...Bill of Rights and Amendments Paper Jessica Ruiz HIS/301 April 4, 2013 Ryan Tarr Bill of Rights and Amendments Paper The Constitution is a fundamental law, which describes how a strong government should work (Zink, 2009). The Framers had stated that America’s Constitution was a vast contribution to the governments practice, and offered a new form of government to the United States. The United States Constitution is also known as the ultimate law, which was created by our founding fathers to establish a strong governmental structure, to meet the needs of the people in our nation. The Constitution was created to protect the rights of the people and their freedom by enforcing laws on the individuals who did in fact hold power on a political level. The vision of the Framers of an appropriate government for American’s was incorporated in the Constitution known as the Bill of Rights. Amendments becoming part of the Constitution In the Constitution Article V reads, that there are two ways for an amendment to become a part of the United States Constitution. The first way is with a two third vote in both houses of Congress the House of Representatives and the Senate. Today the most common used method of the amendment process is the first way by having the Representatives and Senate vote. The second way is a convention that has been set up by two thirds of the state’s legislatures followed by ratification for the amendment (Patterson, 2009). The ratification process is...
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...The Second Amendment The second amendment is one of the best known amendments to the Constitution. It provides “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.” History of the Second Amendment In early American colonial times, the right to carry a weapon was carried on by the early English colonists who needed arms to defend their property and the families from the Native Americans. Even if there had been an army, it would have taken too long for it to arrive in the event of trouble. Standing armies were very unpopular to the colonists because many of them had experienced standing armies in their native lands that ended up ruling over the people. Instead of having standing armies, the colonists would train together for the purpose of local defense. The local groups were called militia and are somewhat equivalent to the National Guard today. During the Revolutionary era, the British recognized that the colonists would use their weapons to defend themselves so they made an effort to confiscate the weapons of the local militia. This confiscation instigated the battles of Lexington and Concord which were the first battles of the revolution which erupted when the British were trying to capture weapons and ammunition stores at Concord. When the revolutionary War ended, and the Americans were making their new Constitution, they were very aware of the need for self-defense...
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...Supported by the required readings and presentations of Module/Week 1, post a thread defending 1 of these 2 First Amendment interpretations: 1.The First Amendment was written as a means of protecting the state from the church. 2. The First Amendment was written as a means of protecting the church from the state. The First Amendment was written as a means of protecting the church from the state is the most logical interpretation of the First Amendment to the constitution. Hutson stated in his book “Church and State in America” that the amendment “prevented the federal government from establishing a national religion and allowed people to freely exercise their religious beliefs and practices. The issue in today’s society is not that the people believe that the government should establish a national religion but rather that any reference to any faith (in particular it seems Christian) should be abolished as it “offends” some citizens to see it. In many cases the “offensive” object is not on government property but is rather a private display or decision. If this were ten years ago I might have argued that the issue was keeping the Church out of the State. However, more recently, the focus seems to be the other way around. Now more than ever, it seems that the focus needs to be on keeping the state out of the church setting. Consider these recent cases. In Houston there were five Christian Pastors that were served subpoenas by the city to turn over any sermons that specifically...
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...The Founding Fathers of the U.S. Constitution May 25, 1787, the founding fathers with 55 delegates from 12 states in attendance, created the United States Constitution in order to establish the foundation that would govern our country for future generations. However, it should be noted that when the U.S. Constitution was developed, it was understood that it was likely going to require modifications to maintain applicability in an ever changing world. The founding fathers' foresight led to Article V of the U.S. Constitution, which details the steps for processing changes to the Constitution (The Constitutional Convention, 32). Article V of the U.S. Constitution specifies that there are two formal ways to amend the constitution. The first requires a two-thirds vote by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The alternative method for amending the Constitution requires no less than 34 States calling for a convention to come together and re-write the legislation. A current event is the confederate flag in South Carolina that is being called to be taken down by Gov. Nikki Haley. This is a prime example of three fourths congressional vote for the law to be passed that has been being fought for many years, but still no conclusion to the votes (Fieldstadt). In years past, there have been proposals to take down the confederate flag, but because there hasn’t been a majority rule, the law hasn’t changed. Situations have led up to dissatisfied communities, like the young man...
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...did not want anyone to know about what was going on during the convention meetings. The delegates made sure to keep everything a secret, anyone who was not a delegate were not allowed to attend any meetings. We have no written documents because they kept everything a secret of what had occurred during the meetings. The only details we have today is from a notebook that belonged to James Madison. However, James Madison is known as the “Father of the Constitution.” He had also helped write the federalist papers. At the Constitutional Convention James Madison had done a very good job. When the delegates had to decided to write the “Bill of Rights” he was against it. James Madison was afraid that the future people would just go by those ten amendments that were listed in the “Bill of Rights”. James Madison had believed in a loose interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. The Virginia Plan was one of the two opposing plans for the government. This plan basically was an outline of the federal government we have today. The Virginia plan was called for three branches of government. The three branches of government are the...
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...SPEECH Freedom of Speech FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTIONS Unit 2 Assignment Jerry Coleman LS305 Constitutional Law Prof. Judge J. Kent Kaplan University January 10, 2014 FREEDOM OF SPEECH FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTIONS BY JERRY COLEMAN JANUARY 10, 2014 INDEX 1. COVER PAGE 2. TITLE PAGE 3. INDEX 4. PURPOSE 5. THEORY 6. FREEDOM OF SPEECH: UNALIENABLE RIGHT? 7. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 8. CASE LAW 9. CURRENT LEGISLATION AND ITS EFFECT ON THE FIRST AMENDMENT 10. CONCLUSION’ 11. REFERENCES PURPOSE The purpose of this paper is to examine, limitedly, the incursion, by Congressional Acts, Judicial Interpretation via case law, and Executive Order of the First Amendment Protections of Free Speech of The Constitution of The United States. THEORY The Bill of Rights are the Foundation of the UNALIENABLE RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE, in theory and original intent of the Framers, which neither the Federal Government nor the States may repose from the People. Neither shall the Judiciary. However, given to logical consideration, as applied by the Marshall Court, the Courts have Judicial Review Authority, rendering them, if not the best locale, definitely the most appropriate, for interpretation of the Rights thusly enumerated in The Constitution’s Bill of Rights (Amendments One thru Ten, specifically One thru Eight). However, it must needs be stated that Judicial Review has thusly proven that interpretation can devolve, on occasion, upon...
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...companies and unincorporated associations. A treaty which establishes an international organization is also its constitution, in that it would define how that organization is constituted. Within states, a constitution defines the principles upon which the state is based, the procedure in which laws are made and by whom. Some constitutions, especially codified constitutions, also act as limiters of state power, by establishing lines which a state's rulers cannot cross, such as fundamental rights. An example is the constitution of the United States of America. George Washington at Constitutional Conventionof 1787 signing of the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution of India is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world,[2] containing 444 articles in 22 parts,[3][4] 12 schedules and 118 amendments, with 117,369 words in its English-language translation,[5] while the United States Constitution is the shortest written constitution, at 7 articles and 27 amendments.[6] Constitution of the Philippines From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Constitution of the Philippines Created October 15, 1986 Ratified February 2, 1987 Location Legislative Archives of the House of Representatives,...
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...Bob jones University insisted that the IRS went against the rules of the first amendment, by refusing religious liberties. The university bases their education on strict teachings from the bible, taking the words verbatim. The school fought the case based on the interpretation from Genesis, that humans are all decedents of Noah's three sons. In footnote six of the court case it explains the interpretation as “race is determined by descendance from one of Noah's three sons - Ham, Shem, and Japheth. Based on this interpretation, Orientals and Negroes are Hamitic, Hebrews are Shemitic, and Caucasians are Japhethitic.”(Bob Jones University v. United States). Each race originating from these three men, and as well as a result of mixing these races can be seen as a “violation of Gods command”. The university was essentially following its religious values, but it also comes down to the interpretation of the book of Genesis. Although the first amendment respects religious freedom, the court ruled against Bob Jones Stating that the bibles interpretation of race was not a reasonable means of justification for racial discrimination. The ruling declared that these institutions did not provide “beneficial and stabilizing influences in community life, The school could not meet this requirement due to their discriminatory policies” (Bob Jones University v. United States). As a result of the ruling the IRS was right in removing the tax exemption status form the...
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...Who’s Left Standing for State Sovereignty?: Private Party Standing to Raise Tenth Amendment Claims By: Katherine Connolly Section 1: The most critical topic raised in Who’s Left Standing for State Sovereignty?: Private Party Standing to Raise Tenth Amendment Claims by Katherine Connolly is the Supreme Court and State courts oscillating view of the Tenth Amendment, the contradictory views between circuit court of appeals on the Amendment, and an analysis of private party Tenth Amendment standing. “In the decades since its adoption, American courts have vigorously debated the substantive meaning of this Amendment.” (Connolly 1540) Many of the circuit court of appeals have had a difficult time coming to an agreement on the underlying meaning of the Amendment. “Six circuit courts of appeals now hold the increasingly popular majority position that only states and not private parties may enforce the Tenth Amendment. Two circuit courts of appeals hold the once-majority position that private party standing to assert claims under the Tenth Amendment is permissible.” (Connolly 1541) The article was taken from the Boston College Law Review. Katherine Connolly, the author of the note, has her opinions on the topic of the Tenth Amendment and knows the history of it because she is a third year student at Boston College Law School and the senior editor of the Law Review. Section 2: The author did not make any vague, ambiguous or unsupported statements in...
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...2014 the Supreme Court granted writ of certiorari in Heien v North Carolina which was the first argued case during their new term. This case presents the question of whether a police officer’s mistake of law can provide the individualized suspicion that the Fourth Amendment requires to justify a traffic stop (Brief of Petitioner 2). This case arose in 2009 when police stopped Nicholas Heien in North Carolina for driving with one broken brake light. The officer issued Heien a citation for his light and then proceeded to ask him if he could search his car, which Heien consented to. During the search, the officer discovered a sandwich bag that contained 54.2 grams of cocaine and Heien was arrested on the spot for drug trafficking (Oyez Project). He plead guilty to two counts of drug...
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...The Right to Keep and Bear Arms: A Right to Self-Defense Against Criminals and Despots by Robert Dowlut[*] If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. -- James Madison[1] INTRODUCTION A written constitution is a reminder that governments can be unreasonable and unjust. By guaranteeing that "[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," the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution provides the citizens a means of protection against the unjust excesses of government.[2] The Framers placed this guarantee in the Bill of Rights because they considered the right to keep and bear arms peculiarly important and also uniquely vulnerable to infringement. The Amendment's command protects individuals against even popular conceptions of the public good. In addition to this protection within the United States Constitution,[3] the constitutions of forty-three states guarantee the right to keep and bear arms.[4] Despite the constitutional authority for this right, legislators and judges have consistently attempted to devalue it. Methods such as giving misleading labels to select firearms like "assault weapons"[5] or "Saturday Night Specials"[6] have been used to justify incremental disarmament.[7] American jurisprudence has deliberately devalued the right...
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...Confederation was he first federal “constitution” to be upheld in the thirteen colonies. Unfortunately, under the Articles, Congress was given no power over the states so that the country could grow into an actual functioning society, though there were certain things that they did have control over, such as create war and peace time, conduct foreign affairs and etc. But under the Articles, “But Congress could not collect taxes and enforce laws directly; it had to rely on the states to provide money and enforce its laws. . .”(Dye 61). Essentially, the states did what they felt was right beneath their own respective state level government. “No respect is paid to the federal authority. Not a single state complies with the requisitions[submitted by Congress]” (Nardo 18). The Founding Fathers were disturbed by the utter discord the nation seemed to be in. Deciding that enough was enough in May of 1797, twelve of the thirteen colonies delegates, 55 delegates, gathered together in the State House of Philadelphia to, originally, fix and tweak the bugs out of the Articles of Confederation. But instead of fixing the Articles, James Madison decided that it would be better to scrap the whole document and create a whole new federal constitution. James Madison was intent on drafting a new constitution that would create a stronger, central government: The Virginia Plan. “. . . he by no means wanted that government to be so powerful that it trampled on the cherished rights of the states. He foresaw...
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...same delegates about other rights of American citizens, the Bill of Rights was written to solidify all of the basic individual freedoms of the people. It was on this document that several laws were written and many great freedoms given. But because these amendments didn't give a specific definition of these freedoms and rights problems ranging from wars being fought because of conflicting ideals in people to poor moral choices being unjustified because there is no line drawn to decide how far things will go; and the vague rules that allow and cause these things to happen need to rewritten . To learn where it all this mess starts is easy; it starts almost immediately after the signing of the Constitution. The document states that there will be freedom of speech, assembly, the right to bear arms, and other freedoms. The cause of one of the first issues that plagued America was not whether the rules are fair and good or not, but who the rules and freedoms are meant for. This was cause of the continuation of slavery in America even after men were supposed to be free because the Bill of rights did not state that a man, either black or white or red or green, has these freedoms. It just simply says that the citizens of America have these rights and the government cannot infringe upon them. And like most legal documents there are always different ways to interpret them. Even women at the time and for a long while afterwards were not allowed certain rights, like voting and education...
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...various contraceptives. After examining the wife of a certain couple, they prescribed a specific contraceptive device for her, knowingly violating a Connecticut law against the use of contraceptives. In accordance with the portion of the law stating that “any person who assists, abets, counsels, causes, hires or commands another to commit any offense may be prosecuted and punished as if he were the principal offender,” Griswold and Buxton were fined one hundred dollars each (LLI Griswold v. Connecticut). They appealed to the Supreme Court, claiming that the Connecticut law was unconstitutional because it violated the right to privacy within marriage, a right not specifically stated in the Constitution, but one which they believed was essential for the existence of the rights guaranteed in the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Amendments (McBride). Legitimacy of the Right of Privacy/ Court Decision The primary argument against the...
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...Race Power to only Legislate for the Benefit Contrarily, Justice Murphy was in favour of the second interpretation and held in Commonwealth v Tasmania (1983) 158 CLR 1 that Section 51 (xxvi) should be interpreted to only allow for legislation which maintains and protects the rights of the Aboriginal people taking into consideration the 1967 Referendum as ‘to hold otherwise would be to make a mockery of the decision by the people’. This view was upheld by Brennan J and it was held that the 1967 Referendum was ‘an affirmation of the will of the Australian people … that the primary object of the power is beneficial’. Gaudron J in Kartinyeri contemplated that although the scope of Section 51 (xxvi) is wide enough to authorise laws to the advantage...
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