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Showing posts from December, 2018

Articles

I) The Legislative Branch  Gives powers to Congress II) Executive Branch  Gives powers to President/Executive III) Judicial Branch  Givse powers to Judicial  IV) The States  Relations between states  V) The Amendments Amending the Constitution  VI) Depts, Supremacy, and Oaths  The Constitution is "supreme" VII) Ratification Ratifying the Constitution  These articles define the function of the government. 

Amendment XXVII

No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened. Madison's Amendment... 1789 - 1992  The last amendment clarifies that the congressional salaries cannot be altered until after the House of Representative election. 

Amendment XXVI

The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age. All citizens, of 18 years or older should not be prohibited to vote due to their age.  This amendment gained approval in 1971.  Additionally, the age limit to draft citizens to the military corresponds with this amendment. 

Amendment XXV

Section 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President. Section 2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress. Section 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President. Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representati

Amendment XXIV

The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax. This amendment is fairly straightforward; one cannot be denied the right to vote regardless of their inability to pay poll tax.  This following video goes in depth about the 24th amendment: 

Amendment XXIII

Section 1. The District constituting the seat of government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct: A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a state, but in no event more than the least populous state; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the states, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a state; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment. Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. This amendment allowed residents of the District of Colombia to vote for a President and Vice President. 

Amendment XXII

Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term. Section 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states within seven years from the date of its submission to the states by the Congress. This amendment prohibits the President

Amendment XXI

Section 1: The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed. Section 2: The transportation or importation into any state, territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited. Section 3: This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several states, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the states by the Congress.   When the government declared victory on alcohol. The prohibition of alcohol was repealed. 

Amendment XX

Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin. Section 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. Section 3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elec

Amendment XIX

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Great news, women are now allowed to vote thanks to this amendment. Oh wait, there are existing disparities between sexes. And let us not forget, there are additional disparities found among women 'of color', as many would refer them as. 

Amendment XVIII

Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited. Section 2. The Congress and the several states shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several states, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the states by the Congress. _________________________________________________________________________________ The sales of alcohol was once prohibited in the U.S, after realizing how difficult executing this law would be and recognizing the consequences of it, the amendment was then repe

Amendment XVII

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislatures. When vacancies happen in the representation of any state in the Senate, the executive authority of such state shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, that the legislature of any state may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution. --------------- Here comes the Senate: each state gets two senators and each senator is allowed one vote and serves a 6-year term. This ensures that all states have 'equal representation

Amendment XVI

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration. In other words...  This amendment allows the government to collect and tax your income. The funds are used for the army, infrastructure, and so on. 

Amendment XV

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. This amendment ensures all citizens the right to vote regardless of any physical characteristics or past history. With several loopholes, this execution of this law failed African Americans up until the social response in the Civil Rights Era.

Amendment XI

Section 1. 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. Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years of

Amendment XIII

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. The abolishment of slavery. This amendment was passed by the Senate and H.O.R in 1864 and 1865.    However, although slavery was prohibited by 1865, its consequences exist today. Here is a trailer of a documentary highlighting this:   

Amendment XII

The Electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;-The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;-The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from

Amendment XI

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. In response to Article III, Section II, the Chism vs Georgia case in 1793 brought attention to the state's sovereignty and whether the federal court would hear such cases. Ultimately, this amendment prohibits an individual from one state to sue another state. 

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. People and the States retain power. Power that is not delegated to the national government is reserved to the states/people. During the Affordable Care Act 'era', under President Barack Obama, states began to sue the government for enforcing the insurance mandate on all states and Mediciad Expansion. 

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. This amendment is fairly direct with its intention, but the interpretation varies. What specific rights are we guaranteed?  Farber, the author of Retained by the People attempts to argue that this amendment is the basis of human rights.  These two images help explain the implications of this amendment. 

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. In other words, is the punishment permissible? This amendment ensures that one who is accused will not be charged with absurd punishments. Though 'excessive' or 'unusual' is not defined, the court will determine what is appropriate for the accuser.  Or so they say. For the past decade, we as a nation has revisited the charges and punishments inflicted on different individuals for various accusations. One specifically, currently receiving attention on social media, is the intense charge for being found carrying small amounts of illegal substances. 

Amendment VII

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law. For non-criminal civil rights cases, are guaranteed a trial by jury if the dispute is greater than twenty dollars. 

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense. There are six primary components in this amendment: SPEEDY TRIAL allows the accused to avoid delayed trials or holdings. PUBLIC TRIAL allows the public to have access to trials that could be otherwise kept secretive by the government. IMPARTIAL JURY ensures that all jurors should be unbiased and impartial. NOTICE OF ACCUSATION ensures that all accusers will be notified with what they will be charged with.  Yes, without this, many could be locked up for a lifetime without any knowledge or awareness of

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. Fortunately, I have never needed to plead the 5th but if I ever find myself in Chapelle's shoes, I would sincerely appreciate not having to testify against myself. This amendment lays out four specific rights, being: You cannot be indicted for a serious crime without a GRAND JURY (protection) You cannot be subjected to a DOUBLE JEOPARDY (avoid persecution vs prosecution - you