Simone Lawson
The U.S. Constitution is a complex document that even experts find odd and challenging to understand. It is composed of a preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments, with the first 10 amendments known as the Bill of Rights. The Constitution's language is often inaccessible to those without legal degrees, and its full history, development, and context are essential for a comprehensive understanding. For example, the three-fifths compromise, which counted slaves as three-fifths of a person for representation and taxation purposes, is a critical and controversial aspect of the Constitution's historical context. Additionally, certain clauses, such as the soldier quartering clause and the emolument clause, have raised questions and sparked debates about their interpretation and application. Understanding the Constitution's role in addressing racial discrimination and economic rights is also crucial, as seen in the South African constitution's explicit provisions. Effective communication and persuasive strategies are essential to sustaining victories for social justice and ensuring public support for legal outcomes.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Use of legal language | Makes it hard to understand for non-lawyers |
| Lack of context | Makes it hard to understand the full history and development of the Constitution |
| Race and racial discrimination | The role of race and racial discrimination are not well understood |
| Economic rights | Lack of explicit articulation of fundamental economic rights |
| Military housing | Unclear if soldiers can be forced to house a soldier |
| Emoluments | Unclear what constitutes an "emolument" |
| Congressional districts | How to count slaves for representation and taxation purposes |
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What You'll Learn
The role of race and racial discrimination in the Constitution's history
The United States Constitution has a long and complex history with race and racial discrimination. While the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law, regardless of race, the nation's history is rife with examples of racial discrimination and the continued struggle for racial equity.
The US Constitution, laws, and courts have historically been instruments of racial injustice, rather than equity or fairness. This is exemplified by the well-documented history of discriminatory legislation governing immigration and citizenship, which excluded and denigrated Latinx and Asian American communities. During World War II, the US Supreme Court upheld the internment of Japanese Americans in concentration camps, demonstrating the complicity of the judicial system in racial discrimination.
Additionally, the US government has a long history of broken treaties, forced relocation, dispossession, and mass violence toward Native Americans, despite recognizing their right to self-governance. The courts actively participated in this injustice, justifying the stripping of Tribal Nations' land and autonomy based on white supremacist ideologies.
The Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law, has been crucial in addressing racial discrimination. In United States v. Fordice, the Court determined that Mississippi's race-neutral policies did not eliminate the vestiges of its prior de jure racially segregated system of higher education. This decision highlighted the need to eradicate policies with segregative effects, even if they are facially race-neutral.
In conclusion, the US Constitution's history is deeply intertwined with race and racial discrimination. While steps have been taken to address racial injustice, such as the Fourteenth Amendment and civil rights legislation, the nation continues to grapple with the legacy of discrimination and the ongoing struggle for racial equity.
The Constitution: Violated Rights and Broken Promises
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The Constitution's lack of explicit fundamental economic rights
The Constitution of the United States is often regarded as both brilliant and flawed. One of its shortcomings is its lack of explicit fundamental economic rights, which are present in most contemporary constitutions, including that of South Africa. This absence has significant implications for social justice and the distribution of resources in American society.
During the Warren Court period, the Supreme Court moved towards recognizing that an absolute deprivation of resources in a nation of plenty, particularly when perpetrated by the government, could violate the Constitution. However, the Court's refusal to explicitly recognize social and economic rights during the 1960s and 1970s, influenced by the 1968 presidential election and appointments by President Nixon, solidified this gap in the Constitution.
The absence of explicit economic rights in the Constitution can be attributed to various factors. Chronologically, it is essential to recognize that in the late eighteenth century, when the Constitution was crafted, social and economic rights were not a priority for its authors. Additionally, the institutional perspective highlights that Americans tend to view constitutional rights as instruments for judicial enforcement rather than mere aspirations. The cultural explanation considers the absence of these rights as a reflection of the failure of socialist movements in the United States.
Despite these explanations, it is argued that social and economic rights can coexist with a market economy, as evidenced by other nations' constitutions. The lack of explicit economic rights in the American Constitution has led to what is termed "American exceptionalism" in this domain. This means that, unlike in other countries, the United States does not explicitly provide for rights such as housing, education, and basic economic survival in its founding document.
To address this shortcoming, it is suggested that the Constitution would benefit from a more explicit articulation of fundamental economic rights. By doing so, the document could better reflect the changing social and economic landscape and provide a stronger foundation for legal arguments and public support surrounding social justice issues.
In conclusion, the Constitution's lack of explicit fundamental economic rights is a significant aspect that legal scholars and critics have identified for improvement. By incorporating these rights, the Constitution could better address economic inequalities and secure essential provisions for its citizens.
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The three-fifths compromise
The issue arose due to differing interests between the Northern and Southern states. The Southern states, which relied on slave labour, wanted their entire population to be considered when determining the number of Representatives they could elect and send to Congress. On the other hand, the Northern states, also known as the free states, wanted to exclude the counting of slaves in the Southern states, as those slaves had no voting rights.
The Constitution's Protection Against False Witness and Perjury
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The role of Congress in determining federal resource distribution
The US Constitution is a brilliant yet flawed document, and its full history and development must be understood to comprehend it better. The role of Congress in determining federal resource distribution is a critical aspect of this.
Congress plays a vital role in deciding how federal funds are allocated. It turns the draft budget, submitted by the President, into spending bills. This process involves several steps, including the budget proposal, congressional review, and drafting spending bills. The President's proposal outlines expected revenues and expenditures for the coming fiscal year, and Congress reviews this proposal, holding hearings to discuss allocations and gather input from federal agencies and experts.
Congress then works to draft spending bills that allocate funds to specific federal programs and departments, adjusting the budget based on its priorities and feedback received during the hearings. This process ensures that the budget reflects Congress's funding priorities and decisions.
Additionally, Congress adopts a concurrent resolution imposing overall constraints on revenues and spending, distributing spending among different programs and activities. This resolution may be revised by a later budget resolution if needed. The reconciliation process is used to bring existing laws into conformity with the concurrent resolution on the budget, with committees recommending changes to achieve the established constraints.
Through these mechanisms, Congress determines federal resource distribution, ensuring that the budget aligns with its priorities and the needs of various federal programs and services provided to citizens.
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The Constitution's odd clauses
The US Constitution is a document that outlines the general goals of its framers, such as creating a just government, ensuring peace, and establishing an adequate national defense. It is composed of a preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments, with the first 10 amendments known as the Bill of Rights. While the Constitution forms the basis of the nation's laws and governance, some of its clauses are considered odd or difficult to understand.
One such odd clause relates to the representation of states in the House of Representatives and the Senate. As a compromise between large and small states, it was agreed that larger states would have more representation in the House of Representatives, while all states would have equal representation in the Senate. This means that highly populous states like California and smaller states like Rhode Island have the same voting power in the Senate.
Another peculiar clause is the one regarding soldier quartering, which states that soldiers cannot be forced to house a soldier. This clause has rarely been used in modern American history, but it raises interesting questions about the definition of "emolument" and whether fair market value exchanges with foreign governments constitute a violation.
The Constitution also includes a three-fifths compromise, where slaves were counted as three-fifths of a person in a state's population count. This compromise was a result of the disagreement between Southern slave-owners, who viewed slaves as property but wanted them counted as people to increase their political power, and others who considered slaves as non-voters.
Additionally, the Constitution does not explicitly provide for certain fundamental economic rights, such as the right to housing, education, and basic economic survival. This is in contrast to constitutions like South Africa's, which explicitly addresses these rights and racial discrimination.
These odd clauses highlight the complexities and compromises made during the formation of the US Constitution, and understanding them requires delving into the historical context and the role of race and discrimination.
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Frequently asked questions
The US Constitution is written in a very rarefied language that only people with law degrees can understand.
One of the oddest clauses in the US Constitution is the one regarding the quartering of soldiers. It states that federal officers cannot give favours to foreign governments in return for money or other goods, but it is unclear what constitutes an "emolument".
Critical Race Theory argues that we cannot fully understand the US Constitution without understanding its historical context, including the role that race and racial discrimination have played in its development.
The South African constitution, for example, explicitly provides for rights such as housing, education, and basic economic survival, which the US Constitution does not.
The US Constitution has been interpreted differently over time, with some arguing that it implies certain fundamental economic rights, such as the right to resources in a nation of plenty.
