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The principles of the united states constitution essay
Principles of the us constitution essay
7 principles of the constitution
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Most of the American people know about the Bill of Rights, but don 't know much else about our constitution. One of the most important parts of the constitution are the rules and principles that give government its power, if these were not already embedded in there would be mass confusion on who could do what and how much power a single branch held. Luckily the United States constitution, which is 228 years old, still provides a framework for legitimate government in the U.S.. The constitution can change with the times because of the six broad principles it is based on. Both Popular Sovereignty and Limited Government ensure the rights of the people. Popular Sovereignty is about the people giving some power to both the state and federal …show more content…
Each ruling the courts make can give new meaning to our constitution, and through the time it has existed courts have made important rulings on basic human rights. Any supreme court ruling is a good example but Brown v. Board of Education was a notable one that helped desegregate schools throughout the nation, probably one of the most important supreme court cases was the one that gave the courts the power of Judicial Review, Marbury v. Madison, where the chief justice John Marshall established the supreme court 's role in the new government. Federalism maintains a division of power among the national and state government, put inside article 1 section 8 and article 4 and 6. The individual powers of the national and state government serve as good examples such as Immigration, money printing, bankruptcy management, military requirements and the navy are all federal powers while alcohol restrictions, education, voting rules, speed limits, professional licences and the police 's power all belong to the state. Both governments do share powers as well like taxation, borrowing money, the protection of the environment, wildlife protection and homeland security. Constitutional principles are always connected to supreme court cases …show more content…
Wainwright is close to one of the most important supreme court cases to present day. In 1961 a court in florida tried Clarence Earl Gideon for breaking and entering and found the old man guilty and sentenced him to five years in prison. While locked up Gideon wrote a letter to the supreme court asking them to appeal his case because he had been denied the right of counsel during his trial, and they accepted it. The supreme court granted Gideon a new trial where he was found not guilty because of the help of a court-appointed attorney. The constitutional principles at work here are Judicial Review, Checks and Balances, and Federalism. Every supreme court case is Judicial Review because the court is reviewing to see if what the government did was in line with the constitution, it displays Checks and Balances because the supreme court is using its power to pull a man who had already been convicted by the executive and legislative branch out of jail to have a fair trial, and it represents Federalism Florida might have already given him a sentence but the national government is using the power it has over state government. In the end Gideon 's little knowledge about the constitution got him out of trouble and brought attention to the ignored 6th
There have been several different Supreme Court cases over the years that have been influential to most everybody who is aware of them. For example, the case of Roe vs. Wade was and still is immensely influential and is the cause of pro-life/pro-choice debates. Another important case was Marbury vs. Madison, which was the first Supreme Court case to ever declare that a law passed by Congress was unconstitutional. Even though those two cases were a couple of the most important and influential in American history, nothing compares to the influence that the case of Gideon vs. Wainwright has provided, in my opinion. This case was tremendously important to the way that law enforcement is to be carried out in that it forced detectives and FBI’s and the like to “do their homework” before declaring someone guilty of a crime.
After the American Revolution, America had earned it’s freedom from Britain. In order to govern this new country the Articles of Confederation was created. This document was flawed by the colonists fear of putting too much power into a central government. Knowing the document needed to be fixed a constitutional convention was called. The document created at this convention has been our constitution ever since. But even the Constitution was meet with criticism. One major concern when writing the constitution was how to protect the citizens rights. The Constitution did this through the preamble, the legislative process, the limit of presidential terms, the judicial branch, and the bill of rights.
Wainwright was because it reinforced the Supreme Court’s authority over criminal procedure in all states. Before Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court’s decision in Powell v. Alabama established the Supreme Court’s power to apply to state criminal procedures. In Powell v. Alabama, nine black kids, the Scottsboro boys, were accused of raping two white women. In their trials, all of the children were sentenced to death. However, the attorneys representing them did not even consult with the children to truly represent them in the case. Therefore, many debated if the children were treated correctly under the Due Process Clause of the fourteenth amendment, giving the right to fair procedures for everyone. When Powell v. Alabama came to the Court in 1932 to see if the boys were given their constitutional rights, the Court voted 7-2 in favor of the idea that the boys were not given their constitutional rights. By making this decision, the Supreme Court “was doing something it had never done before--setting aside a state criminal conviction because the procedure used to obtain it was unfair” (Lewis 219). Powell v. Alabama started the hindering of federalism when it allowed the federal court system to make a counsel required for all cases involving the death penalty. However, when the Supreme Court decided Gideon v. Wainwright, its jurisdiction was established and federalism’s presence in the criminal justice
Through the years many changes have taken place, and technologies have been discovered, yet our Constitution remains. Some say that the Constitution was written for people hundreds of years ago, and in turn is out of step with the times. Yet its principals and guidelines have held thus far. The framers would be pleases that their great planning and thought have been implemented up until this point. However this does not compensate for the fact, that the we the people have empowered the government more so than our fore fathers had intended. Citizens were entrusted with the duty to oversee the government, yet so many times they are disinterested and only seem to have an opinion when the government’s implications affect them. As time has changed so has the American people, we often interpret our freedoms in a self serving manner, disregarding the good of the whole and also the good for the future. Thus there are no true flaws in the Constitution, it appears that the conflict emerges in the individual and their self, and poses question when we must decide when to compromise the morals that our Constitution was founded on, or when to stick to what we know is right and honest.
The constitution was a document that embodies the fundamental laws and principles by which the U.S is governed. The constitution states basic rights for its citizens. Delegates signed the constitution on September 17, 1787. There is a total of 27 constitutional amendments. The reasoning for writing it was for a stronger federal government - legislative, executive and judicial. The constitution was a break with a past of ‘unfair’ taxes, wars and ‘unfair’ treatment.
The political and economical consequence of the Gideon vs. Wainwright Decision was , Its extended the 6th amendment through the 14th amendment to apply to the state. Also its gave defendants in criminal court the right to counsel in situations in where they couldn’t afford to hire an attorney. Clarence Earl Gideon was a man of very little education, who ran away from home when was in middle school. He spent much time wandering through life , going in and out of prisons for nonviolent crimes. The case Gideon vs. Wainwright gave the right to poor defendants to have a court appointed attorney. The impact of the case has been huge for defendants with little money who in the past may have been lost at trial without the help of attorney.
Theoretically, in a Federal system the sovereignty is shared between the national government and the local government but the ultimate sovereignty lies on the people. The federal government does not have the power to be involved in the states laws as they are only able to deal with national security, taxation and foreign affairs. The States however, deal with public welfare, education and justice. For instance, in different States there are different laws in executing criminals implemented as such in California death sentence is applied. However, it differs in practice whereby in the recent events the federal government is heavily involved in the public welfare especially when it dealt with major crises.
... document and not the will of those in powers is tremendous. Except for the 17 of the 27 amendments that make part of the United States of America constitution, the constitution has remained largely the same. What has changed, and continues to change, is the interpretation of some parts that have expanded to include contexts that were not envisioned by our founding fathers. It is truly remarkable that the Constitution has sustained many powerful historical events over time and today remains pretty much intact.
The Constitution is important because it was expressly designed to limit powers into three co-ordinate branches, the legislative, executive, and judiciary branch; none of which was to have supremacy over the others. This separation of powers with the checks and balances which each branch was given over the others was designed to prevent any branch, from infringing individual liberties safeguarded by the Constitution. I think the U.S. Constitution was a way for the U.S. to establish government which was a negotiation between the two former governments, a monarchy and total state power. I think by creating the checks and balances, people’s rights would be safer and they would feel more secure not having one branch of government with absolute power. What I found most interesting about the Constitution was how complex and detailed the framers made it, to effectively explain and limit the individual branches of power in government. In the words of Thomas Paine, "a government without a constitution is power without right". Meaning that for power to be granted, it is necessary to establish a constitution.
In 1787, The United States of America formally replaced the Articles of Confederation with a wholly new governing document, written by the delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. This document, known as the Constitution, has served as the supreme law of our land for the past 228 years. It has stood the test of time and a majority of Americans still support it today (Dougherty). The Constitution was designed in a way that allows for it to be amended, in order to address changing societal needs. Article V discusses the process by which the Constitution can be altered. This feature has enabled it to stay in effect and keep up with current times. The Constitution should not be rewritten every 19 years because it would not only weaken its importance, but it would also hurt foreign relations and continuously rewriting it would give political parties too much power.
“The Constitution leaves in its wake a long legacy, forever shaping the fate of many other countries. Whether those countries are currently in a state favorable to liberty or not, it is undeniable that the U.S. Constitution’s principles have caused people to rethink how to organize their political systems” (Hang). Time has only added value to the Constitution, for every time we reference it in our lives it is a testament of our trust and loyalty in what it states about our rights as individuals and the role the government plays in our lives. When it was written, the Constitution was the law of the land that gave people rights they had previously lived without. Similarly, we live lives of choice and independence because of the same document while other countries limit all the rights we are guaranteed in the Constitution. Simply put, “The Constitution is important because it protects individual freedom, and its fundamental principles govern the United States. The Constitution places the government 's power in the hands of the citizens. It limits the power of the government and establishes a system of checks and balances”
Our bodies rely on two different things to let our bodies know when we need to be asleep. One is called the circadian rhythm, which is the physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a twenty four hour cycle, that revolves around the light and dark of the day. Basically, our bodies are like our own little clocks which are controlled by a part of the brain called the suprachiasmatic
While points, claims, and statistics may be found within all of the sources used for the research, the sheer amount of referenced studies and works within the “Sleep-Wake” paper lends weight to it’s usefulness as a reliable source. One of the otherfactor of sleep and its affect within the college community. Three sources varying in criteria and usefulness were found that related to this subject and were studied. sources, “College Students try to Cheat Sleep Needs”, a college newspaper, offers basic facts and elementary assumptions such that could be found within any biology textbook or encyclopedia. These references are to such things as sleep cycles and sub stages and the general consequences of an out of balance sleep cycle. The study from the Biological Rhythm Research writers, however, hints at previous studies and findings that “several factors, such as social and academic demands, part-time jobs, [...] affect the sleep-wake cycle of college students.” but then only states the findings of a particular study, and does so in...
Democracy has been the root of a limited government, the system of which government powers are distributed so that one group of leaders do not have too much influence. The limited government has been structured to keep peace amongst all parties that are involved in the government. And under the U.S. Constitution, citizens are given ultimate power by their right to choose their representatives through the democratic process of voting. Each levels of the government are limited as they have their own responsibilities. The city government has the most local level of government as the residents elect a city council and mayor to represent their interest at the city level. All city governments establish housing and health regulations, and are responsible
The technological word we live in today is one of the major causes of sleep deprivation. Many high-school students and or college students tend to stay up later than average doing things such as studying on their computers or laptops, watching TV, or playing video games. Researchers have said “the flashing lights on the games and TV shows may be resetting the circadian rhythm, changing the body’s internal clocks” (Florence Cardinal). Although this doesn’t seem to uncommon to many since a ...