Will Newton

Unit 2: Role of the People

An amendment can be proposed by of both houses of Congress or by of
state legislatures requesting Congress to call a national convention to propose
amendments. However, none of the 27 amendments have been created from a
national convention. These would involve the formal way of amending the Constitution
but its not just that simple. Over 11,000 items have been proposed to be added to the
constitution yet only 27 amendments exist which means that very few items are actually
added in. After the proposition of the amendment, theres an even longer process of
having it added to the constitution which is why there is so few; there are so many
places it can fall through and be scrapped. As for informally amending the Constitution,
it is just with different interpretation of a certain amendment or what other people think
the amendment is and acting in how they interpret it.
There are countless Supreme Court decisions that have changed the meaning
and interpretation of the Constitution. One of the biggest landmark cases in my eyes
would be Gideon vs Wainwright. Clarence Earl Gideon was accused of breaking into a
pool room and stealing money and since it wasnt a case involving capital punishment,
Gideon wasnt afforded a lawyer even though he couldnt provide one for himself. He
lost the trial but wrote to the Supreme court and his case was reviewed. The supreme
Court decided that anyone who cant afford a lawyer deserves one anyways and
changed the interpretation of the Constitution so that now everybody gets an attorney
as long as the trial is dealing with money over 20 dollars. The interpretation of the
Constitution can change in many ways but the most common is from landmark cases
and they show how imperfect the Constitution is in some aspects.
The English Bill of Rights strongly influenced the rights guaranteed to Americans
by inspiring the 1st amendment. The EBOR gave its citizens the right to criticize their
government which made way for the creation of the 1st amendment of our constitution.
I could write a 100 page paper on the 1st amendment alone but in short, it defines most
of the natural rights that a citizen would want. This includes the freedom of speech
which allows one to say what they please but to a certain extent. A citizen is however
allowed to critisize the government which I think we got from the EBOR.
The addition of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments brought about an incredible
amount of change to not only the Constitution but also to society as we knew it. The
13th amendment brought about the freeing of the slaves which is one of the biggest
changes to America weve ever had. The 14th made all former slaves into citizens and
the 15th gave every man the right to vote(including the recently freed slaves).
The civil war amendments(13th-15th) extended civil rights movements
tremendously. It shifted the movements from wanting all slaves to be freed to wanting
equal treatment as white people. Slaves may have been freed but that by no means
meant the former slaves were loved by American citizens. Most from the south were
disgusted and had so much hatred for these African Americans and so civil rights
movements saw what could be accomplished with the abolition of slavery and figured
that equality could eventually be reached and thats what they strived for.
The 14th amendment is a great one that focused mainly on the rights of the
minorities. It states that all people born or naturalized, and are subject to the jurisdiction
of the United States are citizens of the United States. With making all these minorities
legal citizens of the United states, all the other rights granted to citizens are given to
them which makes them more capable of living a happy life and feeling like a citizen.
This also essentially raised the tolerance for minorities by citizens and let them be a part
of the American culture.
The 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th amendments are all amendments that are
extremely important to our society today that some people may or may not know off the
top of their head excluding the 19th. The 16th is one that helps the world go around
even though any working American most likely hates it and whoever had the sick mind
to create it; it is of course income taxes. It simply allows the government to take out
taxes on our paychecks and use the money for several purposes. Its one of those
things that helps the United States as a whole but as individuals we hate it. The 17th
set up the direct election of Senators and that it doesnt matter the population of the
state, each state gets two Senators which is really important, especially for the small
states and knowing that they have the same representation as the big states. The 18th
was prohibition which banned the sale, trade, and consumption of alcohol in entirety.
This was repealed by the 21st. Finally, the 19th gave women the right to vote which is
by far the most important and monumental out of this group.
There was a decent amount of arguing over the direct election of Senators and
Im going to describe both sides to it. The reason people supported the direct election
of Senators is because it gave the people more say in the government and also
prevented state legislatures from electing people just to gain power. People were
against it because they didnt think the average person was smart enough to pick the
right person for the job because people didnt focus on that part of politics as much.
The progressive era amendments reflected the will of the people at the time as
open for change and willing to accept new ideas in hopes of bettering the country. With
the introduction of womens suffrage it showed that times were changing and that for
this country to progress, we had to extend rights even more.
The 15th, 19th, and 26th amendments are unique to the Constitution in the fact
that they grant suffrage. With the suffrage for African Americans and with women,
America was drastically changed. Former slaves now had a vision for much needed
equality and women saw that they served a bigger purpose than for just staying at home
and being moms. The 26th gave those 18 and older the right to vote. Finally, the 24th
eliminated the poll tax which opened up voting opportunities for those underprivelaged
or unwealthy who couldnt afford to vote. Voting is a huge part of living in the United
States and these four amendments play a huge part in effecting voting.
The reasons for extending voting rights to anyone over the age of 18 including
African Americans and Women are pretty obvious and self explanatory. I mean theyre
people too, right? African Americans were now free and what comes with being a free
American means you have the right to vote. Women also have a huge roll in our society
so they should be allowed to vote also. And finally, the reason I believe those 18 and
older have the right to vote is because they have the right to fight and die for our
country.
The set of amendments including the 12th, 20th, 22nd, 23rd, and 25th all deal
with presidential issues. The 12th puts the president and vice president on separate
ballots to avoid conflict. The 20th moved the inauguration date from March to January
simply for the fact that it lets the newly elected president do his presidential things
sooner and more effectively. The 22nd limits a president to 2 consecutive terms which I
think is to avoid any dictatorships or scandals inside the government. The 23rd gives
the District of Columbia 3 electoral votes and the reason this is a separate amendment
is because the District of Columbia is not a state so it wasnt covered when discussing
representation by population of state. Finally, the 25th discusses what occurs if the
president is no longer capable of serving or dies.
A change was needed to the ballot of vice president and president to put them on
separate ballots. The reason behind this is because there was so much confusion with
them on the same ballot and it would lead to ties and not knowing what to do. Also, it
used to be that the person who came in second in the presidential process, became
vice president and that obviously was a faulty setup.
The lame duck amendment was the 20th amendment and it simply made the
inauguration date sooner. This was essential because it reduced the time period of lack
of executive decisions and let the newly elected president make decisions earlier.
There can be countless different arguments for why the presidential terms should
be limited to two but the biggest would be to avoid inside schemes and also to avoid
potential dictatorships. A president could do everything to appease the citizens and
think that he/she is great when in secret, up to no good. Also, this country is based on
change and there cant be too much change if a president were to lead for 10 years.
The 23rd amendment fixed a voting glitch in the system by giving electoral votes
to the DoC. They are a part of the United states and have a population and are
governed under US law so therefore they were given electoral votes.
There are a lot of situations where presidential succession might be used. For
instance, if a president gets too old, sick, or physically cant serve, succession will
occur. Same with the death of a president or the impeachment. If for whatever reason
the president has to leave office, the vice president will be sworn in and take over as
Commander in Cheif.
The next group of amendments ill be discussing is the 11th, 21st, and 27th. The
11th prevented somebody suing a state they are not a part of. Simply put, you can only
civilly sue the state you are a citizen of. The 21st amendment is what repealed the 18th
amendment and destroyed prohibition, legalizing alcohol. The 27th amendment stated
that there were to be no midterm pay raises for congress so basically the salaries are
set before a member of congress goes into office.
I think that citizens are limited to filing lawsuits for only their state of residence
because different states have different laws and different interpretations of those laws
so what you think is wrong in a different state is what they think is right.
The 21st amendment addresses a change in societal attitudes by the fact that a
lot of people strongly disliked alcohol but a just as big crowd were still illegally selling
and consuming this alcohol so the legalization of it really shocked people. Its a lot like
marijuana today. People are going to sell and consume it regardless and there is so
much money to be made so the government is slowly deciding to legalize it.
The benefits of postponing Congressional pay raises is to avoid corruption and
abuse of being in Congress. The pay is set before a new term is served and only
before a term is served. Any type of salary changes during midterm is prohibited.
Now on to the one everybody knows, the 1st amendment. With the introduction
of the first amendment, Americans were given a lot of freedom. These listed rights are
what I would think of as natural rights and they include the freedom of religion,
assembly, press, petition, and speech. These are pretty self explanatory but the 1st
amendment is what a lot of people see that defines America. It is what makes our
country unlike any other, and the reason we are so privaleged to live here.
Giving individual freedom to Americans greatly limits the power of the
government in several ways. First off, the government has to watch what they do
because Americans are allowed to protest how they feel if the government slips up. We
are allowed to say whatever we want(as long as it doesnt infringe on anyone elses
rights or threaten national security of course) and we can live a free life depending on
what your interpretation of free is. The government cant threaten us or publicly execute
us because we disagree with something they do. We actually have power to make
change in this country and it is subject to change at all times.
The government balances protecting civil liberties with maintaining order pretty
well. If somebodys rights are infringed upon, the government does a very good job at
fishing out those injustices but at the same time will not be taken advantage of. People
know what is right and wrong and a vast population does a good job at keeping order
and following the rules.
The 2nd amendment gave us the right to bear arms. This doesnt mean the right
to wear a tanktop but to be legally allowed to carry a firearm. This is huge for protection
and safety purposes and showed that the government would let us take protection into
our own hands too.
The 3rd amendment dealt with the quartering of military troops and stated that
militants legally could not come into your house and say, Hey, were staying here for
now, whats for dinner? Military troops just couldnt come in your house and live their if
you didnt want them to.
Gun control is a widely debated topic. The people that are for gun control say
theyre not safe and that it is too easy to get a gun. They think that a lot of the bad that
happens comes from people owning guns and that it should be harder to get a gun and
that they are not neccessary. People against gun control thinkt that it is our right to own
guns and that they protect us more than they harm us. Either way, it is our given right
to own guns so well see what comes in the future regarding gun control.
The 4th amendment dealt with search and seizure. You cannot be searched
without a warrant and anything collected without a warrant is not valid in a court of law.
This was huge for privacy purposes and gave more freedom to Americans.
Reasonable suspicion is a reasonable presumption that a crime has been, is
being, or will be committed. It is a reasonable belief based on facts or circumstances
and is informed by a police officers training and experience. Reasonable suspicion is
seen as more than a guess or hunch but less than probable cause. Probable cause is
the logical belief, supported by facts and circumstances, that a crime has been, is being,
or will be committed.
The exceptions to search and seizure protections are if there is a crime occurring
and it is in the heat of the moment. If a murder is witnessed and the killer runs into their
house, the police do not need a warrant to go into their house, they can legally barge in
and hopefully make the arrest. Also, if something is in plain site, that is enough for
probable cause even if it is in your house for an officer to get a search warrant.
Courts would exclude evidence in a trial if it was obtained illegally by the police
because that person is protected by the 4th amendment and it is unconstitutional to
obtain evidence from somebodys property without a warrant.
4th amendment protections are different for students at school because the
school has their rules. When you step foot in school, you surrender and privacy rights
as far as being searched. The principal can legally search you or your belongings at
any time if they feel the need or desire to.
The 5th amendment made it so that you didnt have to testify against yourself
and that you have the right to remain silent if you choose to do so. This is commonly
known as the miranda rights which comes from the landmark case Miranda V Arizona
where a man was arrested and wasnt told his rights, ended up testifying against
himself, but was let go because the officer didnt list to him his rights.
The 5th amendment protects people from arbitrary government actions by letting
them refuse to talk or testify against themselves even if asked or told to do so. This is
where you hear the saying, innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The 6th amendment maintains the rights of the accused of a crime by ensuring a
fair and speedy trial meaning that someone who committed a crime doesnt have to wait
5 years for their case to be heard. The judge does their best to get the trial to occur
quickly. Also, the judge must get a jury together of unbiased peers to decide the trial.
A public trial secures a fair trial by letting the case be heard. Especially by a jury
of peers who arent biased to a certain direction.
The 7th is also that you get a fair jury to review the case, which goes along with a
fair trial. The 8th prohibits cruel and unusual punishment and excessive bail goes along
with that. The 9th gives Americans any other natural rights that arent listed in the Bill of
Rights, and the 10th states that all rights not given by the Federal Government are to be
determined by the state governments.
The 8th amendment limits the power of the government by not allowing them to
be cruel to the guilty and also to not provide unusual punishment. Bail must also fit the
nature of the crime meaning somebody who shoplifted should not be given a bail of 8
million dollars.
The 9th amendment secures civil liberties by the fact that it gives any other rights
not previously listed and just makes sure necessary freeedoms are actually given to
citizens.
The 10th amendment limits the Federal government by stating that any rights or
freedoms that arent given by the federal governenment are given to the state
governments to decide. Once again Im using marijauna as an example. Some states
have legalized marijuana and some havent, this is possible due to the fact that it isnt a
federal law.
The police are not the law, and they have laws they have to follow and
procedures that must happen while incriminating somebody. Same with the courts; they
arent allowed to be unnecessary or cruel with their rulings.
The concept of majority rules is based on the idea that what the majority want,
will happen. Take for instance the presidential election. Obviously the candidate with
the popular vote or the most votes, will become president. That is the concept of
majority rules. Minority rights are the idea that the minority still have the same rights as
the majority and cannot be discrimitated upon.
The government has increasingly improved minority rights over the years by
looking out for other races or political groups. We now allow the voting of anybody over
the age of 18 that is a legal citizen and also politically minorities can do more. Not that
African Americans are a minority but they used to be and now our president is African
American.