...In recent events, the delegates and I found the existing document, the Articles of Confederation, very problematic. With no executive or judicial branch, the Articles of Confederation is proving to be extraordinarily restrictive. In addition, the Articles of Confederation is preventing us from taxing and regulating interstate as well as foreign commerce. Moreover, we need nine out of thirteen states to enact laws and thirteen out of thirteen votes to make amendments to the Articles. The problems with the Articles and with our ongoing controversies between states force us into many difficult situations and we delegates have come to a mutual agreement. One thing all thirteen of us share in common is our need for change. Slavery, slave trading,...
Words: 1149 - Pages: 5
...The Iroquois constitution was written years before the US. Constitution. It is older than the document itself and its amendments. Many believe our constitution incorporated many ideas of democratic government from the Iroquois constitution because of the various similarities found in both documents, such as the basic structure of the documents, designation of a person in charge, the power of veto, impeachment and the division of government. There is also historical evidence that some of the founding fathers were in direct contact with the Iroquois people. Freedom of speech, religion and press have been controversial issues for many years. That is why a preamble was part of both constitutions. The inclusion of a preamble is vital in both documents. The Iroquois used symbolism,” Five bound arrows symbolize our complete union. ... We have tied ourselves together in one head, body, one spirit and one soul to settle all matters as one” both preambles highlight the importance of unity and liberty. Antifederalists were concerned with protecting individual’s rights and fought for the inclusion of a Bill of rights to our constitution. That is why our constitution reads; “We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America...
Words: 1039 - Pages: 5
...Imagine if you woke up tomorrow to find yourself in a parallel universe where our founding fathers had chosen not to introduce the Judicial Branch in the Constitution. America would be an extremely different place, if not at all still exist. The Judicial Branch interprets the law, a task much more important than it sounds. The Supreme Court, the only court created by the constitution in the Judicial Branch, has made some of the most important decisions in US history. Ones that couldn't be solved by anyone else correctly in the federal government. The Judicial Branch prevents people from abusing law. The Judical branch interprets the constitution, and what they say the 266 year old document is, is what it is. On The Supreme Court has made...
Words: 840 - Pages: 4
...have a living Constitution and should we have a living Constitution? A living Constitution is one that changes with times; one that is continuously evolving and adapting to new ways of life and circumstances without being formally amended and changed. On one side of the argument, the answer to the question must be yes: a living Constitution seems like the only realistic option, as every generation faces different issues that must be politically dealt with in ways that are modern and efficient. Our Constitution, the document that was created around 230 years ago and currently resides under a glass bubble at the National Archives, can be amended and changed with the times, however, the amendment process is long, exhausting and most of the times unsuccessful....
Words: 1178 - Pages: 5
...A constitution is a set of rules which may be written or unwritten, establishes the distribution of power in a political system, the limits of government jurisdiction, the rights of citizens and the method of amending the constitution itself. An uncodified constitution is unwritten, or at least not written all in one document. The constitution in the UK is found in a variety of sources, which are mainly statute and common law, conventions and traditions, European law etc. The British constitution itself is flexible as it allows the constitutions to evolve and generally adapt to the changing society. Compared to the US whose constitution is described as ‘rigid’; through the struggle of being able to amend constitutions; for example, the ‘right to bear arms’ amendment, which basically gives registered citizens the right to keep and bear arms. The topic of amending this constitution is very controversial, however due to the constitution being codified the process is very difficult, as is it entrenched and has been a part of the US culture for centuries. In this essay, I will be analysing the strengths of the British constitution and comparing it to a codified constitution, Some of the arguments for retaining the uncodified system are that; codification produces ‘judicial tyranny’, uncodified constitutions are more flexible and lastly that an uncodified system has worked well in the UK for many years and broadly speaking not many people have protested against an uncodified system...
Words: 924 - Pages: 4
...Articles of Confederation. Describe what they were and how they came about and what they were designed to address in the new American government. Why did they require replacement? Was the process of their replacement controversial? Was it necessary that the Articles were replace? The Articles of Confederation served as the first constitution of the US, it written on November 15, 1777 and formally ratified in 1781. The articles created a platform for a new government without an association between 13 states, this original constitution did not have a central government to oversee the workings of the states as a whole and instead operated on a “firm league of friendship”. The articles were known as a confederation since the system gave...
Words: 699 - Pages: 3
...Irene Sanford Emerson, John Emerson’s wife. At this point Scott attempted to buy his freedom but Irene refused, thus creating an uprising of controversial court cases. Dred Scott claimed he had become free while living in free states and that once free he could not be reenslaved. Dred Scott fought for his freedom in court until his case made it to the Supreme Court. The Dred Scott decision of 1857 ruled that African-Americans, free or enslaved, could never be citizens of the United States and held no rights under the Constitution. This decision proved to have a dramatic effect on American politics. The ruling of Chief Justice Taney was the most important decision ever issued on slavery. The Dred Scott decision was controversial, raising many questions regarding African Americans as citizens, whether or not the congress had the right to prohibit slavery in any territory, and the equality of all men under the Declaration of Independence. The question brought up in court was whether a negro whose ancestors were imported into the United States and sold as slaves become a member of the community, either politically or socially. The court ruled that as a black man, Scott was omitted from United States citizenship. According to the opinion of the court, African-Americans were not included in the “Sovereign People” who made the Constitution. The decision meant that Scott had no right to sue in court because neither slaves nor free...
Words: 646 - Pages: 3
...Assignment on NSA Edward Snowden Revelations and Congress reaction By ABC Date; NSA Edward Snowden Revelations and Congress reaction 1. NSA Edward Snowden Revelations The first bombs hell story was published on the basis of the top secret documents. This was related to the national security agency who spy on the American citizen. When the story was leaked, it was not mentioned that the treasure trove is based on NSA documents and source was not come in front. After three days, the person has leaked his identity. When the identity was leaked, it is revealed that he is “Edward Snowden”. Some of revelations were in queue and in coming years, explosive stories started to trickle the documents. Some of revelations are following: 1. Sweeping...
Words: 1501 - Pages: 7
...The Branches of US Government Team D HIS/301 United States Constitution On May 25, 1787 one of the world’s most important documents was written, the United States Constitution. This Constitution has stood the test of time, in fact it is the oldest written Constitution still being used by a nation in the world. This proves that it was well thought out and planned. The 55 delegates who created the Constitution wanted it to be the heart of the body of law for the country. They put in place checks and balance to protect the tilt of power from becoming out of balance and created it to evolve with the country and the people it protected. One way they accomplished this major undertaking was to create three distinct Government branches. The government of the United States is divided into three groups, the legislative, judicial, and presidential branches. Our forefathers were concerned that the government could become under rule of a totalitarian regime. One person would obtain so much power that he or she would become sole ruler, or dictator. Our forefathers believed that they could create a government with checks and balances, which would help prevent too much power going into one person or groups hands. “Our forefathers created a governing system that had really yet not existed” (Why, 2011). This was new, something the world had never seen before. “Democratic governments already were in existence yet, our forefathers, wanted to create a government unlike...
Words: 1343 - Pages: 6
...Sheila Henderson, Sondra Lettsome, Elvina Scott, Desmond Thomas University of Phoenix U.S. Constitution HIS/301 Dr. John Theis November 10, 2011 Bill of Rights and Amendments Paper The founding fathers of our country had it right when they put in place an irrefutable plan of action and order. Although many things have changed since the inception of the original documents, the process and ways of which something must be done and adopted remains viable to us today. This example is not only found in the legislative democracy but also in the educational, religious, and social genres of the world. The constitution shares with all who take the time to peruse, the reasoning behind it, the amendments that are attached, and the rights of each person living the American Dream. After Congress proposes an amendment, the Archivist of the United States, who heads the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), is charged with responsibility for administering the ratification process under the provisions of 1 U.S.C. 106b (Archives.Gov.) If two-third of the number of votes of both the Senate and the House of Representative are in favor an amendment can be proposed by the Congress. Otherwise, two-thirds of the legislatures of the fifty states can call for a constitutional agreement for the purposes of proposing amendments to the Constitution. After an amendment to the Constitution has been proposed, it must be ratified to become legal and requires two procedures. First,...
Words: 1195 - Pages: 5
...with regard to the people of our hill districts. Recently, on the occasion of World Indigenous People's Day, a few comments of the leaders of our hill tribes attracted my attention. One of them said on TV that the people of the hill tracts should be "grateful" to those who drafted the 15th amendment for "upgrading" their status from an "upajati" (sub-nation) to full "jati" (nation) by legally making them Bangalis from their hitherto status as Chakmas and members of other hill tribes of the country. The tone of sarcasm and sadness in his words did not escape viewers' attention. Another tribal leader who was interviewed on the same issue said that regrettably when the Parliamentary Committee was making such fundamental changes in the Constitution affecting their fate; it did not consider it at all necessary to talk to them. This leader said that their efforts to be heard fell on deaf ears of the Committee. The 15th amendment has denied the status of indigenous people to 3 million of the people of Bangladesh who do not speak Bengali and are not part...
Words: 2923 - Pages: 12
...British Constitution: some problems’, 2008. One must understand that most of the countries now have a written and a codified Constitution, such as the United States of the America, Malaysia, India, Australia and etc. As we know these countries are under the British colonies before getting their independence. Hence now there are only three states in the world which lacks a written constitution, namely Britain, New Zealand, and Israel. A constitution is a set of rules which defines the structures and functions of a state, particularly, will define the principle of institutions, the legislature, the executive, judiciary and the nature and the scope of their powers. Moreover, Bradley and Ewing have defined a constitution as ‘ a document having special legal sanctity which sets out the framework and the principle functions of the organs of government within the state and declares the principles by which those organs must operate’. (A Bradley and K Ewing, Constitutional and Administrative Law (14th edn, Pearson/Longman, 2007), p.4) [1]In the introduction of a state’s constitution, there will be a discovery of a preamble, for example, in the USA the preamble states that: ‘We the people...do ordain and establish this Constitution’. (Article 2 of the 1936 Soviet Constitution.)[2] This shows the society as a sovereign power. An important question that often rises is “Should Britain adopts a written constitution”? This has always been the topic of debate and thus very controversial. Many...
Words: 2597 - Pages: 11
...qualifications websites at www.edexcel.com or www.btec.co.uk for our BTEC qualifications. Alternatively, you can get in touch with us using the details on our contact us page at www.edexcel.com/contactus. If you have any subject specific questions about this specification that require the help of a subject specialist, you can speak directly to the subject team at Pearson. Their contact details can be found on this link: www.edexcel.com/teachingservices. You can also use our online Ask the Expert service at www.edexcel.com/ask. You will need an Edexcel username and password to access this service. Pearson: helping people progress, everywhere Our aim is to help everyone progress in their lives through education. We believe in every kind of learning, for all kinds of people, wherever they are in the world. We’ve been involved in education for over 150 years, and by working across 70 countries, in 100 languages, we have built an international reputation for our commitment to high standards and raising achievement through innovation in education. Find out more about how we can help you and your students at: www.pearson.com/uk Summer 2013 Publications Code US036082 All the material in this publication is copyright © Pearson Education Ltd 2013 6GP02_01 1301 No. 1 (a) With reference to the source, outline two features of the UK constitution. AO1 Knowledge and understanding Key knowledge and understanding The following features are in the source and can be...
Words: 3644 - Pages: 15
...enjoy and exercise the inalienable rights that were protected by our founding fathers in the Bill of Rights. However, in recent years it has come to the attention of many that our right to petition, as protected in the first amendment of the Bill of Rights, may be at risk. The source of concern is a controversial one that forces us to weigh the importance of our right to enter a plea against another citizen, against our right to petition freely without fear of redress. Over the past couple decades Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation in government, also know as SLAPPs, have become a tool used by corporations (especially those in real-estate) to silence critics who petition against their actions. The goal of delay and distraction is accomplished by forcing defendants to bear the burden of litigation costs in order to defend themselves from the impending lawsuit. Twenty-Eight states have already passed anti-SLAPP statutes, however I believe it is necessary for the national government to pass a nationwide anti-SLAPP law in order to protect what is arguably one of its citizens most fundamentally important rights. In order to support this claim however, it is imperative for us to examine the history of how the right to petition has been used, and the development of precedents that show how this right has been interpreted and protected...
Words: 3478 - Pages: 14
...The USA Patriot Act, the Alien and Sedition Acts, and the Bill of Rights were all established by the government to protect the citizens of the United States of America. These forms of legislation were predominantly written with intentions of enhanced security but could also be construed as allotting more power to the government to generate decisions without the consent of the citizens. The USA Patriot Act is the most recent of the three forms of legislation, but its objective is probably more understood by citizens during a time of terrorism and constant states of “High Alert” issued by the government. The Act affects everyone in the country, and since it gives the government the ability to search any personal records and conduct surveillance on any citizen with little judicial oversight, people of the United States are annoyed, angered, and apprehensive too. Following the events occurring on September 11, 2001 and the ongoing wars in the Middle East, the government now maintains the right to jail non-citizens solely on suspicion and the FBI can investigate any American citizen for criminal matters if the Bureau declares the investigation involves matters of intelligence, all because the government endorsed and enacted the USA Patriot Act. The Alien and Sedition Acts are comprised of four smaller acts: the Alien Enemies Act, the Alien Act, the Naturalization Act, and the Sedition Act. During the time these Acts were passed, the government was comprised of Federalists who...
Words: 1045 - Pages: 5
