Constitution Assignment: Part A

Preamble

To ensure the retention and preservation of the ideals on which America was founded, an absolute document of National laws is needed to properly do so. The following is what we the founders have laid out as an legal outline for American life, governmental duties and regulations as well as civic duty as an American. The goal of this being to guarantee a unified nation, and a peaceful nation.

Legislative Branch

- A Congress makes up branch, which consists of both a House of Representatives and a Senate.
- The number of members for each state that are in the House, is decided by the population. More people, more representation
- The ratio of one representative per 30,000 people must not be exceeded
- Qualifications for House member: 25 years old, and an American citizen of 7 years
- Qualifications for Senate member: 30 years old, and an American citizen of 9 years
- Vice- President is president of the senate, but only holds a vote in the event a vote is a tie
- Senate seating is equal in every state despite population, two senators each state, who hold one vote each in the senate
- Terms for House are 2 years, and Senate terms are 6 years.
- Responsibilities of elected Congress members include:
1. Maintaining and arming a militia through passing legislation that would do so
2. Borrowing money from foreign governments on United States credit, when necessary
3. Taxation collection and implementation of tax laws
4. Oversight of impeachment trials
5. Declarations of war
- Congress cannot suspend the writ of Habeas Corpus, except in the case of rebellion or invasion


Executive Branch

- Head of executive branch is the President
- Made up of over three million people
- Has control over whether or not legislation from congress becomes law
- President has Veto power
- Qualifications for President: 35 years old, a natural born U.S. citizen, and lived in America for 14 years
- President can only be removed through impeachment on substantiated accusations of treason, bribery, and any other high crime and misdemeanors.
- President has power to absolve, or pardon anyone he chooses for any crime, convicted, pending or potential, with the exception of an impeachment.
- President takes oath to uphold and abide by the Constitution of the United States
- Commander and Chief of United States Army, Navy and any Militias


Judicial Branch

- Made up of the supreme court
- Court consists of 9 justices
- No qualification of any kind needed for appointment to court
- President has the power to nominate justices, but can only be appointed through the consent of the senate
- Justices are elected for life


The main thought that I had about the constitution was about the context in which it was written. What I think is most remarkable, is that the founding fathers were able to construct a document, using wording which was entirely intentional and could be used as the main source on American law. On top of that, they wrote in in such a way that over the 200 years since its completion, only a handful of amendments have been made to modernize and alter it. What is written provided what was necessary for our nation to function in the 18th century, and still provides that in the 21st century. The massive exception to this, is the civil war. In the preamble, it says that the constitution was written to ensure domestic peace and a united state of the union, but only a century later, in the 19th century, a civil war broke out, that literally turned this nation into two nations in a war against each-other.

What could have been put into the constitution that may have set a foundation for preventing the civil war, and the events leading up to it from happening?

People are always talking about how the founders were terrible, slave owning racists, but i really cannot find any evidence of intentional racist commentary

The preamble mentions our duty to America as citizens, but does not talk about our duty as citizens of the world outside of America

Securing the "blessings of liberty, to ourselves and our posterity" is what is said in the preamble, meaning that we are supposed to ensure the AWOL for our children, and their children. So aren't things like national debt, war, and an energy crisis (which are problems that my generation and our children will have to take care of) technically un-american and unconstitutional?

I wonder how closely we follow the constitution today in America, because I don't think that in the past we have had many presidents and politicians who have operated completely "by the book" and fulfilled their constitutional obligations to the American people.