Jonah Patel
The United States Constitution has undergone several amendments since its inception, with 27 amendments made to the original document. Interestingly, there were also different versions of the Constitution presented to residents of various states during its adoption. These variations were a result of translations into different languages, specifically German and Dutch, which were distributed in Pennsylvania and New York. These translated versions provide insight into how the Constitution was interpreted and understood by non-English speakers during that time. The differences in translation, such as the definition of commerce and the interpretation of the Necessary and Proper Clause, offer a unique perspective on the original public meaning of the U.S. Constitution.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Number of articles | 7 |
| Number of amendments | 27 |
| Number of versions in different languages | At least 3 (English, German, Dutch) |
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What You'll Learn
The US Constitution has had 27 amendments
The US Constitution is a powerful document that has profoundly changed America, uniting a group of states with varying interests, laws, and cultures under one nation. It has acted as a binding force, vesting the power of the union in the people. Since its inception, the Constitution has undergone a series of amendments to adapt to the evolving needs of the nation.
The process of proposing an amendment involves either a two-thirds majority vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives or a national convention called by Congress on the application of two-thirds of the states. While numerous proposals have been introduced, the last amendment to gain the required support for submission to the states was the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment in 1978.
The ratification process is overseen by the Archivist of the United States, who ensures that an amendment receives the requisite support from the states within a specified timeframe, typically seven years. This process has been affirmed by the Supreme Court, solidifying the importance of state ratification in amending the Constitution.
The 27 amendments to the Constitution reflect the nation's commitment to adapting and improving its foundational document. They address a range of issues and rights, demonstrating the dynamic nature of the US Constitution and its ability to evolve with the times.
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The original public meaning of the US Constitution
The US Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, and ratified on June 21, 1788. The original public meaning of the US Constitution was to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty for the people and their posterity.
The Constitution's main provisions include seven articles that define the basic framework of the federal government. The seven articles make up the structural constitution. Article I describes the Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government. Section 1 reads:
> All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
The article establishes the manner of election and the qualifications of members of each body. Representatives must be at least 25 years old, be a citizen of the United States for seven years, and live in the state they represent. The House of Representatives is composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states.
Article VI establishes that the Constitution and all federal laws and treaties made in accordance with it have supremacy over state laws. It also states that no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the United States.
The Constitution also outlines the US judicial system. Section 1 vests the judicial power of the United States in federal courts and gives them the authority to interpret and apply the law to particular cases. The Constitution also gives these courts the power to punish, sentence, and direct future action to resolve conflicts.
The US Constitution has been amended 27 times, beginning with the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments, ratified on December 15, 1791. Amendments to the Constitution must be properly adopted and ratified before they change the Constitution. The amendment process involves two steps. Firstly, there are two procedures for adopting the language of a proposed amendment, and secondly, there are two procedures for ratifying the proposed amendment.
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The Articles of Confederation
The document established a league of friendship for the 13 sovereign and independent states. Each state retained "every Power... which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States". The Articles of Confederation also outlined a Congress with representation not based on population – each state would have one vote in Congress. Ratification by all 13 states was necessary to set the Confederation into motion. The first state to ratify was Virginia on December 16, 1777; 12 states had ratified the Articles by February 1779, 14 months into the process.
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The influence of Iroquois Confederacy ideas
The United States Constitution is a document of paramount importance in the history of the United States of America. It acted as a merger, uniting a group of states with different interests, laws, and cultures under one government. The Constitution united its citizens as members of a whole, vesting the power of the union in the people.
In 1787, the Founding Fathers proposed a new Constitution that profoundly changed America. However, some residents of Pennsylvania and New York were given versions of the Constitution that differed from the one approved in Philadelphia. These were German- and Dutch-language printed versions of the Constitution that were provided to residents of the two states as the adoption of the founding document was publicly debated. The translations provide evidence of the original public meaning of the U.S. Constitution, as reflected in the translators' interpretive choices and how they would have been understood by Dutch and German speakers. For instance, the German translation of the term "high crimes and misdemeanors" in the Impeachment Clause considers felonies to be "serious crimes", while the Dutch version considers them "crimes worthy of death".
Now, coming to the influence of Iroquois Confederacy ideas on the US Constitution, there are differing opinions. Some historians claim that the Iroquois Confederacy, which dates back several centuries, influenced the US Constitution. The Iroquois Confederacy consisted of five tribes: Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida, and Seneca, and was federal in nature, operating under The Great Law of Peace, a doctrine of 117 codicils where individual tribes handled their own affairs but came together to solve issues of common importance. The US Constitution's drafters were impressed by how the Iroquois legislated their affairs, and shortly thereafter, they drafted the US Constitution, echoing the Great Law of Peace. In 1988, Congress passed a resolution formally acknowledging the influence of the Iroquois Confederacy on the US Constitution. It stated that the confederation of the original 13 colonies into one republic was influenced by the Iroquois Confederacy's political system, as were many of the democratic principles incorporated into the US Constitution.
However, this view has been questioned and criticised by several historians and scholars. They argue that there is little to no evidence of the Iroquois Confederacy's influence on the US Constitution. The congressional journals contain no references to the political structures of the Iroquois. The only mention of the Iroquois is in the context of land titles, fishery disputes, diplomatic relationships, and the Iroquois River. The Constitutional Convention records include substantial discussion of European governments but no mention of the Iroquois. Some critics claim that the idea of Iroquois influence is largely the product of "white interpretations of Indians" and "scholarly misapprehension".
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Differences in translation
The US Constitution has always been a single document, but there are several different versions of it due to discrepancies in various printed and handwritten copies. One source of variation is translation. In 1787, German and Dutch versions of the Constitution were provided to residents of Pennsylvania and New York, respectively, during the public debate over the adoption of the founding document. These translations were recently examined by researchers Christina Mulligan, Michael Douma, Hans Lind, and Brian Quinn.
The researchers found that the translations differed from each other and from the English version in interesting ways. For example, the German translation of the Commerce Clause in Article 1, Section 8, uses a word to define “commerce” that indicates “the larger scope of actions and interactions of persons involved in business.” The Dutch version, on the other hand, defines commerce as activities among merchants. The German translation also appears to give the government more power to establish commerce where it might not have existed before.
Another example is the translation of the term “high crimes and misdemeanors” in the Impeachment Clause. In the Dutch translation, “misdemeanors” become misconduct or misdeeds, while in the German translation, the term becomes “interrogation”. The German translation also refers to amendments to the Constitution as “improvements”. These differences in translation can have significant implications for how the Constitution is interpreted and understood.
In addition to translation differences, the German and Dutch versions of the Constitution also contain simple mistakes and the use of English words when there was no native language alternative. These translations provide a unique perspective on how the Constitution was presented to Dutch and German speakers and how it may have been understood by them. They also offer insight into the original public meaning of the Constitution, as reflected in the translators' interpretive choices.
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Frequently asked questions
There is one official version of the US Constitution, which is on display at the National Archives.
Yes, in 1787, the Founding Fathers proposed a new Constitution that was approved in Philadelphia. However, some residents of Pennsylvania and New York were given German and Dutch versions of the Constitution that differed from the official English-language version.
The German and Dutch versions contain differences in translation that offer a unique look at how these non-English speakers were presented with certain concepts. For example, the German version defines "commerce" more broadly than the English version, and the Dutch version defines felonies as "crimes worthy of death," while the German translation considers them serious crimes.
The German and Dutch versions of the Constitution were created to persuade older leaders in upper New York, where the anti-Federalists, who opposed the Constitution, held power.
Yes, there have been 27 amendments to the Constitution, beginning with the Bill of Rights, which were the first 10 amendments ratified in 1791.
