The Importance of the 7th Amendment I believe that knowledge of the fundamental principles which form the basis of our freedom and independence should be acquired by every person who benefits from American liberties and protection. The Declaration of Independence and The Bill Of Rights charter our freedom as an independent nation among “powers of the world.” Thomas Jefferson, aided by such great Americans as John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, wrote the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration states that all men are created equal and that God has given them the right to live, to be free, to work, and to be happy. The duty of the government is to secure these rights for the people but the government, however, must get its power from the consent or agreement of the people. Thomas Jefferson presented truths which form the principles of democratic government. Thomas Jefferson strongly believed that our Constitution must protect the rights of all Americans and one of those rights, to be protected, was the right to a jury trial. Thomas Jefferson once said, “I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet imagined by man by which a government can be held to the principles of its Constitution.” I believe that the right to a jury trial is probably the most important right given to us in the Constitution. The right to trial by jury is one of the most frequently mentioned rights in the Bill of Rights. The founding fathers believed that the right to be tried by a jury of
You don't have to worry about a criminal committing the same crime twice, why? Because they won't be alive to even think about it!. The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution states “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”, in other words, it protects American citizens from excessive or unnecessary punishments, fines, and bails. However, the death penalty is still an exception to “cruel and unusual punishments” when the punishment does not violate the standards of the Eighth Amendment. Based on the creation of death penalty in the eighth amendment, the constitution can be claimed as an inconsistently valuable but viable document in modern America. The death penalty also known as capital punishment is one that brings a lot of controversies but at the same time has been practiced throughout history in different forms and styles.
In comparing Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists, The Declaration of Independence, and U.S. Constitution, it is evident that the basis of all three documents is the idea that all human beings possess God-given fundamental rights and that government is created to protect those rights. The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, is the first of the three documents penned. This is important because it defined the rights of liberty and equality of all American citizens as outlined in John Locke’s natural law thesis (Martin, page 113). In addition to providing an itemized account of the grievances colonist’s held against King George III of England, it served to justify the colonist’s quest for independence and separation from British rule. The Declaration of Independence conveyed to the crown that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, which among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The Founders’ of the New World understood that their pursuit of liberties and autonomy specified in the Declaration of Independence could not come to fruition without instituting decrees. In 1787, the U.S. Constitution, was written to replace the Articles of Confederation with a better defined series of stringent laws that would legally uphold the freedoms and privileges established in the Declaration of Independence. The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights in
In Jefferson’s declaration, both the organization and the use of logic are effective and adequate. He begins with the colonists’ fundamental beliefs that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” He addresses that the role of the government is to secure and protect the rights of the people. As he proceeds, he states that if the government fails to “secure these rights,” then “it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and institute new Government.” Jefferson then creates a list of ways in which the British government has violated and stripped the colonists of their rights. Through the inductive proof, he explains the reason in which the colonists must become independent from Britain to gain freedom and to be treated fairly.
The Sixth Amendment was ratified on December 15, 1791. It guarantees rights related to criminal prosecutions in federal courts and it was ruled that these rights are fundamental and important. The Sixth Amendment gives the accused the right to speedy and public trial by the impartial jury. The accused has the right to be informed of the nature and reason of accusation and also be confronted with the witness against him as well as obtaining witness in his favor. In this research paper I will provide a thorough analysis of these above rights and give some history of the 6th Amendment.
Thomas jefferson also complains about how the king refuses to pass laws, when is the most necessary thing at the time for everyone in the public. in amendment 5, it says “no person shall be held to answer for any capital, or otherwise infamous crime…” so this tell us that the king is doing a wrong for not protecting those who need it or pass any laws for them when they most need to be protected from the law, practically saying that he was never there when they needed him. Since jefferson said that he refuses to do that to the public in the declaration of independence now the bill of rights says that no one should be obligated to answer without a jury.
In the Declaration of Independence it states that the people have inalienable rights such as “Life , Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” and Jefferson strongly agreed that the people were born with these rights. Most importantly, Jefferson believed that people had the right to “control the government”, or prevent the government from becoming over controlling. “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” (Jacobus, Lee A. “The Declaration of Independence.” A World of Ideas, 9th ed., Cenveo Publisher Services, 2013, p. 262.). It should all be in hands of the people according to Jefferson.
In the United States Constitution, the 8th Amendment prohibits the use and practices of cruel and unusual punishment. What exactly is considered to be cruel and unusual punishment? This question is a hot topic among America's many different current controversies. Many people are saying that the use of capital punishment (to be sentenced to death as a penalty in the eyes of the law [a capital crime]. An execution [capital punishment]) is a direct violation of the 8th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States (Capital Punishment). They say there should be another way to deal with these criminals other than having them executed. The purpose of this paper is to give a brief history of the death penalty
The US Constitution established America’s national government, fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens. The framers of the Constitution ensured that the government would be just, and protect its citizens from internal discord. The Bill of Rights is the first 10 amendments in The Constitution and are to be our most basic of rights. The 5th amendment states “life, liberty, and property without due process of the law”. The 5th Amendment protects people from being held for committing a crime unless properly prosecuted, from being tried twice for the same crime, from being forced to testify against yourself, and from property being taken without payment. It also contains due process guarantees. Due Process gives
A very popular constitutional issue in America is the First Amendment. The First Amendment is meant to protect, but in today’s society it is being questioned that the argument is being overly used. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference (Esmaili). Freedom of religion created the separation of church and state. It prohibits the government from interfering with a person's practice of their religion. The right to freedom of speech allows individuals to express themselves without government interference or regulation. The right of freedom of expression gives the right to assemble and gather for peaceful and lawful purposes. It was adopted into the Bill of Rights in 1791. The Court later interpreted the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as protecting the rights in the First Amendment from interference by state governments. Putting this is layman’s term, you can pretty much say what you want without being penalized.
The fourteenth amendment is also known as equal protection clause. Under the fourteenth amendment, the U.S. Constitution prohibits the states from denying a person that lives in the state the equal rights of the law (LII, 2017). The fourteenth amendment applies to education, especially those that are English language learners (ELL), this means that these students cannot be denied the same rights as non-English language learners. In the Supreme Court case of Lau v Nichols in 1974, this case involved a Chinese American student that attended the San Francisco Unified School District, this student was placed into a general education classroom despite the lack of being proficient in English (Wright, 2010). The school in which this student attended was found in violation, the school was giving ELL students the same material as all other students who speak proficient English and expected the Chinese American student to be able to comprehend the information that is being taught. School districts need to provide the same material, but in a modified form where the student’s will be able to access the information to learn it in the same manner as those non-English language learners.
The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution limits the punishments that may be imposed by the government on American citizens. These limits are compulsory among the states by way of the Fourteenth Amendment. The English Bill of Rights of 1689 expressed concern with arbitrary and disproportionate sanctions, giving way to the Founders inclusion of the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. To explore the Eighth Amendment it is important to consider constitutionally accepted punishments, the ever-evolving practice of capital punishment, and eighth amendment protection inside prison walls.
In my opinion, the 8th amendment is important because this amendment gives people the right against excessive bail, fines, or cruel and unusual punishment. No citizen of the United States should be subjected to cruel or insane punishment, and they shouldn 't have to pay a bail amount that is too excessive for the crime. This Amendment was added to the Bill of Rights to ensure greater stability and was a compromise between the legislature election in the original non-party elections and the new president. The Amendment’s Bail Clause is a result of injustices perpetrated in England, were judges often abused their power in determining whether bail should be allowed to suspects. After a number of unsuccessful attempts at reforming the law, the English Bill of Rights in 1689 specifically outlawed excessive bail. The U.S. supreme court 's held in 1987 that the eighth Amendment 's Bail Clause had only one meaning that bail conditions, when compared with the magnitude of
Thomas Jefferson believed that all Americans should have the "freedom of language and sentiment…as derived from the laws of nature" . In his most famous document, the Declaration of Independence, he stated "that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain [inherent and] inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" . Jefferson was a strong advocate of a bill of rights within the Constitution. In a letter to James Madison, he says that he "did not like…the omission of a bill of rights providing…for freedom of religion [and for] freedom of the press" . Jefferson was in favor of religious freedom because it did him "no injury for [his] neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god" . Jefferson wrote the Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom which essentially stated "that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion" . He summarizes his feelings in letters to both Elbridge Gerry and Edward Carrington, where he writes that he is "against all violations of the constitution" because "the basis of our governments should be the opinion of the people, [and] the very first object should be to keep that right" .
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (qtd. in Allison 65). Before 1776, Colonial America was a colony of Great Britain. Then, when their mother country became too oppressive, brave revolutionaries planned a Declaration of Independence to rid themselves of their bonds. This document launched the colony into The Revolutionary War with Great Britain. Eventually, The United States of America gained independence at the hands of many brave men and women. Prominent among these heroes and heroines is Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Declaration of Independence. Apart from the
The First Amendment gives us the essential freedoms we as United States citizens deserve. This amendment gives us Freedom of peaceful assembly, speech, press, religion and the freedom to petition the Government. It is thought to be the most important freedom of the United States. Only because of this right we are able to speak our mind freely, pray without judgment, express ourselves, and protest peacefully. Our Founding Fathers had been Framers of the Constitution and they are responsible for all the rights documented and established in the United States.