The Preamble

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------US democracy according to Abraham Lincoln: ... government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth. ... a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. from Gettysburg Address, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1863. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Bill of Rights. PROTECTIONS AFFORDED FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS Amendment 1: Freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly; the right to petition the government. PROTECTIONS AGAINST ARBITRARY MILITARY ACTION Amendment 2: Right to bear arms and maintain state militias (National Guard). Amendment 3: Troops may not be quartered in homes in peacetime. PROTECTION AGAINST ARBITRARY POLICE AND COURT ACTION Amendment 4: No unreasonable searches or seizures. Amendment 5: Grand jury indictment required to prosecute a person for a serious crime. No "double jeopardy" - being tried twice for the same offense. Forcing a person to testify against himself or herself prohibited. No loss of life, liberty, or property without due process. Amendment 6: Right to speedy, public, impartial trial with defense counsel, and right to cross-examine witnesses. Amendment 7: Jury trials in civil suits where value exceeds 20 dollars. Amendment 8: No excessive bail of fines, no cruel and unusual punishments. PROTECTIONS OF STATES' RIGHTS AND UNNAMED RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE Amendment 9: Unlisted rights are not necessarily denied. Amendment 10: Powers not delegated to the United States or denied to states are reserved to the states or to the people. The Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791, but its application was broadened significantly by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified in 1868. A key phrase in the 14th Amendment - nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law has been interpreted by the Supreme Court as forbidding the states from violating most of the rights and freedoms protected by the Bill of Rights. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Main Interest Groups in the United States.

- Common Cause - the largest interest group with about 200.000 dues paying members, with the purpose of reforming government structures available to the public. - labor unions - favor minimum wage legislation.

- business groups - e.g. US Chamber of Commerce; favor low corporate taxes and restrictions of the right to strike. - farm groups - e.g. National Farmers' Union. - professional groups - e.g. American Medical Association - issue oriented groups - organized around a single issue, e.g. environmental pollution, civil rights etc.; the largest are Political Action Committees (PACs), usually private and independent, contributing money for campaigns.