Mcdonald's Fourteen Amendment Analysis

In 1788, the ratification of the United States Constitution sought to establish the fundamental aspects of the nation’s government, laws, and protections of its citizens’ unalienable rights. Robert G. McCloskey’s The American Supreme Court (2016) explains that, during this period, the prospects of the Supreme Court were essentially unknown. As time progressed, however, the Court began strengthening its legitimacy with its decisions in major landmark court cases which, in turn, established its crucial role in shaping the judicial interests and values of the nation. As such, McCloskey (2016) traces the country’s judicial history by highlighting the Court’s great transitional periods regarding state rights, nation rights, property rights, and slavery. By the start of the 20th century, however, discrepancies began to emerge with the rise of

The 14th amendment deals with equal protection to all citizens of the United States of America. All citizens are guaranteed their civil liberties, whether it's freedom of speech, religion, expression, right to bear arms, protection of the accused, etc; however, in the last couple decades, one of these rights has been a huge issue among the U.S. Government and citizens. The debate over the right to bear arms is not one-sided and has caused controversy throughout the years with many court cases, conspiracy theories and public outrage.

The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States is perhaps the most sweeping and has likely impacted the general jurisprudence of the Supreme Court the most of any other amendment. This is because, where all other right-protecting amendments protect something specific, the fourteenth amendment was designed to ensure that states guaranteed due process rights, applied the law equally, and protected the “privileges [and] immunities of citizens of the United States.”

The U.S Constitution, famously known for establishing America’s national government and providing fundamental laws assuring citizens certain basic fundamental rights was a milestone in our countries beginning. In today’s society, especially with all the turmoil happening between people and governing bodies the rights which the Constitution provides is saving many Americans from being treated poorly or as most would say “unconstitutionally.” The Constitution is simply one of the most distinct and brilliant documents to ever see the light of day. Although some may have little to no knowledge of the Constitution, it

In 1791, a vital document for the United States of America was written. The Bill of Rights. James Madison fulfilled the Anti-Federalists wishes by adding a list of rights to the constitution in order for the document to be ratified. The Bill of Rights addresses rights and freedoms which were violated under British rule. Although all 10 amendments are important, I have analyzed each one and ranked their importance. In 1791, some amendments would seem more important than others due to the recent events from the Revolution. Each amendment is relevant in its own way but some are exercised more than others by individuals in the United States. The first amendment of the Bill of Rights is the most important amendment.

The recent decision in McDonald v. Chicago says that “the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the Second Amendment right recognized in Heller.” (slip op., 44) The result of this decision is that Chicago residents are recognized as fully within their rights to keep guns for home defense, and laws that are essentially a ban in their effect are actually unconstitutional.

The US Bill of Rights, written to limit government power in response to the tyranny of England on the colonies, gave birth to the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. The fourth amendment, contained within the Bill of Rights, will be the principle subject in this research paper. Swanson, Chamelin, Territo and Taylor (2012), noted the Constitution’s fourth amendment stated the following:

As evident in the words of the Constitution, the Framers sought to shape a perfect union out of Colonial America while also reinforcing the importance of individual liberties via the Constitution’s Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is a collection of the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Nearly a decade following the Continental Congress free of speech is preserved and guaranteed by the first amendment, solidifying the value Colonial Americans place upon individual liberties. By mimicking the principles laid out in the Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights most heavily defends individual liberties. Liberties such as protection against unwarranted search and seizures, the right to a speedy trail, and trail by jury. By defining and defending these individual liberties Colonial Americas designed a system for the collective good that would provide justice to the

Are you familiar with the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution? The Founders of our American government created the Bill of Rights to protect our individual liberties. They greatly believed in the significance of the overall creation of these particular rights, which happens to be the basic freedoms of us Americans. However, our government has compromised on these distinct liberties in the name of security and general welfare in various ways.

One thing that all Americans should be familiar with is the Bill of Rights. “The Bill of Rights protected the freedoms of assembly, speech, religion, and the press; guaranteed speedy trial by an impartial jury; preserved the people’s right to bear arms; and prohibited unreasonable searches” (TAS 157). The Bill of Rights was a necessity to be implemented into the Constitution. Furthermore, “by December 15, 1791, the amendments had been ratified by three-fourths of the states” (TAS 157). The ideas shown in the Bill of Rights are pertinent in today’s society and were instrumental in shaping America.

Declared in the U.S. Constitution every American or should it be person, is guaranteed civil rights. Civil rights did not just consist of “freedom of speech and assembly,” but as well as “the right to vote, the right to equal protection under the law, and procedural guarantees in criminal and civil rights,” (Dawood). It was not until 1791, that the Bill of Rights was appended to the constitution, which helped clarify these rights to citizens. “Rights were eventually applied against actions of the state governments in a series of cases decide by the Supreme Court,” Dawood stated. In previous years (1790-1803), the Supreme Court had little say in decisions being made by government. As time went on the Supreme Court took on more

     Is our Bill of Rights necessary? Does it put a limit on our government, or on our liberty? Do these ten amendments hold the same meaning today as they did two-hundred and fourteen years ago? Are they now or have they ever been relevant? These questions were debated by our nation’s founding fathers in the eighteenth century and continue to be debated by the historians, academics, and political scientists today. Over the course of the last two centuries, its meaning has been twisted and stretched by the interpretation and misinterpretation of our legislature and, most of all, by the Supreme Court wielding its power of judicial review. It is my belief that these rights were and are absolutely essential to

The court strengthen the amendment with the case McDonald v. City of Chicago. Seventy- six year old Otis McDonald and Adam Orlov and David and Colleen Lawson challenged Windy’s city because they were banning the possession of handguns in 1982. The case was organized by Heller’s attorney Alan Gura. Otis McDonald considers himself one of few defenders of peace and security on the leafy, house-lined street where three of his children grew up and played. The gangbangers and drug dealers have taken over, he says. “You go out there in the morning and pick up bottles and things on the lawn,” he explains, describing events of the past summer. “They’re out there at three in the morning, in the middle of the street, drinking and smoking their stuff. They throw stuff all over your lawn, and you can’t say anything, because they might up and shoot you.” McDonald says his house has been broken into three times and his garage twice most recently, early one morning this past August by a man McDonald recognized from around the neighborhood. Does McDonald think the robber planned to sell the stolen possessions for drugs? “Of course, of course,” he says matter-of-factly. (as cited in Tanaka) By a five to four decision the court ruled that the second amendment was integrated by the fourteenth amendment the due process section so therefore individuals’ could have handguns in their household for self-protection.

Citizens of any country are given some rights as well as responsibilities, and the United States of America is no exception. The Constitution (US Const) of the USA as well as the first ten amendments, also known as “Bill of Rights”, defines the framework of it. It is a supreme law that defines how Federal Government works.

In McDonald v. the City of Chicago, the Court found that an individual’s right to lawfully possess a firearm for the purposes of self defense under the Second Amendment applied to the states by way of the Fourteenth Amendment(Krouse). The Fourteenth Amendment states that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws(Fourteenth Amendment).”