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The Constitution Of The United States Document Of The People

Leo Migdal
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the constitution of the united states document of the people

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of... These famous words, penned in 1787, laid the foundation for the Government of the United States of America, setting our fledging democracy on its way to becoming the great nation we live in today. September 17 of this year marks the 215th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. Thus, I believe it is fitting that we reflect on this document that continues to define our country as it grows and changes. Convening in May in Philadelphia, with the original intent to revise the Articles of Confederation, the Constitutional Convention debated throughout the hot summer months. By June it was decided that rather than amend the Articles, the delegates would draft an entirely new framework of government.

While we have a fairly complete record of the proceedings of the convention now, thanks to James Madison's detailed notes, sessions were held in secret with no reporters or visitors permitted. Among the major points at issue were how much power to allow the central government, how many representatives in Congress each state should have, and whether those representatives should be elected directly by the... Debate over the Constitution sometimes turned bitter, but in the end the delegates were able to reach consensus, and the Constitution still stands as a model of cooperative statesmanship and the art of compromise. However, the story of the Constitution wasn't completed in 1787 with its writing or even with its adoption. The story continues today, as Americans seek to mold their government to fit the evolving needs of the country. For example, the Constitution as originally written mentions little about the right to vote.

At the time it was thought that only a privileged few (meaning white men who owned property) should be allowed to vote. The fight to enfranchise Americans regardless of race or gender is illustrated in the fact that today, seven of the Constitution's 27 amendments deal with the right to vote. 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... All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of... No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected,...

Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of... The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall... We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of... The Preamble to the United States Constitution, though often considered merely ornamental, has long served as a vital interpretive tool in the hands of lawmakers, judges, and scholars. This essay first traces the Preamble’s origins and enduring resonance in the American consciousness from its succinct crafting in the Constitutional Convention to its roles in shaping the American identity and defining the nation’s... It will then consider the Preamble’s historical usage by all three branches of government, including the shifting jurisprudence surrounding it as exemplified by cases like Jacobson v.

Massachusetts (1905), and the ongoing debates among scholars about the Preamble’s potential as a source of substantive law and its role in constitutional interpretation. The Constitution was not the first legal document to begin with a preamble. Many ancient laws began with a prologue or preamble, which Plato strongly recommended in his Laws. Edward Coke wrote that preambles provide a “good mean to find out the meaning of a statute” and the “key” to understanding the law.1 Thomas Hobbes advised lawmakers to state concisely “why the Law... Preambles were common in early state constitutions as well. The constitutions of Massachusetts (1780), Vermont (1777), and Pennsylvania (1776) contained lengthy political discussions of the need to protect natural rights or justifications for breaking away from Great Britain.

A majority of state constitutions contained statements about the legitimate purposes of government, many employing phrases that would be mirrored in the federal Preamble a decade later. The preambles of the constitutions of Pennsylvania (1777), Virginia (1776), and North Carolina (1776) mention the “blessings of liberty.” The Massachusetts constitution (1780) contains the phrase “for ourselves and posterity.” The records of the Constitutional Convention contain almost no references to the Preamble. The Preamble was not debated on the Convention floor but instead was drafted as a final summation. Edmund Randolph of Virginia and John Rutledge of South Carolina stated that a preamble was not the place to opine on “the ends of government and human polities.”5 They acknowledged that such political statements... Written in 1787, ratified in 1788, and in operation since 1789, the United States Constitution is the world’s longest surviving written charter of government.

Its first three words – “We The People” – affirm that the government of the United States exists to serve its citizens. The supremacy of the people through their elected representatives is recognized in Article I, which creates a Congress consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The positioning of Congress at the beginning of the Constitution affirms its status as the “First Branch” of the federal government. The Constitution assigned to Congress responsibility for organizing the executive and judicial branches, raising revenue, declaring war, and making all laws necessary for executing these powers. The president is permitted to veto specific legislative acts, but Congress has the authority to override presidential vetoes by two-thirds majorities of both houses. The Constitution also provides that the Senate advise and consent on key executive and judicial appointments and on the approval for ratification of treaties.

For over two centuries the Constitution has remained in force because its framers successfully separated and balanced governmental powers to safeguard the interests of majority rule and minority rights, of liberty and equality, and... More a concise statement of national principles than a detailed plan of governmental operation, the Constitution has evolved to meet the changing needs of a modern society profoundly different from the eighteenth-century world in... To date, the Constitution has been amended 27 times, most recently in 1992. The first ten amendments constitute the Bill of Rights. The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation (popularly known as the Constitution Annotated) contains legal analysis and interpretation of the United States Constitution, based primarily on Supreme Court case law. The Constitution of the United States of America, S.PUB.103-21 (1994) (PDF), prepared by the Office of the Secretary of the Senate with the assistance of Johnny H.

Killian of the Library of Congress in 1994, provided the original text of each clause of the Constitution with an accompanying explanation of its meaning and how that meaning changed over time.

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"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of... These famous words, penned in 1787, laid the foundation for the Government of the United States of America, setting our fledging democracy on its way to becoming the great nation we li...

While We Have A Fairly Complete Record Of The Proceedings

While we have a fairly complete record of the proceedings of the convention now, thanks to James Madison's detailed notes, sessions were held in secret with no reporters or visitors permitted. Among the major points at issue were how much power to allow the central government, how many representatives in Congress each state should have, and whether those representatives should be elected directly ...

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Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of... The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner...

Massachusetts (1905), And The Ongoing Debates Among Scholars About The

Massachusetts (1905), and the ongoing debates among scholars about the Preamble’s potential as a source of substantive law and its role in constitutional interpretation. The Constitution was not the first legal document to begin with a preamble. Many ancient laws began with a prologue or preamble, which Plato strongly recommended in his Laws. Edward Coke wrote that preambles provide a “good mean t...