The Amendment Of The Constitution

Whether it’s the local government or the national government, law can be changed through a simple passing of a bill, however major changes may come through the amending of the state or federal constitutions.

John A. Bingham, Republican of Ohio had long been a believer in the idea of equal protection of the laws for all people, and was one of the leaders of the effort to pass the Fourteenth Amendment. While aware of the need to prove the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act with the Fourteenth Amendment, Bingham did not actually believe that the Fourteenth Amendment created any new rights. Rather, he believed that it created a new understanding of rights already in the Constitution. Bingham maintained that, “The…equal protection of each [in] those sacred rights which are as universal and indestructible as the human race…are by this Constitution guaranteed…’” The guarantee to which Bingham was referring is contained in the Fifth

According to the thirteenth amendment, “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” The purpose of the thirteenth amendment was to end slavery or any form of involuntary servitude everywhere among the United States. There was new hope for African Americans throughout the country but unfortunately their freedom had a limit and coincidentally, President Lincoln was assassinated shortly after. Jim Crow laws were established among the states and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the southern states of the United States up until 1965. This is how white southerners

The constitution of the United States of America is the founding document on which the government of America is built. It currently has twenty-seven amendments. It lines out the specific government practices as well as the system of check and balances. It was first drafted July, 1787 after the first form of government, the articles of confederation, had proven very inefficient to a point where it became almost redundant to have them in place. After a large amount of debate the acting continental congress decide to completely revise the current system. The constitution was efficient and fair and it kept the parts of government in place while not giving too much power to one or more branches.

On September 17, 1787, the United States Constitution was signed by delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, who were directed by George Washington. The 1787 convention was called to draft a new legal system for the United States now that the states were free and colonized. This new Constitution was made to increase federal authority while still protecting the rights of citizens. It established America’s National Government. In 1971, the Bill of Rights were added to Constitution containing the 10 amendments guaranteeing protection for citizens. The first commandment consisting of freedom of speech and religion. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads:

     “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 Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments from the United States Constitution. The Bill of Rights was written by James Madison on December 15, 1791. The purpose of the Bill of Rights is to address the rights of the individuals that the Constitution did not specified correctly and it also was written to protect the rights of the individuals liberties even if the majority wanted to take them away.

The Fourteenth Amendment stopped unlawful actions by states. It also gave Congress the power to enforce the amendment through new laws that benefited and were fair to everyone. The Fourteenth Amendment represents part of the extension of the power of the national government over the states. It has been cited in more court cases than any other part of the Constitution. It made it possible for new legislation that has protected the rights of many throughout the United States and has helped uphold equality.

The 8th Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the people from a government who may try to restrict or null your right to fair bail. The right restricts the judicial branch from performing any unfair procedures that can be directed towards a defendant, which is due process. Which is to state that the right to fair bail falls under due process because it is selectively incorporated in order to protect one’s unalienable rights of life, liberty, and property. The right guarantees that the defendant who is paying bail is given a fair/reasonable bail price.

The Congress wanted to prevent misinterpretation and misuse of the Constitution by the government, and the people to trust the government. In other words, they wanted to make the laws clearer to understand so the people would understand and trust the government. To do so, they proposed additional declaratory and restrictive clauses to be added to the Constitution. With the people* in mind, the first ten clauses or amendments were ratified. Collectively, these first ten amendments are the Bills of Rights.

The Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution is made of 4 different sections. The first section explains what occurs if the president is removed from office or if they resign or worst die during their term. The second section basically lets one know how the vice presidency is filled if vacant. The President nominates someone, and the majority vote of both House of Congress makes the final decision. The third section states that if the president is disabled he must submit a written declaration stating that he is unable to perform his responsibility to the president pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The vice president then holds the role of the acting president until the president can return

The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868. This ratification altered the balance of state and federal power. It prevented states from denying basic civil rights and gave Congress power to implement its assurance of liberty and equality. Despite that each state was required to approve the Fourteenth Amendment which granted “equal protection” of the Constitution to former slaves, the Ku Klux Klan did not honor this protection. Not only didn’t the Klan disregard the Fourteenth Amendment, the Supreme Court also became unsympathetic to the rights of blacks and wary of congressional interference in state affairs. The Supreme Court severely limited Congress’ civil rights power by tapering interpreting the Fourteenth Amendment, which led to many civil rights being watered down.

An important provision of the Bill of Rights is the protection of freedom to publish, as provided by the First Amendment. This protection applies to all kinds of publications, even those that print unpopular opinions. In most censorship cases, every attempt is made to suppress the written word after publication, not before. Minnesota passed a law in 1925 that sought to prevent newspapers, magazines, and other publications from printing obscene, malicious, scandalous and defamatory material. This law was called the Minnesota Gag Law . This law allowed private citizens and/or public prosecutors to request a court injunction to shut down any publication that was known as a public nuisance. Publishers of newspapers had to show that they had good motives for anything they were going to print before they printed it.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Section 1: The eighteenth article of the amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.