color green, which allows the cell-phone to stand out next to the compass. The color makes the phone look more lively and clean, suggesting that it’s newer than the compass. When compared, the dull colors of the compass versus the vibrant color of the cell-phone represent that the new America is more vibrant than the old America. The vibrancy versus the dullness suggests that the new America is a better depiction of the US constitution than the old America. 

The same colors as the compass are used to represent two pairs of African American hands in handcuffs and a sign that reads, “Votes for Women Government’s Assault on Suffragettes” (Hennessey and McConnell, 203). The colors of this scene are once again, dull, brown, and faded white. The sign about Women seems to have dirt stains on it, which shows how much it has deteriorated since it was in use. Once again, the bland and stained colors of both of these images show the outdatedness of them. With these images, the authors are suggesting that when the Constitution was created, slavery and Women intolerance were apparent. But now, in the modern day America, neither slavery or Women intolerance take place. Because these antiquated ideas of former America have been erased from society, modern America is, once again, a better and more accurate depiction of The Constitution. 

In this next example, rather than using dull colors to represent the old America, the authors use a different tactic. In one panel, a group of minorities, is displayed arguing with a group of American white men. The white men are shielding the American flag from the group of minorities, which once again brings up the issue of inequality, an idea of the old America. In this scene, the group of minorities is colored yellow, whereas the group of American men is colored green. This coloring tactic is used to show the difference between the two groups. Insisting that there is a difference between these two groups implies that they are not equal. Because of the difference in colors, the readers are forced to see the two sides differently. However, in the next panel, two American soldiers are waving the flag and walking towards a group of people. The people have their hands placed over their hearts in respect for the American Flag, which indicates that these people are all respected and considered apart of America. In this scene, the group of Americans consist of people of all genders, religions, and races and they are all shown in a purple color. By being shown as the same color, the authors are implying that, unlike the scene before, these people are all equal. The second scene is a representation of the new America. The new America is shown as more peaceful than the old America, which hints that once again the new America is a better representation of the US Constitution.

The authors of this comic constantly imply that the US Constitution is more similar to the modern values of America than it is two the values of the time period that it was created. The vibrant colors of the modern cell-phone and the peacefulness of the American people who were talked about in the final example, are signs that the authors believe that the new America is a better America. The dull colors of the scenes that represented old America, were made to look outdated and undesirable, which insisted that the authors didn’t agree with the values of old America. Without the colors in this comic, not only would the authors beliefs be unclear, but also the message of the comic, as well. The readers would not have been able to notice the comparison between the old America versus the new America as much, because in this comic, color represents the greatest differentiation between the two. 