The Constitution and its historical significance

Constitution

The most important Amendment to the U.S. Constitution -- and this is probably something that the great majority of Americans would agree with -- is the 1st Amendment (page D-20): it provides all citizens with freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right of people to gather peacefully to protest to the government if they feel their rights have been blocked in some way.

Why is Amendment I so important? First of all, the early colonists came here from England not to have a lot of open space and free land, or for a new adventure, but rather, many, if not most, of the first settlers left England because the Church of England was repressive. In other words, the Pilgrims left Europe for the New World because of religious persecution, and so, when the U.S. Constitution was being written in Philadelphia, an important item on the agenda was to make sure all religions would be not only tolerated, but welcomed.

The right to "freedom of speech" was also important to the young American nation, because in England -- and elsewhere in Europe at that time -- it was not always a guaranteed right that a person could raise his or her voice in protest of an injustice, or even express ideas in public which may not be popular with the majority of people.

Freedom of the press is a vital part of any democracy, because if newspapers, magazines, and journalists who work as freelancers, are not free to research, write, and print information about the government or any other institutions, that government then is basically totalitarian in nature. A government that does not allow the free flow of information to a public that wishes to stay informed is a repressive government.

The Freedom to peaceably assemble -- to protest, or show support for a policy or a person -- is very important in an open society. Only in communist or fascist countries are people not free to gather in public to express positions or feelings.

The Amendment IV is also a key and vital protection for citizens (protection against unreasonable search and seizure). And yet, Amendment VI (page D-20) is probably even more important because it is the foundation for a just society; and that is the right to a fair and speedy trial (and to not be simply thrown in jail indefinitely prior to determining one's guilt of innocence), with a jury of one's peers, and having the right to counsel, and be informed "of the nature and cause of the accusations" against a person, is extremely important in a democracy.

In the Constitution itself (page D-10), Article I, Section 2, is the basic foundation of democracy, in that districts in each state, according to the population of that state, elect Representatives every two years. The states that have the bigger populations of course have the most Representatives; but the important fact of the U.S. House of Representatives is that members must run every two years, so they are necessarily very close to their districts, and not spending too much time in Washington, where they might get out of touch with "average" citizens.