Woodrow recognized that the constitution is best understood not as a machine at all but as a living thing. what he did not add was that it's a living thing with no body or mind, no moving parts or organs or spirit separate from the bodies and minds and spirits of the people themselves, people whose constant vigilance—and i noticed when i was coming into the building [national archives] that statement "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty," appropriate to have on the archives – people whose constant vigilance is the lifeblood of constitutional survival. explain in about 50 words what the passage means.

In 1908 Woodrow Wilson wrote Constitutional Government in the United States. In it, he argued that we should see the Constitution as something that changes with the needs of the people, something that allows reforms. He believed the government should be looked at "under the theory of organic life.""Accountable to Darwin, not to Newton." In other words, something that should evolve, not be looked at as a non-bending,non-changing set of rules. Eternal vigilance is needed to watch for changes that may not serve the good of the people. Things can slip over time in tiny increments that may not be noticed until things are far off the path. This passage seems to infer that we should watch for those "Darwinian" changes to assure that they do not take us off the path to liberty.