...This four-page undergraduate paper discusses the opposition that American leaders encountered after the Revolution, as a result of deciding to form a central government. The states feared that such a government would suppress them and would interfere with their internal affairs. Consequently, heated debates and uprisings characterize this period, which started with the framing of Articles in 1777 and ended with the final adoption of the United States constitution in 1787. STATES’ ARGUMENTS AGAINST A CENTRAL GOVERNMENT American leaders faced much opposition from the states after the American Revolution as a result of deciding to form a central government. The states feared that such a government would suppress them and would interfere with their internal affairs. Consequently, heated debates and uprisings characterize this period, which started with the framing of Articles in 1777 and ended with the final adoption of the United States constitution in 1787. The American Revolution holds a very prominent place in the history of this country, as it was the longest and the most painful war Americans ever encountered. It took many years and numerous conflicts to finally gain independence in 1776 from British domination, which had been subjugating its colonies with laws of an unwritten constitution. It must be understood that though Americans were fighting for the right of democracy and each state wanted self-government, later that same issue turned into a big problem. Soon after...
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...doing things. One such ethical dilemma is the legal age to vote in elections. The Constitution The twenty-sixth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees every American “the right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age” (The National Constitution Center, n.d.). In America the legal adult age is considered 18 years. As an adult, an 18 year old will pay taxes on income he or she has earned. They pay sales tax on items they have purchased. They are old enough to drive a car and to join the military. These are the arguments many have given in favor of lowering the voter legal age form 18 years to 16 years, but there is another side to the story – one of opposition to lowering the age and in favor of returning the legal age to voting rights to 21 years of age as originally set forth by the United States Constitution. The United States Constitution was adopted in 1789, at which time voting was reserved for male property owners ages 21 and older. The Fifteenth Amendment, passed in 1870 gave voting rights to all males over the age of 21, while the 19th Amendment finally extended voting rights to women. In 1971 the legal voting age was dropped to 18 by the ratification of the 26th Amendment, which was adopted in reply to protests from students in opposition of the Vietnam War. They claimed if individuals were old enough to be...
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...children, they endangered them. Both parents failed to care for their children. As a result, their children were taken away and put into foster care. After a few court hearings, Judge Marilyn L. O’Connor ruled that Stephanie and Rodney cannot conceive another child until they are able to care for their own children and when their children are no longer cared for at the expense of the public. Judge O’ Connor’s ruling is acceptable because Stephanie and Rodney need to become responsible enough to care for their children instead of having others do it for them. In this essay, I am going to provide an opposition argument to explain why the ruling is incorrect. People might disagree with Judge O’Connor’s ruling in many ways. The judge’s decision violated Stephanie and Rodney’s constitutional...
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...Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s writings and analyzing Spooner’s argument and the principals that derived it, I believe that if they were alive today they would not agree with Spooner’s claim that the Constitution has no authority. Spooner’s entire career was based on an opposition to the governing’s rules and regulations; beginning with the fact that he did not even follow...
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...percent during this time frame. Although this certainly is not a huge majority, it does indicate that the support for same-sex marriage within the U.S. is likely to become increasingly widespread over the next couple of decades. However, there are still several religious and political groups who are opposed to the idea of same-sex marriage. This opposition is typically based on the belief that homosexuality is a sin, but the separation of church and state is supposed to make this viewpoint legally irrelevant. The Current Status of Same-Sex Marriage Same-sex marriage is legal in nine states, Washington, D.C. and two Native American tribes. There are also several other states that are considering making same-sex marriage legal, and Illinois is poised to become the next state to take this step. In addition to which, the U.S. Supreme Court is getting ready to hear arguments in a case that will determine whether or not California’s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional. President Barack Obama declared his support of same-sex marriage in May 2012, and some people believe that this has had a measurable impact on public opinion. The Argument Against Same-Sex Marriage Even with all of the social and legal changes that have occurred over the past few decades, there are still millions of people in the U.S. who are fervently opposed to the idea of same-sex marriage. Several members of the Republican Party have based part of their campaign strategy around making an amendment to the...
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...Open Interpretation to the Constitution Leads to First National Bank A National Bank is an essential part of this nation's economy. We know that it can further strengthen the ties between Americans and the federal government. The National Bank has allowed America to grow its economy, unit as country, and improve trade between the colonies. But when the first National Bank plan entered into Congress there was much controversy over it. Two men, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, held two very different and opposing views on the Bank plan. This led to much controversy over the plan and how they believed it would impact the nation. At the root of the controversy was wether or not the plan was constitutional. Both men interpreted the clauses in the Constitution differently, so both Hamilton and Jefferson submitted plans to President Washington in hopes their view would prevail. The conflict between Hamilton and Jefferson’s opposing views came to a head in 1791. Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury at the time, submitted a report to Congress on a plan for a National Bank. There was great controversy over the creation of a National Bank for many reasons. The main reason being that Hamilton stated that its creation was completely justified by the Constitutions elastic clause. The elastic clause grants Congress the power “to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper” (Elastic Clause Law & Legal Definition) and to carry out its duties. In his plan Hamilton wrote...
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...Merrit Duke History of American Women May 27, 2015 Equality: Too Much to Ask For? The Equal Rights Amendment has been the source of much debate for almost an entire century now. Since first purposed by Alice Paul in the 1920s one’s stance on the potential amendment has been a dividing factor in the political sphere. Though the amendment was shut down in the 1920s there has been discussion about adding the Equal Rights Amendment into the constitution today. If the potential amendment was to be brought back up my stance on the debate would be in support of the amendment. For some background on the debate on the Equal Rights Amendment it would be good to look back and see where activists in the past were split and what about the Equal Rights Amendment has divided them. The Antebellum era gave two different types of women activists, the true women and the Early Feminists. The True Women argued for gender distinctions, separate spheres, domesticity, and women as moral guardians in their natural role as a mother. The True Women would be the women who be apposed to the Equal Rights Amendment and would be active in the fight against it. Arguing against the True Women were the Early Feminists who stressed gender equality, suffrage for women, equal education, human rights, and saw women as rational beings. This group of activists would be in support of the Equal Rights Amendment. Next would be the Progressive era where the two parties in the debate would be the Early Feminists and...
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...also think about what circumstances the Framers were under when this Amendment was written. There are two major sides to this debate, one being the collective side, which feels that the right was given for collective purposes only. This side is in favor of having stricter gun control laws, as they feel that by having stricter laws the number of crimes that are being committed with guns will be reduced and thus save lives. However while gun control laws may decrease criminals" access to guns, the same laws restricts gun owning citizens who abide by the law; these citizens make up a great majority of the opposing side of this argument. These people argue that the law was made with the individual citizens in mind. This group believes that the Amendment should be interpreted to guarantee citizens free access to firearms. One major group that is in strong opposition of stricter gun control laws is the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA argues that having stricter gun control laws will only hinder law-abiding citizens. The final outcome on this debate will mainly depend on how this Amendment is going to be interpreted. The Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights states: A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. (Amendment II 1791) This debate has produced two familiar interpretations of the Second Amendment. Advocates of stricter gun control laws tend to stress that the amendment’s...
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...2) In this argument, Stevenson demonstrated the Radical’s plan to adopt in the South economic and social systems similar to those of the...
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...the introduction of a fully codified constitution’ Discuss Plan Arguments against * Ruins the doctrine of sovereignty-Parliament sovereignty is effectively beaten. * Judges have to police the constitution and effectively interpreted. – Threat of judicial tyranny. Codified constitutions cannot be interpreted by the public so the judges would have to interpret it which could bring out preferences and values of senior judges * Un-necessary- doesn’t Philly limit governments * Hard to change * Easily outdated * Legal documents created at one point of time rather than a document which has been endorsed by history and created over time Arguments for * Clear rules * One codified document * Limited government * Neutral interpretation * Protecting rights of individual liberty * Education value – highlight certain values and strengthen citizenship Introduction The argument of a codified constitution has been a debated subject for a long time within the UK political spectrum. The argument stands at present moment that if the UK should or should not implement a codified constitution. Both sides of the argument withstand staggering evidence both in favour and factors denouncing the idea being drawn at the same time. The fact of a codified constitution would invoke a greater judicial intervention within the UK – maybe even put the state under risk of judicial tyranny. On codified constitution we have at the moment, have a scattered...
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...Alexander Hamilton was a prominent figure during the forming of the United States government. He was a member of the Federalist Party, whose ideals revolved around the premise of a strong, centralized government. Hamilton builds a strong foundation of truth to establish ethos, or author credibility. The Constitution was written by Federalists and therefore advocated this form of government. In order to institute it, the Constitution needed the support of all. Hamilton uses his work “Federalist No. 1” to argue for the ratification of the United States Constitution. Hamilton anticipated many adverse reactions to the Federalist Papers and the ratification of the Constitution. He holds concerns to the people and their benefits as to what the...
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...During the election on November 8th, Florida residents have the chance to vote on new policies. In local and state government, the people have the final say on the referendums and initiatives that could change our laws and constitution. While people are focusing on presidential candidates, they should also be considering the amendments that will be on the ballot. With five Florida amendments on the ballot, only two are experiencing mixed emotions throughout the state. These being amendments that can legalize medical marijuana and potentially stop incentives for solar power. Those invested in the final vote are placing millions of dollars and hundreds of hours to sway the Florida people. Medical marijuana has been the topic of debate in multiple states, ranging from full legalization of recreational marijuana to stopping any movement of limited medical marijuana. Currently in Florida, under the Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act, doctors are allowed to prescribe non-smoking, low-THC (the...
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...ratification of the constitution. The only reason the Anti-Federalists agreed to help ratify the constitution was because of the Bill of Rights and without the Bill of Rights the Constitution would not have been ratified. Ranging from political nobilities like James Winthrop in Massachusetts, to Melancton Smith of New York, and Patrick Henry and George Mason of Virginia, these Antifederalist were joined by a large number of ordinary Americans particularly commoner farmers who predominated rural America. In spite of the diversity that characterized the Anti-federalist opposition, they did share a solid core view of American politics. They believed that the greatest threat to the future of the United States lay in the government's potential to become corrupt and seize more and more power until its tyranny like rule completely dominated the people. Having just succeeded in rejecting what they saw as the tyranny of British power, certain threats were seen as a very crucial part of political life. The differences between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists are vast and at times complex. The Anti-Federalists opposed the ratification of the US Constitution, but they never organized efficiently across all thirteen states, and had to fight the ratification at every state convention. Their great success was in forcing the first Congress under the new Constitution to establish a Bill of Rights, to ensure the liberties the Anti-Federalists felt the Constitution violated. ...
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...Nixon wants to calm and secure the nation, and this is done by changing the Judicial Branch. Strict constructionists are people that will uphold the Constitution to the letter, and will put aside personal opinions. William Rehnquist’s confirmation process was very rough and he had a lot of opposition because of his views that he had expressed at a younger age. Roe v. Wade was about a woman who did not want to have her unborn child, but Texas was very strict about no abortion unless the mother’s life is at risk. Roe v. Wade is significant because it supported abortion and women’s rights. It also gave a woman a choice about what she wanted to do with her life. Justice Blackmun’s opinion made the statement that the government does not have any...
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...of Britain’s ‘un-codified’ Constitution Britain are one of the few countries in the world that still posses and un-codified constitution, other states that posses un-codified constitutions are New Zealand and Israel. A constitution is a set of rules which guidelines what the people of the nation and the government have the rights to do, these rules or guidelines are normally printed in one sovereign place. An un-codified constitution differs from this as is not one sovereign book or piece of writing that outlines the rules of the state. This short answer will assess the strengths and weakness of Britain having an un-codified constitution. The first strength to consider is the fact that our un-codified constitution is more flexible then a codified constitution. Many nations find it difficult to pass legislation because the constitution holds the government accountable and protects the individuals. Example of this could be after terrorist attacks Britain was able to quickly pass legislation detaining terror suspects for longer period of time, where as other nations constitutions protected the individuals liberties and prevented their governments from detaining suspects for long periods of time. From the first argument we can see that flexibility is a strength of an un-codified constitution, however it can also be a weakness. Without the codified constitution there is no checks on the government other then the opposition, a codified constitution creates a just political system...
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