THE US CONSTITUTION



THE US CONSTITUTION

History of the Constitution:

Westward Expansion:

Principles:

Ham

Amendments:

How Much Do You Know about the United States Constitution?

Part I. - List

1) List the three qualifications to be a representative. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2) List the three qualifications to be a senator. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3) List the three qualifications to be president. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4) List the two ways in which an amendment to the Constitution can be proposed.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5) List the two assemblies that can approve a constitutional amendment in a state.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6) List the three branches of government and the article that describes them.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7) List some of the expressed powers of Congress found in Article I of the Constitution.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8) List the officers that make up the executive branch of government.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9) List some of the powers of the President.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10) List some powers that are denied to states.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

11) List the rights that are guaranteed to someone who is accused of and tried for a crime.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Part II. - Short Answer

____________________________ 1) To which branch of government do senators and representatives belong?

____________________________ 2) Who can propose a bill in Congress?

____________________________ 3) What are the first ten amendments to the Constitution called?

____________________________ 4) What did the 13th Amendment do?

____________________________ 5) What is the main idea of the Preamble?

____________________________ 6) How is the membership in the House of Representatives determined?

____________________________ 7) How is representation in the Senate determined?

____________________________ 8) Which governmental body has the sole power to impeach?

____________________________ 9) Which governmental body ahs the sole power to try an official who is

impeached?

____________________________10) What is the name of the publication that reports the debates, laws and

other information of the legislative branch?

____________________________11) What is it called when the president refuses to sign a bill into law?

____________________________12) What is another term for implied powers?

____________________________13) Who elects the President?

____________________________14) Who is next in line for the Presidency after the Vice-President?

____________________________15) What branch of government is created by Article III.

____________________________16) How many justices including the chief justice are on the Supreme

Court?

____________________________17) How long does a justice serve on the Supreme Court?

____________________________18) What governmental body grants new states admission to the union?

____________________________19) What amendment grants freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly,

and petition?

____________________________20) In what year did the Constitution become the law of the land?

____________________________21) Who presides over the House of Representatives?

____________________________22) Who presides over the Senate when the Vice-President is not there?

____________________________23) If each house of Congress passes a different version of a bill, where

must it go to be resolved?

____________________________24) For what is the President responsible as commander in chief?

____________________________25) What kind of jurisdiction does the Supreme Court have over cases

Involving ambassadors, public ministers and disputes between states?

____________________________26) What was our country's first constitution?

____________________________27) Where did the Constitutional Convention meet?

____________________________28) What governmental body was not included in the Articles of

Confederation?

____________________________29) Who was the president of the meeting that called to change the Articles

of Confederation?

____________________________30) How many men signed the Constitution?

____________________________31) How many amendments were added to the Constitution in 1791?

____________________________32) Who makes laws for the United States?

____________________________33) What is the length of term for a member of the House of

Representatives?

____________________________34) Who chooses the Speaker of the House?

____________________________35) What is the length of term of a Senator?

____________________________36) Who elects Senators? What amendment changed this process?

____________________________37) Who is the President of the Senate?

____________________________38) What governmental agency coins and prints money?

____________________________39) What is a bill of attainder? Does the Constitution permit it?

____________________________40) How many must be present for the House and Senate to do their work?

____________________________41) What vote is required to get a record vote of a Representative or

Senator?

____________________________42) What is the only governmental body allowed to write tax bills?

____________________________43) After being sent to the President, a bill becomes a law if it is not

returned in __________ days.

____________________________44) A law to punish a man for something that was not against the law when

he did it is called _________________________.

____________________________45) What is the length of term for the President?

____________________________46) On what date and time does the President's term end?

____________________________47) Maximum number of years a president can serve.

____________________________48) What governmental body must approve treaties made by the President.

____________________________49) What governmental body settles questions concerning the Constitution?

____________________________50) How many witnesses are required to convict someone of treason?

____________________________51) Nobody holding a United States office shall ever have to pass a ______?

____________________________52) No person's house or property may be searched without a __________?

____________________________53) Who selects the president if no candidate gets a majority of the electoral

votes?

____________________________54) How can the U.S. punish a State that denies the right of citizens to vote?

____________________________55) How many departments does the president have in his cabinet?

____________________________56) What is meant by invoking the Fifth Amendment?

____________________________57) Who usually administers the President's oath?

____________________________58) What amendment gives all citizens the right to vote regardless of race?

____________________________59) What was the first method provided by the writers of the Constitution

for the election of the President?

____________________________60) Which president was chosen by the House of Representatives?

____________________________61) Who was the first Vice-President?

Part III. – Which Amendment?

_____ 1) Right of women to vote

_____ 2) Fair bail and punishment

_____ 3) Income tax

_____ 4) Eighteen-year-old vote

_____ 5) Prohibition of alcohol

_____ 6) Free Speech

_____ 7) Restraint on congressional salaries

_____ 8) Repeal of Prohibition

_____ 9) "Lame Duck" Amendment

_____ 10) Limit on presidential terms

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The Philadelphia Convention

A stronger central administration was needed

Delegates from each state (except Rhode Island) began arriving in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in May 1787. At first, only Virginia and Pennsylvania were represented. It took some of the delegate’s months to arrive. In fact, the last delegate to arrive showed up on August 6th!

- The convention initially considered two plans: the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan.

Virginia plan – Favoured Larger States

Gov. Edmund Randolph (Virginia) presented the Virginia Plan, which provided for a "national" government with three branches, the executive, the legislative, and the judicial.

• Executive Branch: Provides leadership and enforces laws.

• Legislative Branch: Makes laws for the nation.

• Judicial Branch: Explains and interprets laws.

New Jersey Plan – Favoured Smaller States

The Convention was in dead lock as many of the delegates were outraged at the word "national," not wanting the states to lose power.

In the end, most of the Virginia Plan was used; however, it would take a "Great Compromise."

Articles of the Constitution

Article 4: States' powers: States have the power to make and carry out their own laws. State laws that are related to the people and problems of their area. States respect other states laws and work together with other states to fix regional problems.

Article 3: Judicial Branch: the Supreme Court decides court cases according to US Constitution. The courts under the Supreme Court decide criminal and civil court cases according to the correct federal, state, and local laws.

Article 2: Executive Branch: the President, Vice-President, Cabinet, and Departments under the Cabinet Secretaries carry out the laws made by Congress.

Article 1: Legislative Branch: the U.S. Congress makes the laws for the United States. Congress has two parts, called "Houses," the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Article 7: Ratification: The Constitution was presented to George Washington and the men at the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787, Representatives from twelve out of the thirteen original states signed the Constitution.

Article 6: Federal powers: The Constitution and federal laws are higher than state and local laws. All laws must agree with the US Constitution.

Article 5: Amendments: The Constitution can be changed. New amendments can be added to the US Constitution with the approval by a two-thirds vote in each house of Congress (67, 281) and three-fourth vote by the states (38).

The Great Compromise or the Connecticut Compromise

A bicameral legislature made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives settled the debate over representation in the national government.

- Small states feared they would be ignored if representation was based on population. Large states, however, believed that their larger populations deserved more of a voice.

- Under the two house system, each party would be represented in a balance of power.

- Each state would be equally represented in the Senate, with two delegates, while representation in the House of Representatives would be based upon population.

Commerce and slavery were two issues that divided the colonies between North and South.

- Southern states exported goods and raw materials and feared the Northern states would take unfair advantage.

- The South finally agreed not to require two-thirds passage in both houses to regulate commerce.

- The North agreed that the slave trade could continue until 1808. Slaves would be taxed at not more than $10 each when brought in. In addition, slaves would be counted as three-fifths of a person for representation in the House of Representatives.

Nationality requirements and provisions for amending and ratifying the Constitution were also addressed.

The Constitution was finally finished on September 12, 1787 and made public. It did not contain any sort of Bill of Rights, even though that question had been heavily debated.

Each state was then given six months to convene and vote on the proposed Constitution. During these six months, there was much public debate.

People in favour of the Constitution were called Federalists 

- James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay wrote a series of articles in favour of the Constitution that became known as The Federalist Papers. These articles helped sway public opinion

While those opposed were called Anti-Federalists

The Constitution was finally ratified and became legal on June 21, 1788.

After Revolutionary War, the 13 colonies won their freedom. The states were very different from each other; however, they realised that in order to grow and prosper, they needed the other states. So, delegates from each state got together and a plan for unity was initially submitted to the Second Continental Congress on July 12, 1776. After much debate, on November 15, 1777, the states finally established a "firm league of friendship" that became known as the Articles of Confederation. The Articles, however, did not go into effect until March 1, 1781.Under the Articles of Confederation, each state remained independent, with a single vote, and there was no real power behind the central government.

Within 2 years, it became obvious that the Articles of Confederation was weak – many people were in debt and states were printing money that was worthless.

It was decided that the states should get together and fix the Articles and unite the states as one nation.

Westward expansion is the migration of Americans from the East coast to other parts of America during the 18th & 19th centuries.

Because of Westward expansion the USA has become a very diverse country:

- Climate (tropical, arctic, great plains, Rockies, deserts and forests)

- 4 time zones (midday in London, 7am in New York, 4am on West coast)

Diversity:

- The USA is the ‘hyphenated society’, in which people think of themselves as African-Americans, Irish-Americans, Polish-Americans, Japanese –Americans or Native-Americans. American society has been described as a ‘melting pot’ – filled with people from diverse lands, cultures, languages and religions.

- This vast diversity brings the need for national unity- people turn to symbols (The American Flag). Every day people raise and lower the flag, public buildings display the flag, every bus in Washington DC has a flag and everyday students pledge their allegiance to the flag. There is even a day each year designated as ‘Flag Day’.

Diversity brings political implications:

- Brings the need for decentralisation- laws differing from state to state in the forms of elections, crime and punishment.

- Different regions in the country have different ideological characteristics – ‘conservative south’ (‘Bible Belt’ ) or the Liberal Northeast. – this has implications on political parties too as southern Democrats are more conservative than northern Democrats and the same pattern with the Republican party.

Popular sovereignty, Constitutionalism, Checks and Balances, Separation of Powers, Federalism and Judicial Review

Popular sovereignty:

Popular sovereignty is the notion that no law or rule is legitimate unless it rests directly or indirectly on the consent of the individuals concerned.

The origin of popular sovereignty goes back to what is called the social contract school of the mid 1600s to the mid 1700s. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), John Locke (1632-1704) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) were the most important members of the social contract school.

In the First line of the Constitution – ‘WE THE PEOPLE..’, popular sovereignty is shown!

Modern Popular sovereignty is in the form of Direct Democracy:

- Legislatively-referred constitutional amendment

- Legislatively-referred state statute,

- Initiated state statute (direct or indirect),

- Initiated constitutional amendment,

- Veto referendum,

- Statute affirmation (available only in Nevada),

- State wide recall

Arizona, California, Colorado, Michigan, Montana, Nevada , North Dakota and Oregon use all of these.

Constitutionalism or Limited Government:

Constitutionalism is the idea, often associated with the political theories of John Locke and the Founding Fathers.

The idea is that the government should be legally limited in its powers, and that its authority depends on its observing these limitations which is necessary only for the common good of the people.

A constitution is a legal, not just a political limitation on government: the power of judicial review.

Also, the constitution is naturally a limitation on the power of the government as it is the highest source of power in the land.

Constitutionalism leads on to form the ‘Separation of Powers’ and ‘Checks and Balances’.

Judicial Review:

Judicial review is one of the distinctive features of United States constitutional law.

It is the power of the Supreme Court to declare acts of Congress, or actions of the executive (or act from state governments) unconstitutional and thereby null and void.

Although it was first asserted in Marbury v. Madison 1803 to strike down an act of Congress as inconsistent with the Constitution, judicial review did not spring from the brain of Chief Justice Marshall. The concept had been long known, having been utilised in a much more limited form by Privy Council review of colonial legislation.

However, Judicial Review was not directly in the Constitution but rather ‘founded itself’.

The Judicial branch interprets the laws. –SUPREME COURT

The Executive branch enforces the laws. - PRESIDENT

The Legislative branch makes the laws. - CONGRESS

The framework of government was put in by the founding fathers because of their fear of tyranny.

- The framers were influenced by the writings of French political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu in his book L’Esprit des Lois (The Spirit of the Laws)

-

Why?

A government's role is to 'protect individual rights', but governments have historically been the major violators of these rights. So a number of measures have been derived to reduce this likelihood. The concept of Separation of Powers is one such measure.

The premise behind the Separation of Powers is that when a single person or group has a large amount of power, they can become dangerous to citizens. The Separation of Power is a method of removing the amount of power in any group's hands, making it more difficult to abuse.

Separation of Powers:

A theory of government whereby political power is distributed among three branches of the government – executive, legislative and judiciary- acting both independently and interdependently.

Other examples:

- Congress split into two - House and Senate

- Those who declare war (Congress) are different than those who execute war (President)

-

Checks and Balances:

The American constitutional system includes a notion known as the Separation of Powers. In this system, several branches of government are created and power is shared between them. At the same time, the powers of one branch can be challenged by another branch. This is what the system of checks and balances is all about.

Legislative Branch

Checks on the Executive

- Congress can amend, block or reject legislation recommended from president. (2001- amended Bush’s Education Reform Bill 1993- Clintons health care reforms blocked by Congress 1999- Clintons request for an increase in the minimum wage 2007- Congress blocked Bush’s immigration reform)

- Impeachment power (House)

- Trial of impeachments (Senate) (1868- Andrew Johnson 1997- Bill Clinton)

- Selection of the President (House) and Vice President (Senate) in the case of no majority of electoral votes

- May override Presidential vetoes (Congress overrode 4 of Bush’s 11 vetoes including 2007 -Water Resources Development Bill 2008- Food Conservation and energy bill)

- Senate approves departmental appointments (1987- rejected Robert Bork 1989- John Tower 1997- William Weld 1999- Ronnie White 2005- Harriet Miers)

- Senate approves treaties and ambassadors (2006- Senate ratified the USUK Extradition Treaty 1999- rejected the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty)

- Approval of replacement Vice President

- Power to declare war (Congress declared war on Japan 1941) – ( Congress asks Presidents to get permission before sending troops in – 2002 Bush and Iraq)

- Power of the Purse ( 2007- Democrat controlled Congress attempted to limit Bush’s spending on the military operations in Iraq)

- President must, from time-to-time, deliver a State of the Union address

Checks on the Judiciary

- Senate approves federal judges

- Impeachment power (House)

- Trial of impeachments (Senate) (1986-1989 – Harry Claiborne for tax evasion, Alcee Hastings for bribery and Walter Nixon for perjury)

- Power to initiate constitutional amendments (overturn decisions) (1896- 16th amendment to allow Congress the power to levy income tax)

- Power to set courts inferior to the Supreme Court

- Power to set jurisdiction of courts

- Power to alter the size of the Supreme Court

Checks on the Legislature - because it is bicameral, the Legislative branch has a degree of self-checking.

- Bills must be passed by both houses of Congress

- House must originate revenue bills

- Neither house may adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other house

- All journals are to be published

Executive Branch

Checks on the Legislature

- Veto power (2007 – Bush State Children’s Health Insurance Programme (S-CHIP))

- Propose Legislation (State of Union Address : 2002- Bush used his to try to get Congress to focus on his war on Terrorism and budget priorities)

- Vice President is President of the Senate

- Commander in chief of the military

- Recess appointments

- Emergency calling into session of one or both houses of Congress

- May force adjournment when both houses cannot agree on adjournment

- Compensation cannot be diminished

Checks on the Judiciary

- Power to appoint judges (2005- Bush appointed John Roberts and Samuel Alito in 2006 )

- Pardon power (1974- Ford pardoned Nixon for the Watergate Affair, Clinton pardoned 120 people on his last day, Bush pardoned only 189 people in 8 years)

Checks on the Executive

- Vice President and Cabinet can vote that the President is unable to discharge his duties

Judicial Branch

Checks on the Legislature

- Judicial review (1997 – case of Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union 1998- Clinton v. New York City)

- Seats are held on good behavior

- Compensation cannot be diminished

Checks on the Executive

- Judicial review (1952- Youngstown v. Tube Company v. Sawyer 1974 – United States v. Richard Nixon 2006- Hamdan v. Rumsfeld)

- Chief Justice sits as President of the Senate during presidential impeachment

Federalism:

Federalism is the division of powers between a central government and regional governments.

The United States has a federal system of government where the states and national government exercise separate powers within their own spheres of authority.

The framers of the U.S. Constitution sought to create a federal system that promotes strong national power in certain spheres, yet recognises that the states are sovereign in other spheres.

Under the U.S. Constitution, both the national and state governments are granted certain exclusive powers and share other powers.

Powers of State Governments

- Establish local governments

- Issue licenses (driver, hunting, marriage, etc.)

- Regulate intrastate (within the state) commerce

- Conduct elections

- Ratify amendments to the U.S. Constitution

- Provide for public health and safety

- Exercise powers neither delegated to the national government nor prohibited from the states by the U.S.

- Constitution (For example, setting legal drinking and smoking ages.)

Powers of the National Government

- Print money (bills and coins)

- Declare war

- Establish an army and navy

- Enter into treaties with foreign governments

- Regulate commerce between states and international trade

- Establish post offices and issue postage

- Make laws necessary to enforce the Constitution

Powers Shared by National and State Government

Setting up courts

Creating and collecting taxes

- Building highways

- Borrowing money

- Making and enforcing laws

- Chartering banks and corporations

- Spending money for the betterment of the general welfare

- Taking (condemning) private property with just compensation

Dual federalism, also known as "layer cake federalism" involves clearly enumerated powers between the national and state governments, and sovereignty in equal spheres. This relationship predominated from the 1790s to 1930. 

Cooperative federalism, also known as "marble cake federalism," involved the national and state governments sharing functions and collaborating on major national priorities. This relationship predominated between 1930 and 1960. 

Creative federalism, also known as "picket fence federalism," predominated during the period of 1960 to 1980. This relationship was characterized by overloaded cooperation and crosscutting regulations. 

New federalism, sometimes referred to as "on your own federalism," is characterised by further devolution of power from national to state governments, deregulation, but also increased difficulty of states to fulfil their new mandates. This period began in 1981 and continues to the present. 

Why has there been a change in federal-state relationship?

- Westward expansion: -From the original 13 colonies on the east coast America grew all the way to the west coast

- Population growth: -The population has grown from 4 million in 1790 to 76 million in 1900 and finally 275 million in 2000. A growing nation needs a growing government.

- Industrialisation: - Brought the need for government regulation. The Departments for Commerce and Labor were set up in 1903.

- Improvements in Communication: - As the nation grew the infrastructure didn’t. Journeys that took weeks took days or even hours as roads, rail and aircraft opened up the nation. Radio and TV brought communication and a feeling of national identity. Telephone, fax and email have allowed people to communicate thousands of miles apart.

- The Great Depression: When the depression hit in 1929 the states look to the federal government. The states did not possess the necessary resources to reverse the huge amounts of unemployment, launch massive public schemes or rescue agriculture. Franklin Roosevelt’s NEW DEAL, helped get the USA working again – built roads, schools and provide hydroelectric power.

- Foreign Policy: After WW2 the USA became a Super Power and the federal government saw its role enhanced significantly- exclusive jurisdiction over foreign policy.

- Supreme Court decisions: Decisions made by the Supreme Court, especially between 1937 and 1970 (Civil Rights Movement), further enhanced the federal government though their interpretation of the implied powers of the Constitution.

- Constitutional Amendments:

14th Amendment - Changed the federal government’s relationship with the states- for the first time the Constitution had been amended to impose prohibitions directly on state governments. Two requirements: ‘Due Process’ and ‘Equal Protection’. This has been used by the Supreme Court to invalidate state laws requiring school segregation and other forms of discrimination. Also Florida’s attempt to order a recount in the 2000 presidential election was blocked by the Supreme Court.

16th Amendment - Allowed the Federal government to impose income tax. This allowed the government to launch all the grand programmes that would flourish from Roosevelt’s NEW DEAL though to Johnson in the late 60s.

Federalism:

Pros....

- Permits diversity

- Creates more access points to government

- Better protection of individual rights

- States become ‘policy laboratories’- experimenting with new solutions to old problems

- Well suited to the size of the USA

Cons....

- Can mask economic and racial inequalities

- Frustrates the ‘national will’, making solving problems more complex

- The federal-state relationship is a continual source of conflict and controversy

- Bureaucratic – thus costly and conservative.

-

Consequences of federalism:

Legal:

- Laws vary from state to state

Political:

- All elections are state based, even Presidential.

- Each state decided matters on: how candidates shall be chosen; the procedures for getting a candidates name in the ballot box and what mechanisms to use.

- Political parties are decentralised so ideologies vary .e.g- Texas Democrat more conservative than Main Democrat – Main Republican more liberal than Texas Republican.

Economic:

- Huge federal funds going to the states, but also the complex US tax system.

- Income tax is levied by both state and federal governments, different property taxes are levied by state governments, and sales taxes very between cities.

Regionalism:

- The different regions have different cultures, races, religions and ideologies often creating a segregated society- ‘The Bible Belt’.

Amendment Process:

There are two stages.

- 1) Proposal - 2)Ratification

-

The Founding Fathers wanted to make amending the Constitution as difficult as possible.

Found in the 5th Article of the Constitution.

Stage 2: Ratification

- State Legislatures: ¾ of the state legislatures must vote to ratify

OR

- State constitutional convention: ¾ of the states must hold conventions and vote to ratify

-

Stage 1: Proposal

- Congress: 2/3 majority in both houses

OR

- National constitutional convention: called by at least 2/3 of the states (never used)

Proposals from 2009:

January 16, 2009, Senator David Vitter of Louisiana - denied US citizenship to anyone born in the US unless at least one parent were a US citizen, a permanent resident, or in the armed forces.

February 25, 2009, Senator Lisa Murkowski-proposed a Constitutional amendment that would provide a Representative to the District of Columbia.

November 11, 2009, Republican Senator Jim DeMint - term limits for the U.S. Congress, where the limit for senators will be two terms for a total of 12 years and for representatives, three terms for a total of six years.

November 15, 2011, Representative James P. McGovern - People's Rights Amendment H.J.Res. 88, a proposal to limit the Constitution's protections to the rights of natural persons, and not corporations.

NO Proposals from 1995 to 2006 YES

1995-

Senate- Balanced Budget (2 Mar) House- Term Limits (29 Mar) Senate- Flag desecration (12 Dec)

1996-

House- Tax limitation (15 Apr) Senate- Balanced budget (6 June)

1997-

House- Term Limits (12 Feb) Senate- Balanced Budget (4 Mar) House- Tax limitation (15 Apr)

1998-

House- Tax limitation (22 Apr) House- School Prayers (4 June)

1999-

House- Tax limitation (15 Apr)

2000-

Senate- Flag desecration (29 Mar) House- Tax limitation (12 Apr)

2002-

House- Super-majority to raise taxes (12 June)

2006-

Senate- Flag desecration (27 June) House- Marriage protection (18 July)

1995 –

House- Balanced Budget (28 Jan) House - Flag desecration (28 June)

1997-

House- Flag desecration (12 June)

1999-

House- Flag desecration (24 June)

2001-

House- Flag desecration (17 July)

2003-

House- Flag desecration (3 June)

2005-

House- Flag desecration (27 June)

Bill of Rights

Of the 27 amendments, the first 10 were all proposed at once by Congress in 1789.

Many states were worried about signing up to a central government, but the Bill of Rights was created to protect the American people from the over-powerful federal government

During this time the Republicans controlled Congress

Constitutional Rights

The fundamental rights guaranteed by the federal Constitution, principally in the Bill of Rights but also subsequent amendments

Why has the Constitution been amended so rarely?

- The Founding Fathers created a difficult process. The need for both Congress and the states to agree, and the need for super-majorities, makes the amendment process difficult.

Of those 11,372 proposed amendments, only 27 have been approved by Congress and ratified by the states.

- The Founding Fathers created a document that was deliberately unspecific. Eg. Congress is given the power 'to provide for the common defence and general welfare' of the US. This has allowed the document to evolve without the need for formal amendment

-

- The Supreme Courts power of Judicial Review. It is here where the Supreme Court interprets the Constitution and thus changes the meaning of the words. Eg. The Court can state what the phrase in Amendment 8, which forbids 'cruel and unusual punishments’, means today.

-

- Americans have become cautious of tampering their Constitution. In the 20th century when alcohol was prohibited and then when the amendment was repealed. The experience proved to be an important lesson for subsequent generations.

-

The 27 Amendments to the US Constitution

1st People have freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and the right to petition the Government. 1791.

2nd People have the right to have a weapon to protect themselves. 1791.

3rd Soldiers cannot take or live in a person's house. 1791.

4th The government cannot arrest a person or search their property unless there is "probable cause." 1791.

5th The government must follow the law (due process) before punishing a person. 1791.

6th A person has the right to a fair and speedy trial by a jury. 1791.

7th A person has the right to a jury trial for civil cases. 1791.

8th The government cannot demand excessive bail or fines, or any cruel and unusual punishment. 1791.

9th The Constitution does not include all of the rights of the people and the states. 1791.

10th Any powers that the Constitution does not give to the federal government belong to the states. 1791.

11th Citizens cannot sue states in federal courts. (There are some exceptions). 1795.

12th The President and Vice President are elected on a party ticket. 1804.

13th Slavery is illegal in the United States. 1865.

14th Every person born in the USA is a citizen. An immigrant can become a naturalized citizen. 1868

15th All US male citizens have the right to vote. 1870.

16th Congress can tax income. 1913.

17th The people can elect US Senators. 1913.

18th Alcohol is illegal. (Prohibition). 1919.

19th All US female citizens have the right to vote. 1920.

20th The President is inaugurated in January. Congress begins to meet in January. 1933.

21st Alcohol is legal. Each state can make laws about making, selling, and drinking alcohol. 1933.

22nd The President cannot serve for more than two terms. 1951.

23rd The US Citizens in the District of Columbia have the right to vote for President. 1961.

24th It is illegal to make a citizen pay a voting fee or take a reading test to vote. 1964.

25th If the president dies or cannot serve, the vice-president becomes president. If both die, the Speaker

of the House becomes president. 1967.

26th US citizens who are 18 years old or older have the right to vote. 1971.

27th Congress must limit when and how much its members are paid. 1992

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