1000 results for “Constitution”.
Constitution
The United States Constitution is based on the self-interest view of human nature. It was created to provide people with a large number of freedoms. hen the Founding Fathers sat down to write it, they carefully considered all the issues that they and their fellow countrymen had faced when they were still in England, before they came to America to have the freedoms they wanted (Billias, 2009). Because they knew what it was like to be oppressed, they also knew they could not operate the United States that way and have the people accept it. If they tried to turn the New orld into what they had just left behind, it would be of no benefit to anyone involved (Pritchett, 1959). ith that in mind, the Constitution was written to show that all men were created equal and that they had certain rights that were given to them simply because…
Works Cited
Billias, George (2009). American constitutionalism heard round the world, 1776-1989: a global perspective. New York: New York University Press. Print.
Maier, Pauline (2010). Ratification: the people debate the Constitution, 1787-1788. New York: Simon & Schuster. Print.
Pritchett, C. Herman (1959). The American Constitution. New York: McGraw-Hill. Print.
Constitution for a Club
Rules and laws are a vital component of any civilized society. No human community can function effectively without them. All areas of life are governed by some sort of rule. In general society, for example, there are governmental laws in the form of the constitution and the law. There are also rules in the workplace and at school, as well as in less formal environments such as the family. The purpose of rules and laws is to help everybody understand what is necessary for the community as a whole to function effectively. Breaking laws on a regular basis, such as arriving late for work on a regular basis, creates a situation in which the order and effectiveness of that community is broken. It generally leads to punishment for the individual in order to restore order to the community. Whenever human beings are together and form a community…
As a result, the ill of Rights was implemented into the Constitution, to address the concerns of anti-federalists. While at the same time, it gave the federalists a strong central government that could adjust with: the various changes. This is significant, because it shows how the Constitution is a working document that seeks to provide a balance between: personal freedoms and the need to protect the nation. In many ways, one could argue that this is what makes it such an admired document. As it is bridging the various political divides together, to create a form of government that will address both viewpoints.
ibliography
"A Short History of the Constitution for the United States." arefoots World. Last modified July 4, 2006, http://www.barefootsworld.net/consti15.html
"The Constitution." Charters of Freedom. Last modified 2009,
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_history.html
"Constitutional Convention." ritancia. Last modified 2009, http://www.britannica.com/Echecked/topic/134275/Constitutional-Convention
"The Constitution an Enduring Document." America.gov. Last modified May 29, 2008,
http://www.america.gov/st/usg-english/2008/May/20080624214615eaifas0.8420832.html
"Constitution of the United States-Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists." Net…
Bibliography
"A Short History of the Constitution for the United States." Barefoots World. Last modified July 4, 2006, http://www.barefootsworld.net/consti15.html
"The Constitution." Charters of Freedom. Last modified 2009,
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_history.html
"Constitutional Convention." Britancia. Last modified 2009, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/134275/Constitutional-Convention
Male voters had to own property. Thus voting was still the province of land-holding elites rather than all the people under the rule of constitutional, national, and state law. The fact that Senators were appointed by the state legislature not only allocated more rights to the states as desired by Southerners, but also further filtered the popular voice, as expressed in the House of Representatives. The Electoral College system also filtered access to power via the voting box when it came to voting for the executive authority. "The large states got proportional strength in the number of delegates, the state legislatures got the right of selecting delegates, and the House the right to choose the president in the event no candidate received a majority of electoral votes." (NARA, 2004)
The Electoral College system again underlines the republican, or filtered rather than pure democratic system of governance, as a chief executive…
Works Cited
NARA. (November 28, 2004) "A More Perfect Union:
The Creation of the U.S. Constitution." Retrieved on 28 Nov 2004 at http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/charters/print_friendly.html?page=constitution_history_content.html&title=NARA%20%7C%20The%20Constitution%20of%20the%20United%20States%3A%20A%20History.Web version of "The U.S. Constitution: A History." Based on the Introduction by Roger a. Bruns to a More Perfect Union: The Creation of the United States Constitution. Washington, DC: Published for the National Archives and Records Administration by the National Archives Trust Fund Board, 1986. 33
Welch, S., Gruhl, J., Comer, J., Rigdon, S., & Ambrosius, M. Understanding American Government. Sixth Edition, pp. 24-51.
Constitution
Collective Bargaining -- Labor relations Topic: constitution a national union Essay Question: What importance constitution a national union? How dictate internal government procedures union? Essay 250 words length APA format.
What is the importance of the constitution of a national union? How does it dictate the internal government and procedures of the union?
The constitution of a national union dictates the rules that member unions must follow if these branches are to become a part of the larger organization. It sets standards for membership both to protect individual members as well as to protect the reputation of the union itself. For example, a union constitution defines what type of worker it represents and the standards for membership for individual employees as well as for representative affiliate organizations. It also defines membership dues and other concerns that an employee would have upon becoming a member of the union (Constitution and by-laws, 2013, Providence…
References
Constitution and by-laws. (2013). Providence Teacher's Union: AFT. AFL-CIO. Retrieved from:
http://www.proteun.org/by-laws.htm
Sloane, A.A. & Witney, F. (2010). Labor relations (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice
Hall.
Constitution / Democracy
For a fully-functioning democracy to work well as a government process, one must remember that the requirement of checks and balances must be in place, otherwise the threat of an oligarchy or -- at worst case scenario -- a tyranny can displace said democracy. The creation of the Bill of ights and the formation of the U.S. Constitution, then, is an inevitable process and the document that constitutes the Constitution itself is necessary for judicial process to continue as a branch of government. That is, the argument for a written Constitution is a sound basis for a functioning democracy. Of course, there are setbacks to this belief in the system, but overall the positives far outweigh the negatives.
In Dahl's description of Madisonian democracy, the theory of a properly-functioning democracy hinges upon a number of hypotheses. All of the hypotheses are dependent on the first, that "if unrestrained by…
References
Dahl, Robert. "Madisonian Democracy."
Dahl, Robert. "Decision-Making in a Democracy."
Waldron, Jeremy. "A Right-Based Critique of Constitutional Right."
The U.S. Constitution also included many of those Magna Carta rights from the first state constitutions. Equally important in developing the rights delineated in the Bill of Rights was another 17th century English document, the 1689 English Bill of Rights, which limited power of the monarch, mandated free elections, gave the citizens the right to petition laws they deemed unjust, and created the concept of a system of checks and balances by instituting Parliamentary checks on the monarch's power and authority ("Origins and Foundations of American Government," Everyday Civics, Virginia Department of Education). "The clause in the English Bill of Rights prohibiting excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishments was taken over, virtually word for word, in the Virginia Bill of Rights of 1776 and ultimately became the 8th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States" ("Bill of Rights," American Presidency, 2006)
The specific clauses of the 1689 English Bill…
Works Cited
Bill of Rights." American Presidency. Scholastic Library Publishing, Inc. 2006.
Dec 2007. http://aolsearch.aol.com/aol/search?invocationType=topsearchbox.search&query=English+Bill+of+Rights+American+Constitution
Magna Carta and American Law." The Baronial Order of Magna Charta. 2 Feb 2003.
Dec 2007. http://www.magnacharta.com/articles/article04.htm
Constitution gave Congress the power of legislation. In fact, its major function is to make laws. Essentially, Congress converts public will into public policy by way of law. The Constitution provides some rules to which Congress must adhere throughout the legislative process however; over the years there have been additions and modifications to the procedure. Currently, there is debate over how to reform the legislative process.
The general legislative process is set forth in the Constitution. However, as with other aspects of government, the Framers purposely structured it in this manner so as to allow the American people an opportunity to fill in the details of the outline. One of the most important powers delegated to the House is the ability to raise revenue. The Constitution states that a bill must be approved in both chambers and then presented to the president. In the case of a presidential veto, Congress may…
References
Wilson, James Q. & Dilulio, John, J. (1998). American Government. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Company.
Constitution Debates
During the intellectual debate over the Constitution, the Anti-Federalist case against the Federalists' proposed system of checks and balances was made in a number of different ways. It is worth understanding the logic of the Anti-Federalists' arguments before we turn to the Federalist response to those arguments.
A first case made against checks and balances is an obvious one: that it diminishes direct accountability to the people on the part of the government itself. This is, of course, not only a case to be made against the system of checks and balances but a charge to be made against certain features of the Constitution overall: when we ask (for example) what was the intended purpose of the Electoral College, it is precisely this -- that by placing a symbolic entity between the great mass of the electorate and the executive authority that is elected, there might be some way of…
The fact that arrested criminals are routinely read Miranda rights, informing them of their rights under the Fifth Amendment provides another example of a country concerned about justice.
The framers included the phrases "insure domestic tranquility," "provide for the common defense," "promote the general welfare," and "secure the blessings of liberty" to make sure that the Federal government had the power to exercise general police powers and engage in warfare.
Therefore, the powers to establish federal felonies and to declare war, which are granted to the Congress under Article I, 8, help further all of these goals. The power to declare felonies helps protect citizens, ensuring domestic tranquility, promoting the general welfare, providing for the common defense, and securing the blessings of liberty. A good example of those powers is the Violence Against Women Act, which helps make sure that American women have actual rights, not simply technical rights. Likewise, the…
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…
" Both men's philosophies weighed heavily on the Constitution of the United States, although Jefferson's viewpoints were much more evident due to his proximity and availability to those who were creating such a document. hat is interesting to note, is that most of the signers of the Constitution were of the belief that the Constitution was not a perfect document. Jefferson believed that it was an imperfect writing, and in fact he wrote, "This constitution was formed when we were new and unexperienced in the science of government...no wonder then that time and trial have discovered very capital defects in it." (Jefferson 1979-page 28)
That such a document could have survived the test of time and governed a free nation as effectively as it has for over two hundred years shows that, while there may have indeed been defects contained therein, it was still a remarkable and inspired work.
orks Cited
Mansfield, Harvey…
Works Cited
Mansfield, Harvey C. Jr., Ed. (1979) Selected Writings Jefferson, Wheeling, Illinois: Harlan Davidson, Inc.
Constitution
There were a variety of political and economic factors that made the ratification of the U.S. Constitution a difficult and lengthy process. Of these, one of the largest areas of contention centered around the debate between the Federalists and the Antifederalists. The Federals supported ratification because they believed it was necessary to have a strong central authority. ut the Antifderalists were concerned that the Constitution would give the president too much power, set up federal courts that would encroach on the more responsive local system, and create a Congress so small that it would make it difficult for representation of large constituencies. The Antifederalists feared that centralized power would be expanded and abused over time. Mistrust of government power stemmed from the colonial experience under ritish rule.
The Antifederalists refused to support the Constitution with the incorporate of a ill of Rights. They believed the Constitution specified only what the government…
Bibliography
Antiffederalists." The Reader's Companion to American History. 18 May 2004. http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/rcah/html/ah_004200_antifederali.htm
The Bill of Rights: a Brief History." ACLU Briefing Paper. 18 May 2005. http://archive.aclu.org/library/pbp9.html
That with the limitations articulated in the constitution that gives the people some declarative authority in how government is suppose to run then the common man would feel his or her best interest would be represented (Brandes 2009).
That is, in part, the reason why the language for the preamble was so carefully worded, to seem all-inclusive. This all inclusiveness though, also inherently, and at the time, did not include people of color or really speak to the rights of women. These foundational elements and principals of the appearance of equality has, hence, set the precedent not only for the formation of the nation, but for the nations identity as well (Amar 2011).
Certain provisions were made for amending the constitution with particular procedures that must be adhered to. In order to propose an amendment, two thirds of both houses of Congress must vote to propose the amendment of two thirds…
References
Amar, Akhil. America's Lived Constitution. The Yale Law Journal, 120.7 (2011):
1743-1783.
Brandes, Tamar. Rethinking Equality: National Identity and Language Rights in The United States. Texas Hispanic Journal of Law & Policy, 23.4 (2009):
453-488.
Lewis felt that the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 law were in violation of the second amendment. This law prevented convicted felons from possessing firearms. However the court observed that since convicted felons weren't allowed a large number of their fundamental rights such as voting, holding office or serving on a jury. Therefore they felt that the firearm arm law did not violate the constitution as it was not based upon the constitution nor did they violate liberties set by the constitution.
Impact on people
The second amendment has had a lot of impact on the American public. It has divided them. There are some who actually doubt the value of the amendment. Some people are for gun control as they believe it to be the cause of rising crime. People believed that the second amendment isn't worth the fundamental rights. They believe that it has caused…
Bibliography
The Right to Keep and Bear Arms under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments:the Framers' Intent and Supreme Court Jurisprudence, Stephen P. Halbrook, 5 Journal on Firearms and Public Policy 7-28,1993
The right to bear arms: the development of the American experience, John Levin,1971
The Second Amendment and the Personal Right to Arms, William Van Alstyne, 1994
The Second Amendment, Political Liberty and the Right to Self-Preservation, Nelson Lund, 1987
" (Berns, 28). The assertion that these rights are innate places them before the structuring of society and government, and makes the task for a society built out of these principles to find some way to attain them.
This broad perspective sets the stage for Berns' handling of the segments of society that were understood to be unworthy or unwilling to enter into the social contract of the United States. The Tories are the first subset of colonial society that Berns addresses. To him, they occupy a unique place in the discussion of constituting the people of the United States because they categorically opposed the premises of the United States upon philosophical or political grounds. He notes that many were loyalists to the crown simply for personal and economic reasons and others for religious reasons -- like the Quakers -- but the most interesting, to Berns, are those who were dedicated…
Works Cited
Berns, Walter. Taking the Constitution Seriously. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987.
In addition it was agreed that issues of federal budget, revenue and taxation would originate with the House of Representatives.
The Great Compromise issued in a spirit of success to the convention and essentially ended the division between the small and large states. However, it did nothing to alleviate the pending debate between the Federalist and the Anti-Federalist. Decisions on how much power to give to the people and to the government had yet to be debated. Divisions started to arise over such issues as whether federal officials should be elected indirectly or from a broad electoral base and whether western territories should be excluded or allowed to eventually become states. Further divisions developed on questions of the powers and election procedures for the President and what type of role the federal courts should play.
From these debates and resulting compromises in which ensued, a committee was formed to draft a…
Bibliography
Breyer, Stephen. Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution. Knopf Publishing Group, 2006.
Hamilton, Alexander, Madison, James and John Jay. Federalist Papers. (Clinton Rossiter, Ed.) New York: Mass Market Paperback, 2003.
Gibson, Alan Ray. Interpreting the Founding: Guide to the Enduring Debates Over the Origins and Foundations of the American Republic. Manhattan: University Press of Kansas, 2006.
Ketcham, Ralph (Editor). The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates. New York: Penguin Group, USA, 2003.
Each state and many banks eventually developed their own currencies, greatly complicating trade and issues of security, both through increased potential for fraud and a lack of reliable knowledge about the strength of a particular currency at any given time. These issues were seen as largely responsible for a series of financial crises in the nineteenth century, and even in part for the Great Depression. The establishment of a uniform national currency was not established via a Constitutional amendment, but it is hard to imagine accepting anything else today.
Section V: Judicial Developments
Other than the judicial interpretation of the taxation powers granted to Congress which led to the ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment as detailed above, judicial development concerning Congress' powers to tax and to mint money has been significantly eclipsed by legislative changes. In fact, there are some significant legal questions concerning the Federal eserve System and its mixture…
References
Avalon Project. (2008). "The Federalist Papers." Yale Law School. Accessed 30 July 2009. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/fed.asp
Collier, C. (1987). Decision in Philadelphia: The Constitutional Convention of 1787. new York: Ballantine.
Legal Information Institute. The U.S. Constitution. Cornell University Law School. Accessed 30 July 2009. http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/index.html
Reed, A. (2009). "Teens arrested in counterfeiting case." WCNC.com. 10 July. Accessed 30 July 2009. http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/stories/wcnc-071009-sjf-counterfeitingkids.29ec86a9.html
Government corruption is encouraged by unrestrained financial contributions by lobbying groups.
Members of Congress continue to force legislation that has proven to be fraudulent, such as the Cap and Trade legislation.
An inspector general was improperly fired, which violated a law he co-authored.
Members of Congress and other leaders show a tendency to ignore questions regarding these issues by the public.
Legislation such as the U.S. Patriot Act tends to ignore certain provisions by the Constitution. By signing it into law, the president and lawmakers are therefore in violation of the Constitution.
Amendment IV, for example, state the right of citizens to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures. The Patriot Act, on the other hand, provides government with the power to search and seize without probable cause when any suspicion of terrorist occurs.
Amendment VI holds that the accused in all criminal cases have the right to a speedy and public trial, with an impartial…
References
CCAPA. (2011). Patriot Act vs. Constitution. Retrieved from: http://www.scn.org/ccapa/pa-vs.-const.html
Rosner, A. (2011). Letter to the Editor: Why is the Supreme Court Failing to uphold the Constitution? The Post & Email. Retrieved from: http://www.thepostemail.com/2010/04/06/why-is-the-supreme-court-failing-to-uphold-the-constitution/
The Virginia debates over ratification highlight two key issues which are still subject to debate today: the power of the state vs. The power of the government and whether more government enhances our liberties or suppresses them. Anti-federalists pointed to taxation by both state and federal bodies as an example of the "dangerous principles" that the constitution could represent (Graebner and Richards 143). Federalists in turn defended the document by announcing, "there is no quarrel between government and liberty; the former is the protector and shield of the latter" (Graebner and Richards 144). In today's political landscape, small government conservatives often clash with liberals who advocate expanding services and benefits available to the populace.
Our government today still struggles to reconcile the voice of the people, with the interests of the elite. "Gentleman politicians" are more common than those from the working, or even middle-class. e tend to elect politicians, similar…
Works Cited
Graebner, William, and Leonard L. Richards. The American Record: Images of the Nation's past.
Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2006.
(5)
Cogan, 473)
Cogan's point is that the collective conscience of the nation changed from one that demanded credibility through propertied rights to one that assumed credibility based on inalienable rights, such as those discussed in much earlier constitutional points.
he most foundational and frequently ignored constitutional amendment that enfranchises people, who had previously been disenfranchised is the one that universalizes the voting age to 18, the 26th.
Historians afforded few pages to the sporadic youth suffrage struggle that prevailed in the United States for more than 100 years. herefore, the granting of teenage suffrage by way of the wenty-sixth Amendment, in 1971, aroused contemporary national interest in the "sudden" enfranchisement of 18- to 20-year-olds.
Cultice xi)
his amendment not only marks a change in the collective idea of what makes a person worthy of voice, but also demonstrates one of the first attempts to enforce the idea that an individual of a certain age should…
This amendment not only marks a change in the collective idea of what makes a person worthy of voice, but also demonstrates one of the first attempts to enforce the idea that an individual of a certain age should have universal rights. The point being made is that this was not as assumed a new movement but one that has historical a historical basis.
This amendment was actually the fourth to the constitution that enlarged the voting pool, as the 15th amendment (1869) gave blacks the right to vote at least in a legal sense, the 19th (1920) gave the vote to women and the 23rd (1960) gave the right for District of Colombian citizens to vote for presidential candidates.
Cultice 215) it would seem strange that such a change took so long, as it was clear much earlier that legal issues of responsibility, such as the age of consent and other responsibility for actions issues were, on a state and federal level
Constitution, Marriage as an Institution Between Man and Woman
Marriage is defined as a social binding, under which a woman and man make a decision to live like a wife and husband through religious ceremonies and legal commitments. For along time this is the way marriage has been described, however in the present world man and man, as well as woman and woman unions are fighting for legal inclusion in the constitution, to as identified as legitimate marriages (Bhikkhu, (2005).
Supporting the Amendments
When dealing with woman to woman union or gay marriage we are discussion about a very minute fraction of this country's population. Very small fractions of individuals in this country practice these unfamiliar unions. The highest percentages of people in this country are straight. Individuals who are interested in gay relationships or 'marriage' they should do so without taking away the original, special, and initial meaning of the term marriage.…
References
Bhikkhu, M. (2005). Will gay marriage be allowed by Buddhists in Thailand? Retrieved on 26th November, 2009 from http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=70,1429,0,0 .
Craig, A.R., & Clyde, W. (2007). Clearly homophobia is at the heart of blanket opposition to gay rights policies. The politics of same-sex marriage. Chicago; University of Chicago Press.
Kuefler, M. (2007). The Marriage Revolution in Late Antiquity. Journal of Family History.Vol (32): 343 -- 370.
Most of which are relating back to upholding or changing previous Court decisions and Civil ights legislation, regarding the way it is upheld today in specific cases. One case in particular, Gomez-Perez v. Potter, is a case which deals with the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and what employers can do to protect themselves against former employees suing them for breach of this code. The ADEA states that employers cannot in any way retaliate former employees who are now seeking legal action, if the were wrongfully terminated, (Okamura, 2007). This case in particular, deals with a 45-year-old employee who is suing her employers at the United States Postal Service for not granting her a transfer request because of what she is deeming age discrimination. Modern day Civil ights cases seem to be cases questioning earlier Civil ights litigation and decisions, rather than the cases of the 1950's and…
References
Harris, Samantha. "Speech Code of the Month: University of Utah." Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). http://www.thefire.org/index.php/article/8947.html . February 14, 2008.
Okamura, Angela. "Supreme Court to hear Civil Rights Cases this Term. www.civilrights.org.
The Preamble to the Constitution establishes the tone of the remainder of the document, underscoring the most important feature of a government that is empowered by the will of the people. “We the people,” the first three words of the Preamble, is one of the most important phrases in American political history. With the simple but all-important first person plural pronoun, the framers begin with a resounding sense of what it takes to create a government that is inclusive and collaborative. Yet American history and politics has continually shown that “we the people” have grappled with the government—in one case leading to war--in order to manifest the principles of “liberty” and other promises the framers had made. When the Constitution was ratified, “we the people” referred only to white males. “We the people” has meant different things at different times, depending not just on demographics but also on changing social norms…
Is the Constitution Still Relevant? No—What Matters is Who Has the Power to Decide What the Constitution Means The Constitution is relevant when people want it to be, and irrelevant when they do not want it to be. For instance, everyone become a Constitutionalist when he starts arguing that habeas corpus (Article I), due process (5th and 14th Amendments) and freedom of speech (1st Amendment) are important. But at other times people argue that gun rights (2nd Amendment) should be overturned and arms confiscated and banned, or that safety should come before the right to privacy (3rd, 4th and 5th Amendments). Thus, people are generally torn about what parts of the Constitution are relevant and what parts are not. Typically, when it comes to themselves, they want the protections of the Constitution—so if they feel that society poses a threat to themselves, they generally want the right to bear arms. If…
Amending the U.S ConstitutionTo solve the problems within Congress and the law-making procedure, the term limits must be applied to the positions of Congress through Amending the Constitution of the United States. There are specific reasons as to why the amendment is required as a separate law. In the Marbury VS Madison case, Judge Marshal declared that any law which contradicts the present constitution would be considered void, which is rational since all the parties are governed using the constitution (Judicial Review or Judicial Activism? Marbury v. Madison (1803)). So, the term limit law cannot be passed and only amended that which exists within the constitution.In U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton's case, Arkansas' State Constitution prohibited the participation in the Congress election. This prohibition was for the members who have already served three times in the House of Representatives or two times in the Senate. This prohibition was overruled…
References
Article V and the amendment process. (n.d.). Khan Academy. Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-government-and-civics/us-gov-foundations/us-gov-ratification-of-the-us-constitution/a/article-v-and-the-amendment-process
Brannon, V. C. (2018). Statutory Interpretation: Theories, Tools, and Trends; CRS Report. Congressional Research Service.
Burgat, C. (2018, January 18). Five Reasons to Oppose Congressional Term Limits. Brookings.
Which of the three branches of government (Congress, the Presidency, and the Supreme Court) most closely resembles the expectations of the framers of the Constitution, and which of the three differs most from the framers expectations?The framers of the constitution were a varied and eclectic mix of individuals. Although they often had their personal differences of opinion, many had very similar beliefs as it relates to government and the freedom of those it was to govern. Here, the tyranny of European rule had become very acute in the lives of many colonials at the time. Their rule, even from an ocean away was absolute and unwavering. Many colonials become furious at the excessive taxation and pilfering of resources for the land in which they had labored on for so long. For example the stamp act, which passed 1765, gave European government a large amount of authority to tax a variety…
References
1. Bryce, J. (1997). Some Difficulties in Colonial Government Encountered by Great Britain and How They Have Been Met. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 30, 16–23. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1010629
2. Bond, B. W. (1998). An American Experiment in Colonial Government. The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 15(2), 221–235. https://doi.org/10.2307/1895646
3. Osgood, H. L. (1997). The Proprietary Province as a Form of Colonial Government. The American Historical Review, 2(4), 644–664. https://doi.org/10.2307/1833981
Constitutional Legitimacy: Reflecting on the Place of the US Constitution According to Chau (2012), the concept of constitutional legitimacy refers to “the acceptance that an exercise in power is justified and therefore authorized, either implicitly or explicitly, by society at large” by a constitution (par.1). This is different from the concept of legality. Rather, constitutional legitimacy refers to how the legitimacy of laws are derived. In stark contrast to many European systems of government (because the US does not even have a figurehead of a monarch), the people, states, and the democratic process itself supports the legitimacy of the constitution. It is worth noting, however, as increasingly institutions which have been taken for granted in the United States as legitimate are being questioned, such as the Electoral College or the fairness of the voting process. “Establishing this legitimacy is arguably more important than the substantive provisions of the constitution, as a…
References
The First Amendment The First Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” This Amendment basically protects free speech, among other rights—but in recent years it has been necessary to define the parameters of free speech, particularly when it comes to politics. One of the more recent cases of this is with respect to the creation of the Super Political Action Committee (PAC). In the news article by Samuelson (2012) it is shown how the Supreme Court is muddling the Constitution by allowing the formation of Super PACs, which rather than serving as an affirmation of First Amendment rights are actually more of a stifling of those rights—yet the Courts do…
References
The National Archives In the National Archives can be found the U.S. Constitution ratified in 1787 after fierce debate between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, opposed the loose Confederation that existed following the War for Independence. The Federalists wanted to ensure that a central or federal government would exist that could help to regulate commerce and issue currency. The Anti-Federalists, led by men like Patrick Henry, saw a central government as leading in the same direction to tyranny like that which they just fought a war against. As Sayre (2013) points out, it was a time in which the Age of Enlightenment was giving way to the Age of Romance. The French Revolution was about to get underway in Paris, and the enforcement of ideals (and even the deification of Reason) would soon be taking place in a bloody manner. The Constitution was meant to…
References
Thesis: This paper will described the evolution of the rights of the accused and show how the concept changed from its initial inception in early America to its current conception in the 21st century.
Introduction
The rights of the accused in the modern West stem from the rights of man, propagated by Thomas Paine in 1791 shortly after the War for American Independence was won. It was Paine’s assertion that rights stemmed from nature, rather than from any one human authority. This concept was born out of the Enlightenment philosophy of the day, which was itself a radical response to the Old World concepts of human order, society, hierarchy, and human nature. Whereas the Old World accepted the idea that all rights were given according to the will of the authority of the realm, the New World was much more approving of Paine’s dictum that rights came from God or nature and…
References
Sandefur, states that liberal originalism is relevant to a historical analysis of the Constitution because it is also relevant today as a method of interpreting the Constitution. Like original-ism in general, the liberal view is incompatible with attempts to use government to accomplish "social justice" or other ends inconsistent with the principles of individual liberty and limited government reflected in the Declaration. (2004) In conclusion it is evident that the two documents go hand in hand, and has been viewed as concurrent documents for quite some time. Therefore, the answer to the question is that the Constitution attempts to fulfill it by giving clarification and support to what the document is saying. This gives added guidance in constructing laws and principles for citizens to live by and guide the law of the land.
eferences
Sandefur, T. (2004). Liberal Originalism: A Past for the Future. Harvard Journal of Law…
References
Sandefur, T. (2004). Liberal Originalism: A Past for the Future. Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, 27(2), 489+.
Constitution of the United States was a highly important and significant document that was adopted on September 17, 1787, and ratified by conventions.
Eleven states participated in the ratification, and the Constitution officially went into effect on March 4, 1789.
The Constitution of the United States is important for many reasons, including keeping order and law and guaranteeing basic freedoms for the American people. Without the Constitution, it would be much easier for lawmakers to make changes that might not have value to the people of the country and that could cause them harm by taking away some or all of the rights that they have come to expect. Overall, the U.S. Constitution is a document that can be changed and adjusted but that does include guarantees for specific rights that will not be lost even if those changes and adjustments are made.
The U.S. Constitution was written by Governor Morris of…
Bibliography
Bailyn, Bernard, ed. (1993). The Debate on the Constitution: Federalist and Antifederalist Speeches, Articles, and Letters During the Struggle for Ratification. Part One: September 1787 to February 1788. NY: The Library of America.
Garvey, John H. ed. (2004). Modern Constitutional Theory: A Reader 5th ed. NY: Penguin.
Mason, Alpheus Thomas and Donald Grier Stephenson, ed. (2004). American Constitutional Law: Introductory Essays and Selected Cases (14th Edition). NY: Penguin.
Constitution Cafe, Jefferson's Brew a True Revolution
Constitution Cafe: Jefferson's Brew for a True Revolution discusses the reasons for and possibilities of regularly reviewing and rewriting the U.S. Constitution. Following Thomas Jefferson, the author believes that the document is flexible and should be regularly rewritten by common citizens. Phillips explored this possibility in interviews and discussions with many individuals and groups throughout the United States. In addition, Phillips offers his own suggestions. While the basic idea is admirable, the results are mixed.
Christopher Phillips' Constitution Cafe: Jefferson's Brew for a True Revolution explores the idea of American citizens reviewing and rewriting the U.S. Constitution. Phillips discusses the ideas of James Madison, who participated in writing the U. S Constitution, and of Thomas Jefferson, who did not participate in writing the U.S. Constitution but was still one of the most influential Founding Fathers of our nation. Phillips especially explores Jefferson's idea that…
However, the doctrine of "states' rights," also stemming from the Constitution, encouraged the southern states to believe that they could deal with their Negro residents as they chose, as only slavery had been specifically banned. They began imposing more and more restrictive rules on their lack residents. The Ku Klux Klan formed after the federally managed "Reconstruction" ended. The KKK terrorized lacks who violated the views of the local Whites regarding how lacks should behave and conduct themselves.
At the end of the 19th century, in the ruling Plessy vs. Ferguson (p. 133), the Supreme Court ruled that a court ruling could not force equality if one race were inferior to the other, and refused to reverse segregation rules. This ruling justified all sorts of horrific practices, including segregated schools, which were separate but often not equal. Typically these schools did not have libraries, and typically the textbooks were outdated…
Bibliography
PBS, no date. "Dredd Scott case: The Supreme Court Decision, in Judgment Day. Accessed via the Internet 12/1/04. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2933.html
Russell, Thomas D.. 2003. "Slavery Under the Constitution," in American Legal History -- Russell. University of Denver College of Law. Accessed via the Internet 12/1/04. http://www.law.du.edu/russell/lh/alh/docs/slaverycon.html
Constitution provides depicts what is necessary to amend the Constitution. Either two-thirds of both Houses of the Congress, or an application by the legislatures of two-thirds of the several States, can call for a convention proposing amendments to the constitution. Ratification requires that the Legislatures of three fourths of the several states or Constitutional conventions in three-fourths of the states approving the ratification of those amendments. herefore, the Founding Fathers simultaneously ensured that the Constitution would be a living document, while also taking steps to preserve the Constitution and make it somewhat invulnerable to the changing whims of people.
he Founding Fathers appear to have had some trepidation about the idea of changing the Constitution. After all, the Constitution was the result of literally years of debate. It was not the first document to govern the former colonies after gaining independence from Great Britain, and the first system proved untenable.…
Texas v. Johnson (1989)
In Texas v. Johnson, the Court took a significant, but very controversial, step to protect the freedom of speech in the United States. The underlying facts of the case are problematic for many people, and the case made it clear that First Amendment guarantees are meaningless unless they protect those whose views are repugnant to the majority of Americans. Gregory Johnson participated in a political demonstration during the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas. During that demonstration, he poured kerosene on and burned a stolen United States flag. He was charged with and convicted of desecration of a venerated object, a Texas statute aimed at preventing just such actions. Johnson's position was that burning the flag was symbolic speech and that, as such, it had First Amendment protections. The State of Texas' position was that it had an interest in preserving the flag as a symbol of national unity and maintaining order, and that both of those interests were more important than Johnson's free speech rights. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agreed with Johnson's position and overturned his conviction. The State of Texas then asked for the Supreme Court to review the case.
The Court agreed with the reasoning of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. First, it concluded that burning the flag constituted expressive conduct, which made it symbolic speech and brought it under the protection of the First Amendment. The protection of free speech is not limited to the spoken or written word, and the Court had a history of protecting symbolic speech. While determining whether an activity is considered speech may be fact-specific, the facts in the case made it clear that Johnson burned the flag as an act of communication. Moreover, it was an act of political communication, and political speech receives one of the highest degrees of protection under the First Amendment. Texas' desire to create a feeling of unity among its citizens was not a compelling state interest, and burning the flag did not create any type of danger. Therefore, Johnson's activity was protected. Of course, the irony is that, had he been in another country, he would not have had the freedom to protest the country in the same manner that he had in the United States.
In the same manner, the importance of apology is similarly tied to humility and the capacity of humbling yourself. This is also one of the reasons an apology generally comes together with a deep bow in which the person recognizes his or her mistake.
On the other hand, Japanese obsession for quality definitely has its roots in the Japanese obsession for perfection. Ever since its creation by gods, Japan was seen by its inhabitants as being a privileged, perfect nation. Such a nation could only produce, in its turn, perfect products. In modern times, this tendency to continuously strive for perfection was translated into the need for constantly high quality on all production.
Additionally, this is also tied to the sense of duty that goes back to the samurai and warrior tradition. As such, while working for your company, you can only give it your very best and the sentiment of honour…
Bibliography
1. Sugimoto, Yoshio. An Introduction to Japanese Society, Cambridge University Press. 2002
2. De Mente, Boye Lafayette. Japan's Secret Weapon: The Kata Factor The Cultural Programming That Made the Japanese a Superior People. Phoenix Books, 1990.
3. Henshall, Kenneth G. A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower, Second Edition. Palgrave Macmillan; 2nd edition. 2004.
Constitution
The United States of America is a democracy, a form of government which is supposed to be controlled by the people of this country. It is not a true democracy where the people vote on every issue, but a representational democracy the citizens vote for other people who will be responsible for the running of the nation as well as for the creation and passing of most laws. On the federal level, the functions of the government are broken into parts, each responsible for different functions. America's government is composed of three separate branches: the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial (Greenberg & Page 2010). The separation of powers as written in the Constitution is designed so that each branch can give their attention to the functions of their branch and also prevents any of the branches from becoming too powerful which would then lead to the destruction of the democracy…
Works Cited
Barrett, T. & Cohen, T. (2013, April 13). Senate rejects expanded gun background checks. CNN.
Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/17/politics/senate-guns-vote/
Greenberg, E. & Page, B. (2010). The Struggle for Democracy. Pearson.
Madison, J. (1778). Federalist no. 51: the structure of the government must furnish the proper checks and balances between the different departments. Retrieved from http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/fed51.htm
How can we trust physicians to weigh pros and cons of so many health decisions, but impose judicial authority upon them on end-of-life issues?
Of course, opponents argue that this will be a slippery slope to allowing rampant assisted suicide. However, with any freedom, there are always some limitations. Giving individuals freedom of speech has not created a 'slippery slope' where individuals can be slandered. Even regarding First Amendment free speech, there are limits upon citizens in terms of revealing state secrets or using speech as a weapon -- the example of calling 'fire' in a crowded theater comes to mind. There could be limits upon the circumstances to ensure physicians could not assist severely depressed or mentally incompetent individuals to commit suicide, for example.
There are also practical considerations which the court does take into consideration when deciding many issues of social policy, as it did in Brown v. Board…
Works Cited
The U.S. Constitution. Cornell Law School. May 11, 2009.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.table.html#amendments
Constitution of the United States must be understood within the broader cultural, historical contexts in which it was drafted and ratified. The most basic explanation of the "original intent" of the Constitution is that the founders needed to formulate a cohesive and consistent system of governance and political culture after independence. The core issues at stake were Federalism vs. anti-Federalism, and the need to strike a balance between a federal government that was strong enough to oversee key economic, social, and political institutions and one that was kept in check by regional or state powers. The social and economic diversity within individual states, and between the states, made the framing of the Constitution an arduous process. By the time the Constitutional Convention convened, it became apparent that the Articles of the Confederation were insufficient. There was no sense of nationhood with the Articles; no means by which to effectively unite…
Constitution & Governmental Gridlock
Constitutional Change #1
A constitutional amendment is needed to overturn the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United, Appellant v. Federal Election Commission. In this case, the United States Supreme Court held that the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting political independent expenditures by corporations, associations, or labor unions. Corporations aren't people. Only people are people. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia reversed a provision of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) prohibiting unions, corporations and not-for-profit organizations from broadcasting electioneering communications within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary election that held these actions violate the free speech clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Yet two-thirds of American small business owners say that Citizens United hurts their business, but only nine percent of the small businesses polled said that it was a positive law.…
Constitution/Homeland Security
FISA
FISA -- The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act dictates the way the United States government carries out communication surveillance (e.g., telefaxes, emails, telephone calls, Internet websites, etc.) that passes through the United States physically and both the recipient and the sender or either of the two are/is a foreign power, according to FISA definition. FISA's initial purpose, as far back as in 1978, was to make use of the FISA Court to try abuses from governmental agencies, which spied on citizens of the United States in the 70s (Standler, 2007).
Patriot Act:
The Patriot Act enables investigators to make use of the already available tools to carry out investigations on drug trafficking and organized crime. A number of the tools made available by the Act for law enforcement agencies to wage war against terrorism have been in use in the fight against drug trafficking, organized crime, and terrorism for several decades, and…
Bibliography
Authorization for Use of Military Force, Pub. L. No. 107-40, 115 Stat. 224 (2001) (hereinafter AUMF)
ARC. (2011). Summary of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Their Additional Protocols. International Humanitarian Law, 1.
Bazan, E. B. (2007). The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: An Overview of the Statutory Framework and U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review Decisions. CRS Report for Congress.
Bradley, C. A. (2008). The Story of Ex-parte Milligan: Military Trials, Enemy Combatants, and Congressional Authorization. PRESIDENTIAL POWER STORIES.
U.S. CONSTITUTION
The effect that ever changing societal values have on the Supreme Court's interpretation of the U.S. Constitution
The effect that ever changing societal values have on the Supreme Court's interpretation of the U.S. Constitution
The effect that ever changing societal values have on the Supreme Court's interpretation of the U.S. Constitution
Constitution represents the supreme law that directs political, social, cultural, and economic aspects of the nation. All other laws must be in line with the constitution in order to be effective and efficient in their application. Social or societal values have continuous effects on the interpretation of the constitution. The main objective of the constitution is to protect the interest of the individuals in the society. This objective makes the constitution relevant to the societal values within the context of the United States of America. The societal values keep changing in the contemporary world thus resulting into various amendments and…
References
Epps, G. (2008). Freedom of the press: The first amendment; its constitutional history and the contemporary debate. Amherst, N.Y: Prometheus.
Vile, J.R. (2010). A companion to the United States Constitution and its amendments. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger.
Epps, G. (2007). Democracy reborn: The Fourteenth Amendment and the fight for equal rights in post-Civil War America. New York: Henry Holt.
Chemerinsky, E. (2007). Interpreting the constitution. New York u.a: Praeger.
Mill and U.S. Constitution
None of the issues being raised today by the Occupy all Street (OS) movement are new, but rather they date back to the very beginning of the United States. At the time the Constitution was written in 1787, human rights and civil liberties were far more constrained than they are in the 21st Century. Only white men with property had voting rights for example, while most states still had slavery and women and children were still the property of fathers and husbands. Only very gradually was the Constitution amended to grant equal citizenship and voting rights to all, and even the original Bill of Rights was added only because the Antifederalists threatened to block ratification. In comparison, the libertarianism of John Stuart Mill in his famous book On Liberty was very radical indeed, even in 1859 much less 1789. He insisted that individuals should be left totally…
WORKS CITED
Dahl, Robert Alan. How Democratic is the American Constitution? Yale University Press, 2003.
Kaplan, Lawrence. S. Alexander Hamilton: Ambivalent Anglophile. Scholarly Resources, Inc., 2002.
Main, Jackson Turner. The Antifederalists: Critics of the Constitution, 1781-1788. University of North Carolina Press, 1989, 2004.
Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty. London, 1859.
omen, for example, only gained their right of suffrage in 1920 and Article VI of the Constitution of 1876 only gives "male persons" over the age of 21 who have "resided in Texas for at least one year" the right to vote.
Compact Theory: The compact theory holds that the formation of the Union of the United States was through a "compact" of all the States individually and the creation of the national government was believed to be a creation of the states. Hence the states were the final judge of whether the national government had overstepped the boundaries of the "compact." One of the versions of the compact theory (the unilateral compact theory) was used by the Confederate secessionists to declare their secession from the Union, which signaled the start of the Civil ar (Lind, para 11). In the Texas Constitution of 1876, the compact theory is used to…
Works Cited
ARTICLE III- Legislative Department: Constitution of the State of Texas (1876)." The University of Texas at Austin. March 11, 2005. July 26, 2006. http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/constitutions/text/IART03.html
Dye, Thomas R. Politics in America. Sixth Edition, 2004. Pearson Prentice-Hall: New York
General Characteristics of the Texas Constitution." Liberal Arts Instructional Services: University of Texas at Austin. 2006. July 26, 2006. http://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/html/cons/0302.html
Lind, Michael. "Do the People Rule?" New American Foundation. February 1, 2002. July 26, 2006. http://www.newamerica.net/index.cfm?pg=article&DocID=719
Essentially, the forefathers that justified the American Revolution did not like the idea of a centralized government because of what they had just been through with Britain. Thus, if each state could keep its sovereignty, they thought that this would take care of a lot of issues. The thinking is not wrong considering what they had gone through with the Revolution, but it left for a weak nation because there was no central force to govern such things as taxation and enforce laws. Not only could economic conditions not be governed by the government, but neither could social conditions.
Of course there were many states that were worried about what a national centralized government might mean for them. Many people thought that it would lead to another form of tyranny just like had been experienced under Britain's rule. Nevertheless, it happened and while power was taken away from the states…
Articles of Confederation: The Articles of Confederation were approved in November, 1777 and were the basic format for what would become the Constitution and Bill of ights for the United States. There were, of course, deficiencies in the document, this was a new experiment and getting the delegates to agree in kind to pass any sort of document was challenging at best. The Articles did allow a semblance of unity, the further impetus to remain at war with the British, and the conclusion that there would be some sort of Federal government. The Articles, however, failed to require individual States to help fund the Federal (National) government, a template for an Executive and National Judicial Branch, or the issuance of paper money and a central banking system. In essence, the largest failure was the Articles' inability to allow a Federal government to regulate commerce, tax, or impose laws upon the…
REFERENCES and WORKS CONSULTED
Amar, a. (2005). America's Constitution: A Biography. New York: Random House.
Bailyn, B., ed. (1993). The Debate on the Constitution. Library of America Press.
Beeman, R. (2009). Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution.
Random House.
flaws in the Constitution for the State of Texas and also compares it with a few neighboring states that experience the same problems in implementing the Constitution and has to constantly undergo revisions of the provisions that require it.
Constitution of Texas
There is a never-ending debate over which amendments of the constitution of Texas need revision, either partly or completely. Legislation at state level make three kinds of mistakes when it comes to framing the constitution of a state on a more or less formal basis. The first one is that the reformers expect some kind of miracles to occur so therefore underestimate the value of the existing papers and overestimate the documents of other states forgetting that the U.S. constitution did not come into existence overnight but is a product of evolutionary hard work. Second reason, they choose to rewrite constitutions is because they think that the new constitution…
References
Donald S. Lutz, Cautions For Constitution-Makers
Texas Judicial Selection, available at http://www.ajs.org/js/TX.htm , accessed on: February 24, 2003
Undermining the Constitution - A History of Lawless Government, by Thomas James Norton - Chapter V, available at http://www.barefootsworld.net/nortonuc05.html , accessed on: February 24, 2003
American Constitution:
The Massachusetts Constitution is the basic and essential governing document of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that was developed during the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention by John Adams, James owdoin, and Samuel Adams. The Federal Constitution is the oldest constitution in existence that was drafted by a convention of delegates from the thirteen initial states in May 1787. One of the most important parts of both the Massachusetts and Federal constitutions is the preambles that serve as the introduction to both documents. There are similarities and differences between the Preamble of the Massachusetts Constitution and the Preamble of the Federal Constitution.
Similarities between the Two Preambles:
Some of the major similarities in the preambles of the two constitutions as the fundamental governing documents include:
Introduction of the Document:
One of the main similarities in the preambles of the two constitutions is that they introduce the documents while capturing and reflecting the sources and authority…
Bibliography:
Lutz, Donald S. "The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States." The American Political
Science Association, n.d. http://www.apsanet.org/imgtest/Preamble.pdf (accessed December 19, 2011).
Massachusetts Constitution. "Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."
WallofSeparation.com, n.d. http://www.wall-of-separation.com/constitution/Massachusetts-constitution.htm (accessed December 19, 2011).
The U.S. Constitution as it was originally written by Thomas Jefferson and signed by the Founding Fathers, however, was flawed in this way.
Within the U.S. Constitution as it was originally written, for example, blacks are explicitly referred to as unequal. Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution states: "epresentatives...shall be apportioned among the several States... according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons...and....three-fifths of all other persons" [italics added] (Constitution of the United States, 2000, pp. 26-27). The 14th Amendment (1868), however, which states that: "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws"…
References
Constitution of the United States. (2000). Microsoft encyclopedia encarta, 1-32.
Retrieved May 29, 2006, from Microsoft Works Suite 2000 (CD-ROM), Disc 3.
Fourteenth Amendment. (May 28, 2006). Wikipedia. Retrieved May 29, 2006, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution.html .
Preamble. (2006).The U.S. Constitution online. Retrieved May 29, 2006, at http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Preamble.html .
U.S. Constitution with the Indiana constitution. It has 3 sources.
The constitution of United States of America and the State of Indiana are two different constitutions. In United States of America there is one Federal constitution that encompasses the general backbone of the legislative, judicial and federal system of the nation. Then there are the various states, which as done in any proper democratic and Federal State, have their own respective constitutions running. This would mean that State of Indiana being a part of the sovereign nation would abide by the general constitution along with running a constitution of it's own for the stability and prosperity of it's own populous.
Comparison
How U.S. & Indiana constitution are different?
The sphere that de marks the end of the U.S. constitution and the beginning of the Indiana constitution is when the general principles and articles that apply to the whole country end and a more…
Bibliography
1). In what ways is the United States constitution a conservative document? At http://www.essaybank.co.uk/free_coursework/200.html
Our Living Shield at http://*****/get_essays/govt/29_2_2.shtml
3) 1816 Constitution of the State of Indiana at http://www.state.in.us/icpr/webfile/consti/1816.html
The US constitution is a supreme law guiding the conducts of government, people, and organizations in the United States. The U.S. constitution comprises of seven articles that delineates the form of government. However, before the constitution came into force in 1789, there were philosophical thinking that influenced the compilation of the American constitution.
The objective of this essay is to discuss the philosophical influences on the U.S. Constitution.
John Locke was an English Philosopher and his thinking had the great impact on the American constitution. John Locke believed that all people has alienated rights and they are created equal. John Locke was political philosopher was the early proponent of social contract theory believing that there were certain inalienable rights that people should enjoy. Locke believed that it was people who created the government, and people could overthrow the government if they failed to protect their rights. In his philosophical thinking, Locke revealed…
The Texas Constitution: An Examination and Discussion
On the most fundamental level, a constitution is a plan or contract between the government and the people governed. A constitution details the agreed-upon powers, responsibilities and limitations upon all involved parties, while asserting the proper procedure for action. The constitution is the foundation for all basic laws upon which the legal system rests. In the history of the existence of the state of Texas, seven separate constitutions have been drafted and approved, with the last one receiving approval on February 15, 1876. The preceding six constitutions were adopted during the following years: 1827, 1836, 1845, 1861, 1866 and 1869. At this time, the current constitution contains amendments that were approved by voters as recently as November of 2017.
An examination of the Texas constitution reflects certain insights about the state and its unique viewpoints about government, autonomy and self-protection. Any state constitution should assert…
The truth is that the forefathers were actually quite surprised at the effect that the signing of the Constitution had created in America; at the democratic society and government that resulted after the ratification of the Constitution.
The ratification in itself was a long one, and it involved in essence the perusal of the written Constitution by each state for ratification purposes, for which each state was required to create an independent ratifying committee headed by special delegates. The discussions of the advantages and the disadvantages of the newly written constitution of America began almost immediately after it was signed, and the two opposing factions of the Federalists to whom the majority of the forefathers belonged, and the Anti-Federalists who formed the opposing group brought these forth. The situation in America at the time of the writing of the Constitution was that of pro-democracy. The political as well as the…
References
Encyclopedia: American constitution. Retrieved at http://nationmaster.w2n.net/encyclopedia/American-constitutionAccessed on 4 October, 2004
Encyclopedia: American Revolutionary War. Retrieved at http://nationmaster.w2n.net/encyclopedia/American-Revolutionary-War . Accessed on 4 October, 2004
Encyclopedia: Articles of Association. Retrieved at http://nationmaster.w2n.net/encyclopedia/Articles-of-AssociationAccessed on 4 October, 2004
Encyclopedia: Articles of Confederation. Retrieved at http://nationmaster.w2n.net/encyclopedia/Articles-of-Confederation . Accessed on 4 October, 2004
(Constitution of Nevada, art. 16)
The amendments brought to both Constitutions add a higher level of democracy to their principles. However, taking the case of gun possessions for instance, the Nevada Constitution grants the right of citizens to poses arms for other purposes aside from self-defense. "Every citizen has the right to keep and bear arms for security and defense, for lawful hunting and recreational use and for other lawful purposes," (Constitution of Nevada, art. 1, sec. 11) whereas the Federal Constitution considers this right only for the militia. (United States Constitution, II Amendment)
ibliography
Constitution of the State of Nevada. 2 October 2006 http://www.leg.state.nv.us/Const/NVConst.html#Art16
Mendelson, Wallace. The American Constitution and civil liberties
Homewood: Dorsey Press, 1981 Skousen, Cleon. The making of America: the substance and meaning of the Constitution / Washington: The National Center for Constitutional Studies
United States Constitution. 2 October 2006. http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html
Bibliography
Constitution of the State of Nevada. 2 October 2006 http://www.leg.state.nv.us/Const/NVConst.html#Art16
Mendelson, Wallace. The American Constitution and civil liberties
Homewood: Dorsey Press, 1981 Skousen, Cleon. The making of America: the substance and meaning of the Constitution / Washington: The National Center for Constitutional Studies
United States Constitution. 2 October 2006. http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html
American Constitution: A living, evolving document -- from guaranteeing the right to enslavement in the 18th century to modifications in favor of freedom in the 19th century
Constitution today protects the rights of all in its language, but this was not always the case in its text and spirit. As a political tactic as well as out of personal conviction and experience, Frederick Douglass' characterization of the American Constitution as an anti-slavery document is certainly an admirable piece of rhetoric. Douglass stated that although the America he spoke to at the time of his autobiography My Bondage and My Freedom, was a nation divided between free and slave states and territories, fundamentally America was and "is in its letter and spirit, an anti-slavery instrument, demanding the abolition of slavery as a condition of its own existence" (396)
Slavery, Douglass stated, deprives an individual of his or her dignity, deprives an individual…
Works Cited
Douglass, Frederick. My Bondage and My Freedom. Available in full text online at http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer new2?id=DouMybo.sgm& images=images/modeng& data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed& tag=public& part=6& division=div2[29 Jan 2005].
Lincoln, Abraham. "First Inaugural Address: Monday, March 4, 1861." From Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States. Washington, D.C.: U.S.G.P.O.: for sale by the Supt. Of Docs, U.S.G.P.O., 1989. Bartleby.com, 2001. www.bartleby.com/124/. [29 Jan 2005].
Madison, James. "Federalist No. 10." The Federalist Papers. Available in full text online ( http://www.thisnation.com/library/books/federalist/10.html ) [29 Jan 2005].
"The United States Constitution." Available in full text online http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html . [29 Jan 2005].
In cases of treason accusations, the testimony of two additional parties, or an open court testimony of the defendant is required: "No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court" (Section 3).
Democracy
- No national or international party is exempt from following the legislations and all those who break the laws will as such be trailed in front of the Supreme Court or other inferior courts: "The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority; -- to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls; -- to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; -- to controversies to which the United States shall be a party; -- to controversies between…
References:
Ginsberg, B., Lowi, T.J., Weir, M., 2009, We the People: An Introduction to American Politics, 7th Edition, WW Norton & Co Inc., ISBN 0393932141
The United States Constitution, Retrieved from www.constitutioncenter.org/633876696043236250.pdf on September 14, 2009
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Online Version, http://www.ldoceonline.com last accessed on September 14, 2009
As a unicameral legislature, there is more power within the
legislature and as the executive is broken down into a council, it is
weakened. Ultimately, the legislature is given the most power, with the
only power not given to it being that it cannot, "add to, alter, abolish,
or infringe any part of the Constitution.
Interesting to the Constitution is that it attempts, in Sect. 19, to
give more public office experience to as many people as possible. This
would seem effective in the small nature of colonial society at the time.
Sec. 19 also gives supremacy to the legislature as, "The president and vice-
president shall be chosen annually by the joint ballot of the general
assembly and council, of the members of the council," meaning that the
legislature has influence over the executive. The assembly elects the
President, not the people, meaning the legislature is supreme. Of course,
according to this Constitution however, is that the Assembly should be at
all…
Another demonstrative part of the constitution has to do with representation, a checks and balances system when the republican body (the people/the state) has representation that is not overly out of balance with its populous. The senate, arguably a more powerful body has two senate seats for each state while population determines the house seats, with no state having less than one representative. "The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at least one Representative." Article I Section I thus, creating a check to ensure a reduced possibility of a larger state attempting through political power channels to retain all or most power for itself.
Within each body of the three there are balances, where the other has some semblance of control over the other to but not so much that any one has supreme authority over the other. Of the executive…
M.D. Lloyd "Polybius and the Founding Fathers: the separation of powers" at http://www.sms.org/mdl-indx/polybius/polybius.htm
Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia 6th ed. 2003 "U.S. Constitution www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/
US Constitution Text www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup
The death penalty is not unconstitutional and is even mandatory for certain crimes with the judge and jury having little discretion in the matter in order to avoid violating the provision that prohibits 'cruel and unusual punishment' the methods used for execution of the death penalty should be humane and sensible. While the criminal may lack in possessing any compassion whatsoever that this complete lack of the ability to have or posses real compassion that resulted in their being sentenced to death is a consideration in the regard given those sentenced to death. Finally, there should be no lack of certainty that the individual being put to death was the perpetrator of the crime committed.
VI. The ISSUES & the DEATE[S]
The issues and debates surrounding the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution are becoming more heated with each passing day and while the general public has been…
Bibliography
Constitution of the United States (nd) U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) Access: Sixth Amendment Rights of Accused in Criminal Prosecution. Online available at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/
Rasmussen, David W. And Benson, Bruce L. (1994) the Economic Anatomy of a Drug War: Criminal Justice in the Commons. The Independent Review. Vol. 1, No. 2 Fall 1996. The Independent Institute.
Jones, Ben (2008) Sex Offenders May Get Special Tags. USA Today. 23 Oct 2008. Online available at http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070502/a_licenseplates02.art.htm
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