The Constitution: Final Word On Law And Order

The United States Constitution, ratified in 1788, is a document that outlines the basic principles and laws of the country. It is composed of a preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments, with the first 10 known as the Bill of Rights. The Constitution establishes justice, domestic tranquility, common defence, general welfare, and secures liberty for the people of the United States. It also outlines the process for amending it and has been amended multiple times to adapt to the changing needs of the nation. The Constitution holds significant power in the United States, with the President taking an oath to preserve, protect, and defend it. It is a document that has evolved over time, shaping the country's laws and government.

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The US Constitution is composed of the Preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments

The US Constitution is a historic document that lays the foundation for the country's governance and legal system. It begins with the famous words, "We the People," and is composed of three main parts: the Preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments. Each of these components plays a crucial role in shaping the country's laws, rights, and governing principles.

The Preamble of the US Constitution sets the tone and outlines the guiding principles behind the document. It begins with the words, "We the People of the United States," emphasizing the idea of a government derived from the people. The Preamble goes on to state the purposes of the Constitution, including establishing justice, ensuring domestic tranquility, providing for the common defence, promoting the general welfare, and securing the blessings of liberty for the nation and its people.

The seven articles that follow the Preamble make up the structural constitution. These articles were signed on September 17, 1787, and ratified on June 21, 1788. They outline the specific powers and responsibilities of the federal government, including the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Article I establishes the legislative branch, with a bicameral Congress consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Article II focuses on the executive branch, outlining the powers and duties of the President. The judicial branch, including the Supreme Court, is addressed in Article III. The remaining articles cover various topics such as the relationship between the states, the election process, and the amendment process itself.

The US Constitution has been amended 27 times since its ratification. The first ten amendments, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified on December 15, 1791, and focus on protecting individual freedoms and rights. These amendments guarantee freedoms such as freedom of speech, religion, and assembly, as well as protecting the rights of the accused and reserving powers to the states and the people. Subsequent amendments address a range of issues, including voting rights, civil rights, and the election process. The process of amending the Constitution ensures that it remains a living document, capable of adapting to the evolving needs and values of American society.

The US Constitution, through its Preamble, articles, and amendments, provides a framework for the nation's governance and a safeguard for the rights and liberties of its citizens. It has been a source of inspiration for other constitutions worldwide and remains a cornerstone of American democracy, open to interpretation and evolution through legal scholarship and the amendment process.

The President takes an oath to support the Constitution

The President of the United States takes an oath to support the Constitution. The oath is stated in Article II, Section I, Clause 8 of the Constitution. The President-elect must take this oath before assuming office. The oath is as follows:

> I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

The oath of the president is the only one specified in the Constitution. It does not include the closing phrase "So help me God", but it allows for the option to "affirm" instead of "swear". The reasons for this are not documented, but it may be related to certain Christians, including Quakers, who interpret scripture literally: "But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation" (James 5:12, KJV).

Franklin Pierce is the only president known to have used the word "affirm" instead of "swear". Herbert Hoover, a Quaker, is often listed as having used "affirm" as well, but a newsreel of the ceremony indicates he said "solemnly swear". Richard Nixon, also a Quaker, swore rather than affirmed.

The President is usually sworn in by the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, but this is not always the case. For example, Lyndon Johnson was sworn in by Sarah T. Hughes, a U.S. District Judge in Texas, after the death of John F. Kennedy.

The Constitution, which has 4,543 words, was signed on September 17, 1787, and ratified on June 21, 1788. There have been 27 amendments to the Constitution, beginning with the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments, ratified on December 15, 1791. The seven articles of the Constitution make up the structural constitution. The first 52 words of the Constitution introduce the articles and amendments that follow.

The Vice President also takes an oath of office, which is administered immediately before the President's. The oath is as follows:

> I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same: that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.

The Constitution did not originally define who was eligible to vote

The Constitution of a country is the supreme law and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the government and its citizens. However, when the US Constitution was first drafted, it did not explicitly define who was eligible to vote, leaving this critical decision to the individual states. This omission had significant implications, as it allowed for the perpetuation of inequalities and the exclusion of certain groups from the democratic process.

At the time of the Constitution's drafting, voting rights varied across the states, and property ownership qualifications were common. Only white male adults who owned property were typically allowed to vote, excluding women, people of colour, and those without property. This exclusionary approach to voting rights stood in contrast to the democratic ideals espoused by the Constitution and the principles of equality and representation upon which the nation was founded.

The lack of a federal standard for voting eligibility contributed to a fragmented and inconsistent approach to elections across the country. This resulted in a situation where the right to vote, a fundamental tenet of democratic participation, was not uniformly guaranteed to all citizens. It was not until subsequent amendments to the Constitution and the passage of civil rights legislation that the voting process became more inclusive and accessible to a broader cross-section of the population.

Amendments like the Fifteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty-Sixth Amendments abolished restrictions based on race, gender, and age, respectively, expanding voting rights to African American men, women, and citizens aged eighteen and older. These amendments rectified the shortcomings of the original Constitution and brought the nation closer to its ideal of a more perfect union, characterised by equal voting rights for all.

The expansion of voting rights has been a continuous journey, and the original omission of voting eligibility criteria in the Constitution serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for equal representation. While the Constitution may not have initially defined voting eligibility, the subsequent amendments and legislative efforts have played a pivotal role in shaping a more inclusive democracy, ensuring that the right to vote is extended to all citizens regardless of race, gender, or age.

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The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights

The US Constitution, beginning with the words "We the People", is composed of the Preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments. The first 10 amendments, ratified on December 15, 1791, are known as the Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution because the latter lacked limits on government power. Federalists advocated for a strong national government, believing that the people and states automatically kept any powers not given to the federal government. Anti-Federalists, on the other hand, wanted power to remain with state and local governments and favoured a bill of rights to safeguard individual liberty.

James Madison, then a member of the US House of Representatives, altered the Constitution's text where he deemed appropriate. However, several representatives led by Roger Sherman objected, arguing that Congress had no authority to change the wording of the Constitution. Consequently, Madison's changes were presented as a list of amendments that would follow Article VII. The House approved 17 amendments, of which the Senate approved 12, sending them to the states for approval in August 1789.

The first Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution on September 25, 1789. Ten of these proposed amendments were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on December 15, 1791. The ratified Articles (Articles 3–12) constitute the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, or the US Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights was strongly 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. The first three amendments are as follows:

• 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.
• 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.
• No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Article V outlines the process for amending the Constitution

Article V of the U.S. Constitution outlines the process for amending the document. It establishes two methods for proposing amendments:

Firstly, Congress can propose amendments whenever two-thirds of both Houses deem it necessary. These proposed amendments become valid when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states, or by conventions in three-fourths of the states, depending on the mode of ratification proposed by Congress.

Secondly, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the states, Congress shall call a convention for proposing amendments. These amendments become valid when ratified in the same way as above.

Article V also makes certain subjects unamendable. For instance, no amendment made prior to the year 1808 could affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of Article I, and no state can be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate without its consent.

Since the founding of the United States, Congress has used Article V's procedures to propose 33 constitutional amendments, 27 of which have been ratified by the states.

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