
Hennessey’s love for history came from the classes he took at the University of Syracuse. Hennessey says that college forced him out of his comfort zone as a writer and forced him to learn about perspectives in history he never thought about.  Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell’s “The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation” is a comic about how the preamble, the first part of the Constitution, no longer applies to the 1700’s society and needs to be updated, or amended, because the development of our country has made it outdated. When the Constitution was written in 1787, only one type of person had power and it was white, rich males. However, times have changed and culture nowadays calls for equality for all people, not just white males. The comic uses different types of visual arts to display the idea of our country fighting the inequalities from the old preamble and transforming into a more modern country that includes everyone in the saying “We the People”. Hennessey and McConnell are able to exhibit the concept of our society growing through the use of color theory. Color theory is used through the juxtaposition of dull, old and bright, new colors in panel 3-4. 

The concept of color scheme is used throughout panel 3-4 in many different ways. The dull colors are used for the oppressed and bright colors represent the oppressors. The back end of the oppressed, which consist of slaves, women, and elderly, is shown in a darker color and the closer it gets to the oppressors it becomes a brighter color. The front figure, Father Time, is shown with more chilling beige than the rest because he is leading the charge for change in society and is striking fear in the male dominated side. The side with the oppressors is in the brighter colors, which represents a modern tone, because for that time period a white male dominated culture was considered modern.  However, the “modern” side is starting to turn to a dull color because the society is changing and women and slaves are fighting for equality which means men dominated society is becoming a thing of the past. The culture that men are use too is starting to disappear which is why they have frightened looks on their faces because they do not want change and want their version of America to stay as it is. Also, the flag is looked in a safe on the side with men because they are trying to stay in power and do not want other races and genders to be equal with them.

The purpose of panel 4 is to show the change in America and a new society that includes everyone in it. Majority of the panel is in bright colors to represent a modern culture that has the same values of equality for all as the culture we live in today. Coming out of the safe are two army veterans holding an updated flag compared to the flag that was being locked up in panel 4. In the background of panel 4 is all different types of ethnicity and genders that modern culture applies to nowadays. Everyone in the background is represented in the blue and green color to help show the updated, modern culture that we live in. The comic shows everyone is equal and shares the same amount of power. This idea of equality is clarified through the use of the captions in panel 4 because it specifies that amendments were made to help create a society that has the same values we have today. The American flag is the brightest figure because it represents the equality our society has nowadays and with the people in the background saluting the flag it means that the agree with what the representation of the flag. 

The motif of our country growing over time is expressed through all the captions and pictures throughout the whole comic. For example, the splash page of panel 1 is all images that represent how the preamble still applies to our society. It shows how our society still follows the articles that were written in the 1760’s and how the government still places importance on the rules that were in place. Moreover, the motif places the importance of remembering our history as a country through the use of different images and panels. Example of this is shown in panel 1 and panel 2 between the juxtaposition of the compasses. Panel 1 is an image of an old compass that would be used in the 1700’s while panel 2 is a more recent compass or GPS. It shows how the preamble must be updated just like how technology is updated consistently around us. Furthermore, panel 5 demonstrates the importance of remembering our history, with beige colors, through the captions and that talk about how the preamble is a reminder of our dark times as a country and the images show the dark times with the pictures of slavery and women not being treated equal to men. 

Overall, this comic is about the importance of the Preamble and Constitution staying up-to-date with society and making sure that it includes all citizens. The comic explains how majority of the Preamble still applies to the modern culture through images in panel 1, but it also explains how it was important for it to become updated because it only protected white males of upper class when in reality it needs to include everyone in our society. The comic places importance on remembering our history as a country to help us become a better as a whole. Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell use color to express the concept of our country consistently growing and that the rules in place need to be flexible and fit with each generations way of society. When the Constitution is no longer being amended and not keeping up with changes it creates a group of people becoming too powerful and another group being oppressed; therefore, we must make sure that our government always has all of our best interests in and protects us as a whole. 
