Part 6: The res of the constitution

Part C: Part 5:
The 11th Amendment says that state is separate from the federal government so individual states cannot be sued by another state or foreign countries. The federal government only has the constitution to regulate each states general rights. Many of our unwritten rights can be turned into state law because they lie outside the constitution. So state government is far more powerful when it comes down to the individual, whereas the federal government has more overall control of the country’s direction.

The passing of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments are referred to as major turning points in US history. Both slavery and involuntary servitude were outlawed by the 13th Amendment, and the 14th Amendment granted citizens the rights of citizenship, the right to be counted equally in the census, and validated public debt. The 15th Amendment granted people of any race or color the right to vote. The 19th Amendment finalized all peoples right to vote by allowing women the right to vote. Although the 13th Amendment abolished slavery, it pretty much left them to work more menial jobs with very little pay, and continued the reign of the white man. While this was a big step it hardly corrected the wrongdoing and blacks were still in a tremendous deficit having no capitol to start anew. Other than that however, these three Amendments helped to change America into the more equal and fair country that it supposedly is today.

During a time when white, male supremacy was still openly celebrated, why did these obviously opposing pieces of legislation pass? When the Union defeated the Confederate states slavery came crashing down and with it much of the confederacy’s old way of life. While mentalities cannot be changed by force, legislation can, so the Union army followed through with their cause and outlawed slavery. The 15th Amendment, which was passed in 1870, provided blacks the right to vote. This occurred five years after African Americans were granted freedom, so it must have taken a little while for people to warm up to the idea of blacks voting. Legislation such as the 13th and 15th Amendments were passes when they were because of the outcome of the civil war an the majorities belief that blacks should not be enslaved and deprived of the right to vote even though they were technically US citizens.

The government does similar things to make it seem as if they are trying to create equality. For example, the fourteenth Amendment states that all persons born or naturalized in the US are citizens of the state in which they reside. No state may pass legislation limiting the privileges or immunities of citizens. This puts us all on the same level with the same rights. The fact that there is no religious test required to get into any political office also makes it seem as if we have tried to create equality. But these two things do not “guarantee a vision of a diverse and equitable society with no government discrimination.” Sure we all have the same rights but not the same liberties and opportunities. The government often discriminates against people of certain racial backgrounds and social standings so they are not given an equal chance to exercise these rights. The elections of 2000 and 2004 are perfect examples of this. The poor and poorly educated are less likely to be as well informed about elections. We end up with far more class discrimination because of rich politicians who have never suffered from economic difficulties. This is ultimately race discrimination because the sad fact of the matter is that African Americans and Hispanics tend to have less money and worse educations than whites. So even while discrimination is outlawed in government it sneaks through the cracks and is let out into America.



Part 6: The Rest of the Constitution
Paraphrase:
11th Amendment: State is separate from the federal government so individual states cannot be sued by another state or foreign countries.
12th Amendment: Election of the President/ Vice President: Electors meet in respective states and vote for a president and vice president, one of whom shall not be an inhabitant of their state. That is then sent to the House of Reps. Where it is then voted upon, and whichever candidate receives the most votes shall become president.
13th Amendment: Slavery and Involuntary Servitude: Slavery is illegal, Americans may not be held against their will unless convicted of a crime.
14th Amendment: Rights of Citizenship: All persons born or naturalized in the US are citizens of the state in which they reside. No state may pass legislation limiting the privileges or immunities of citizens.
Reps shall be apportioned throughout several states.
Public debt is valid and will be paid.
Congress may do whatever necessary to ensure that Americans follow through with this Amendment.
15th and 19th Amendments: Right to Vote-Race, Color, sex, Servitude: The right to vote shall not be denied any US citizen. Congress may enforce this article by appropriate legislation. (This Amendment protects the right to vote for all US citizens regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, sex, or previous condition of servitude.)
16th Amendment: Income Tax: Congress has the right to collect income tax. (This Amendment helps to fund the country and any actions it takes)
17th Amendment: Popular Election of Senators: Senate is composed of two senators from each state elected by the people, each of whom will serve for six years. If the a member of senate dies the governor shall elect another person to senate until an election can be held.
20th Amendment: Commencement of Terms; Sessions of Congress; Death or Disqualification of President-Elect: The terms of the President and Vice president end on the January 20th, and the term any member of senate shall end on January 3rd. The terms of their successors shall begin upon their dismissal.
21st Amendment: Repeal of Prohibition: Repealed the 18th Amendment. States may control the regulation of alcohol.
22nd Amendment: No person may be elected president more than twice.
23rd Amendment: Presidential Electors for the District of Columbia:
24th Amendments: Right to Vote in Federal Elections- Tax Payment: Any citizen can vote in any primary or other election.
25th Amendment: Presidential Succession, Vice Presidential Vacancy, Presidential Inability:
26th Amendments: Right to Vote-Age: You must be 18 years old to vote.
27th Amendment: Congressional Pay: Congress can vote to increase their pay.

D: Part 7: Thinking Further:
1.) Given the distinction between a constitutional Amendment and a law- if you had the influence how would you amend the constitution?
I would amend the constitution in circumstance under which it is ok to bear arms. The constitution provides us the right to have guns so that we may be prepared to form a well organized militia, not just to have and use guns whenever we see fit. We should still be able to have guns, because we still need to be able to maintain a degree of power, but not have the liberty to go to shooting ranges or hunt. We don’t need to hunt anymore, we have supermarkets to supply us with meat, and the likelihood of some grand scale rebellion is, from what I can tell, quite slim.

2.) , 3.) And 4.)
I do believe that the initial intent of the constitution was far different than the ways that it has been used. I believe that it is supposed to create a system where everyone has control and can incorporate their own opinion into the politics. I believe that now people and ideals have become very split, and individuals work less towards the greater good and more for selfish individual causes that at many times make a mockery out of the constitution. The government tends to betray their own democratic ideals which nullifies much credibility in their actions
The first Amendment provides us with the right to freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition. It provides us with a system of checks and balances, we have the right to exercise our own opinion in a non-violent manner so that if the government does overstep their boundaries at any point we have the right to respond. This is one of the beauties of our government.
Another part of what makes this system so great is the twelfth Amendment which only lets a president serve for only two, four year terms. It makes it so that once person does not maintain power over the country like a dictatorship. Without this Amendment we would most likely be forced to live under a power not our own, and the people would have no power to change the person in power. Also, thanks to the tenth Amendment the states can pass whatever legislation they want as long as doesn’t contradict the constitution.
The fourteenth Amendment also gives anyone born or naturalized in the US the rights of a US citizen. This does not place anyone above another and creates uniformity. This also means that no one of any different race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual identification can be deprived of the rights granted any US citizen.
However there are many contradictions in the US constitution that deal with semantics and cut legislative corners to give the government greater control than our founding fathers may have intended. As I stated earlier the first Amendment gives any US citizen the right to freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition. Our government however has, on multiple occasions stripped US citizens of this right. Rage Against the Machine, a popular American band, held a show in front of the democratic national convention in 2000. The state allowed them to hold a protest concert across the street from the DNC. Their show was not violent, just enraged as the band’s name states. Although no actual violence had occurred, the police, clad in riot gear with tear gas, guns with rubber bullets, and horses retaliated. People were shot with rubber bullets, trampled by horses, and beaten by police officers. Later on the policeman in charge of the attack said that they were “gravely concerned because of security reasons.” This infringed upon our rights as US citizens to speak and be peacefully enraged with something that angered them.
In the 2000 and 2004 elections George W. Bush won. In the first election, Bush’s brother changed the voter requirements saying that voters needed special ID’s and pass codes to validate them as US citizens so that they could quell the large majority of blacks and Hispanics in more impoverished areas were either uninformed or unable to meet the ridiculous deadlines. The same happened in 2004. Both times American people were deprived of their right to peacefully express their opinions. If the government can so easily get away with atrocities such as these then what liberties do we really have.
Ultimately the government usually ends up displaying a by the book image while simultaneously they find any loophole they can to try and get their political rhetoric passed. We however have little power as a result and the constitution is not obeyed.