Constitution And Amendments: Our Rights And Freedoms

The United States Constitution, beginning with the words We the People, is composed of a preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments. The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791. Since the Constitution was put into operation on March 4, 1789, approximately 11,848 proposals to amend it have been introduced in Congress. Amendments must be properly proposed and ratified before becoming operative. This two-step process was designed to balance the excesses of constant change with inflexibility. An amendment may be proposed and sent to the states for ratification by the US Congress, with a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives, or by a national convention called by Congress for this purpose on the application of two-thirds of the state legislatures. To become part of the Constitution, an amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states.

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The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights

The first 10 amendments to the US Constitution are collectively known as the Bill of Rights. These amendments were ratified on December 15, 1791, and were designed to limit the powers of the federal government and protect individual liberties.

The Bill of Rights was influenced by the Virginia Declaration of Rights, written by George Mason, as well as English documents such as the Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, the English Bill of Rights, and the Massachusetts Body of Liberties. James Madison wrote the amendments, which were added to the Constitution to address the lack of limits on government power.

The First Amendment prohibits Congress from making laws that establish a religion or impede the free exercise thereof, abridge the freedom of speech or of the press, or infringe on the right of the people to assemble and petition the government. The Second Amendment affirms the right of the people to keep and bear arms, stating that a well-regulated militia is necessary for the security of a free state. The Third Amendment prohibits the quartering of soldiers in civilian homes without the owner's consent, except in cases prescribed by law.

The Fourth Amendment safeguards citizens' right to be free from unreasonable government intrusion into their homes by requiring a warrant. The Ninth Amendment states that the listing of specific rights in the Constitution does not preclude other rights not explicitly mentioned. The Tenth Amendment reinforces federalism by stating that powers not delegated to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved for the states or the people.

The Bill of Rights also includes protections such as due process and trial by jury, which are guaranteed by the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Amendments.

Amendment XI modified Article III, Section 2

The US Constitution is composed of a preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments. The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights.

Amendment XI, which was passed by Congress on March 4, 1794, and ratified on February 7, 1795, modified Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution. Article III of the Constitution establishes the judicial branch of the US government, and Section 2 outlines the jurisdiction of federal courts.

Amendment XI states that:

> "The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State."

This amendment restricts the jurisdiction of federal courts in specific types of cases, particularly those involving suits against one of the United States by citizens of another state or foreign citizens. It ensures that the federal judiciary cannot hear cases brought against a state by non-residents of that state.

The federal courts, as interpreted in the case of Marbury v. Madison in 1803, have the final say over the interpretation of the Constitution and federal laws. They can decide arguments over how to interpret the Constitution, laws passed by Congress, and the nation's rights and responsibilities in agreements with other nations. Federal courts can also hear disputes between states, between citizens of different states, and between states and the federal government.

Amendment XII superseded a portion of Article II, Section 1

The US Constitution is composed of a preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments. The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights.

The Twelfth Amendment (Amendment XII) superseded a portion of Article II, Section 1 of the US Constitution. This amendment provided the procedure for electing the president and vice president. It replaced the procedure in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3, under which the Electoral College originally functioned.

Initially, under the Constitution, each member of the Electoral College cast two electoral votes, with no distinction between electoral votes for president or vice president. The presidential candidate receiving the greatest number of votes—provided that number was at least a majority of the electors—was elected president, while the candidate receiving the second-most votes was elected vice president. The Twelfth Amendment was proposed by Congress on December 9, 1803, and ratified by the requisite three-quarters of state legislatures on June 15, 1804. The new rules took effect for the 1804 presidential election and have governed all subsequent presidential elections.

The Twelfth Amendment also provided that if the House did not choose a president before March 4 (then the first day of a presidential term), the individual elected vice president would "act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President". The Twelfth Amendment did not state for how long the vice president would act as president or if the House could still choose a president after March 4. This provision was superseded by Section 3 of the Twentieth Amendment in 1933, which changed the date upon which a new presidential term commences to January 20, and clarified that the vice president-elect would only "act as President" if the House has not chosen a president by January 20.

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Amendment XIV modified Article I, Section 2

The US Constitution is composed of a preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments. The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights.

Amendment XIV

The 14th Amendment, which was passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868, changed a portion of Article I, Section 2.

Article I, Section 2

Article I, Section 2, of the Constitution outlines the composition and requirements of the House of Representatives. It states that members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen every second year by the people of the states and that representatives must be at least 25 years old, a citizen of the United States for at least seven years, and an inhabitant of the state they represent. It also establishes the proportional representation of the states in the House based on population, with slaves counting as three-fifths of a person and Indians not taxed excluded from the count.

Modification by Amendment XIV

Section 2 of the 14th Amendment modified Article I, Section 2, by expanding the definition of citizenship and guaranteeing equal protection under the law. It 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."

This modification had a significant impact on the interpretation and application of Article I, Section 2, by ensuring that the rights and privileges granted to citizens by the Constitution were protected and enforced at the state level. It also established the principle of birthright citizenship, which grants citizenship to anyone born on US soil, and ensured that representation in the House of Representatives would be based on the total population of each state, including formerly enslaved individuals and those who were previously excluded.

The Reconstruction Amendments: 13th, 14th, and 15th

The Reconstruction Amendments—the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution—were adopted between 1865 and 1870, in the five years immediately following the American Civil War. These three constitutional amendments were part of a large movement to reconstruct the United States that followed the Civil War. They were written and ratified by the Republican Party of the 1860s, with the Democrats opposing them.

The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the entirety of the United States, except as punishment for a crime. It also granted Congress the right to enforce this with appropriate legislation should states defy the ordinance.

The 14th Amendment addresses citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws for all persons. It ensured that the Bill of Rights applied to all citizens of the United States of America, regardless of race. It also eliminated the three-fifths rule and punished any state that did not permit male citizens over the age of 21 to vote by reducing the state's proportional representation.

The 15th Amendment prohibits federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude". It secured voting rights for Black men, making it illegal to refuse them the right to vote based on their race or previous condition of servitude.

The Reconstruction Amendments provided the constitutional basis for enforcing and implementing Reconstruction and the passage of federal legislation such as the Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1875 and the Enforcement Acts of 1870–71. They were essential to reuniting the United States during Reconstruction, and Confederate states were required to ratify the 13th and 14th Amendments to be readmitted to the Union.

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