COUNTRYMEN, FELLOW CITIZENS, BRETHREN AND SISTERS IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD AND MERCIFUL SAVIOUR, FAMILY PEOPLE AND FRIENDS, EVERYONE ELSE THAT DWELLS ON OUR PLANET EARTH, GOOD BLESSED MORNING AND PEACE OF THE LORD OUR EVER FOREVER INDISPUTABLY MIGHTY GOD AND KING OF KINGS SUPREME OF GLORY OF HOSTS TO YOU AND YOU ALL!!!!!!! PLEASE NOTE: CONSEQUENT UPON PRESENTATION OF THIS VERY SPECIAL MESSAGE, WE SHALL FOLLOW UP SUCH WITH SOME PROCEDURALLY WORKABLE RECOMMENDATIONS AND STEPS FORWARDS TO THIS END, AND ARE HEREBY ADVANCED AND THRUST FORTH TO THE FORE FOR THE ATTENTIONS AND PERUSALS OF THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, HERE IN THE PERSON OF HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA!!!!!!! FAO: HIS VERY DISTINCTIVE EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND, HER DISTINCTIVE EXCELLENCY MICHELLE OBAMA, MOST IMMACULATE AND DYNAMIC FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!!!!! BY, BY, BY, BY, BY, BY, BY, AND, BY LET LED IN LEADS OF ILLUMINATIONS AND CONSUMMATIONS OF THE MOST ENDURING MIGHT AND SPIRIT OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, THIS VERY SPECIAL MESSAGE COMES AND COMES THROUGH FOR THE MOST RESPECTED AND MOST KINDNESS-INFORMED ATTENTIONS AND PERUSALS OF HIS VERY DISTINCTIVE EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, TOGETHER WITH HIS VERY DEAR WIFE AND FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, HERE IN THE PERSON OF HER DISTINCTIVE EXCELLENCY MICHELLE OBAMA!!!!!!!THIS PARTICULAR MESSAGE OF ITS SORT AND KIND COMES POINTED AT YOU TWO (2), YOUR EXCELLENCIES, HERE IN YOUR RESPECTIVE POSITIONS AND POSITIONINGS AS VERY IMPORTANT FIGURES IN THE ANNALS OF THE WEALTH OF HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND LIKEWISE WHERE WE DO VARIOUSLY ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE, THAT BOTH OF YOU, YOUR EXCELLENCIES, ARE CONSTITUTIONAL LAWYERS BY CAREER AND PROFESSIONAL DISCIPLINE!!!!!!!THESE ARE THE MOST REMARKABLE, LANDMARKING BEAUTY OF HALLMARKS ABOUT IT ALL!!!!!!!WHEN WE REFER TO SOME RELEVANT INFORMATION FROM WIKIPEDIA SOURCES IN RELATION TO THE ESPOUSED POWERS EXERCISABLE BY THE EXECUTIVE ARM OF GOVERNMENT WHICH, IN REFERENCE IN THIS CASE, IS HERE REPRESENTED BY HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, HERE IN HIS POSITION AS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IT IS WRITTEN: “The executive is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the country.[1] The executive branch executes the law. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.[2]The separation of powers system is designed to distribute authority among several branches — an attempt to preserve individual liberty in response to tyrannical leadership throughout history.[3] The executive officer is not supposed to make laws (the role of the legislature) or interpret them (the role of the judiciary). The role of the executive is to enforce the law as written by the legislature and interpreted by the judicial system” YOU WOULD DISCOVER, YOUR EXCELLENCIES, HERE, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE FOREGOING CONSTRUCTS OF MANDATE-INFORMED INDICATIONS AS MIRRORED IN THROUGH THE VERY ESSENCE OF LAW AS ABOVE ESPOUSED, THAT THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AND PRESIDENT OF THE STATE; WHICH, IN THIS CASE, IS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, HAS AN ONEROUS RESPONSIBILITY AS WELL AS AN OBLIGATION TO EXECUTE THE DAILY ADMINISTRATION OF THE COUNTRY; AND, BY SO DOING, THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH (THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) EXECUTES THE LAW(S) OF THE STATE,DOING SO DILIGENTLY AND CONSCIENTIOUSLY, WITHOUT LET OR HINDRANCE!!!!!!!THE MOST IMPLIEDLY REVEALING AND RELEVANT FACT ABOUT IT ALL IS HERE IS THAT ANYONE, ABSOLUTELY ANYONE THAT TRIES TO UNDERMINE THE VERY CONSTRUCTS AND SPIRIT OF THAT DUTY OF THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, HERE IN THIS PARTICULAR INSTANCE COMMITS TO SUCH CONDUCTS THAT ARE VARIOUSLY LIKENED TO AN OFFENCE NOT TO BE TOLERATED LET ALONE PERMITTED AS A GOOD REFLECTION ON THE EVER ENDURING LETTER AND SPIRIT OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION!!!!!!!IN OTHER WORDS, IT DOES VARIOUSLY SO FOLLOW BY THE MOST SUPREME DICTATES OF STATE LAW, THAT ANY CONDUCTS BY ANY ONE GIVEN INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP THAT MAY WELL PURPORT OR TRY TO UNDERMINE THE VERY CAUSE OF THAT SACRED OFFICE OF STATE MUST AND MUST NECESSARILY BE FULLY EXAMINED, SEEN AND ACCORDINGLY REGARDED AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF MEASURES THAT MUST BE EXPEDITIOUSLY ADVANCED TO MERIT THE NEED TO PROTECT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN THIS CASE!!!!!!! THE CONSTITUTIONAL DUTY OF THE US CONGRESS, AS IT WERE, FULLY AND CRYSTAL CLEARLY ESPOUSED IN THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS TO PASS THE BUDGET AND TIMELY SO, TO BEGIN WITH, AND, CONSEQUENTLY ALSO PAY THE BILLS OF STATE, AMONG OTHER THINGS AS CRYSTAL CLEARLY INDICATED IN THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!!!!! IT IS TO BE NOTED, THAT SOME FEW PEOPLE; HERE BY REASONS OF SOME IDEOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL ORIENTATIONS DIFFERENCES AND LEANINGS TO WHICH THEY PROFESS AND HERE POSITION THEMSELVES AS OPPOSITION PARTY GROUP ARE IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER TRYING TO MAKE ILL OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THIS SHOULD NOT BE PERMITTED TO HAPPEN AND GAIN ROOTS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN ANY WAY, WHATSOEVER!!!!!!!THE MOST ADVANTAGEOUS SIDES OF THE MATTER IS THAT BOTH OF OF YOU, YOUR EXCELLENCIES, AS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, RESPECTIVELY, ARE BOTH ATTORNEYS AT LAW, AND THEREFORE HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO HELP ENSURE, THAT THIS ONGOING DESTABILISING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IS NOT GIVEN THE ROOM TO DRAG ON WHILE IN THAT SPECIAL OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT!!!!!!!TOLERANCE OF OPPOSING POLITICAL PARTIES, GROUPS AND GROUPINGS IS GOOD, ORDERLY AND WORTHWHILE; PARTICULARLY WHERE THEY ARE CREDIBLY ADVANCED WITH SUCH SENSES OF OBJECTIVITY AND INTEGRITY OF PURPOSE AS THE VERY MERITS UPON WHICH SUCH STANCES ARE BROUGHT TO BEAR ON MATTERS OF STATE POLICY DECISIONS AND ACTIONS, OTHERWISE, THEY MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO SPOIL THE LOTS OF THE PEOPLE!!!!!!!WHEN AND WHENEVER AN EVER SERIOUS DANGER SUCH AS THIS ONGOING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LOOMS, AND LOOMS THAT MUCH SO SEEMINGLY GRADUALLY AND SLOWLY, AND, HERE, IN AN UNASSUMING, “NEVER TO BE BOTHERED ABOUT ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR” WAY, MANNER AND FASHION OVER THE HORIZON, MANY, AND COUNTLESS MANY IF NOT COMPLETELY EVERYONE OF US MAY WELL DISCOVER, THAT THERE IS SOMEHOW NOTHING ABOUT WHICH TO BOTHER ONESELF LOOKING AT IT JUST FROM ITS PHYSICAL GUISES OF THE MATTER ; VERY, VERY UNASSUMING, AS IT WERE BY NATURE!!!!!!!HOWEVER, LET US TAKE THIS PARTICULAR WARNING THAT MUCH SO VERY MUCH SO VERY SERIOUSLY TODAY AND NOW, THAT DIPLOMACY IS ONLY MEANT FOR A WELL-REASONED, WELL-PURPOSED, REASONABLE TIME, AND FOR A TIME ONLY, AND THAT, THE DOORS OF DIPLOMACY ARE KNOCKED, KNOCKED, AND, KNOCKED AS MANY AND COUNTLESS TIMES AS POSSIBLE FOR CERTAIN DOORS TO OPEN AND TRIGGER OPEN!!!!!!!HOWEVER, SUCH DOORS OF DIPLOMACY ARE TO BE TIMED AND KNOCKED, KNOCKED AND KNOCKED WITH THE SPIRIT, MIGHT AND POWERS OF DISCRETION AT THE VERY CORE OF ANY PROCEDURAL PROCESSES, PLATFORMS AND GROUNDINGS UPON WHICH THE CONSTITUTION, AS A BODY BEING FINES TUNE AND ZEAL WITH LIFE AND ITS MEANING AS, IT WERE, VARIOUSLY SO LAID DOWN IN THE VERY HEART, BODY AND SOUL OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK, AND FOR SUCH JUST AND NOBLE CAUSES AND PURPOSED PURPOSES!!!!!!!IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE AFORESAID MATTERS OF GREAT IMPORTANT RAISED, WE WOULD, VERY MOST RESPECTFULLY URGE YOU, YOUR EXCELLENCIES, TO TAKE THIS SPECIAL MESSAGE THAT SPECIAL MESSAGE VERY SERIOUSLY, STUDY THE CONTENT VERY THOROUGHLY, AND LIKEWISE CRITICALLY BUT EXPEDITIOUSLY EXAMINE THE CRUX OF CONTENT OF THE MESSAGE, BOTH IN LETTER, AND IN SPIRIT!!!!!!!FOR, THE ISSUES AT STAKE; MUCH AS WE DO FORESEE AND SEE IT ALL THROUGH, AS IT WERE, IN THE SPIRIT REALMS ARE NOT SUCH ONES TO BE PERMITTED TO SAIL THROUGH SPACE AND TIME MUCH AS IT MAY WELL BE PERMITTED TO DO SO!!!!!!!!!THE SITUATIONS DEMANDS (REQUIRES) A SERIES OF WELL-INFORMED, STRATEGICALLY WELL-INTENDED WEALTH OF ACTIONS, WELL PURPOSED TREASURIES OF CREDIBLE ACTIONS AS WELL AS MAPPINGS OF ZEAL IN LEADERSHIP THAT ARE TO BE SET OUT TO GET THE CURRENT UNNECESSARILY PREVAILING PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES NOT ONLY OFF YOUR SHOULDERS AS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BUT ALSO, EVEN MORE SO WORTH EMPHASISING, THE SORT AND KIND OF BURDEN THESE THINGS ARE ON THE TENDENCY TO PITCH OVER THE SHOULDERS OF ALL CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AS WELL AS ITS INDIRECT REPERCUSSIONS ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC FRONTIERS OF THE MATTER!!!!!!!IN FACT, WE SHALL BE LOOKING FORWARDS TOWARDS SEEING AND KNOWING, THAT YOU ARE ON COURSE WITH ACTIONS ON THESE THINGS, AND IN THE SPIRIT OF WELL-PURPOSED MIGHT AS SPELT OUT IN THE OATH OF OFFICE TO WHICH YOU SWORE ON DAY ONE AS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!!!!!IN OTHER WORDS, THE MANIFEST SPIRITS, MIGHT, AND POWERS OF JUSTICE, ORDER, AND, AS IT WERE, COMMONSENSE PRINCIPLES, VALUES AND NORMS MUST AND MUST NECESSARILY APPLY, AND TO MAKE SUCH REIGN SUPREME OVER ALL OTHER EXPEDIENCIES AND INTERESTS, TASTES AND PREFERENCES; HERE BE IT POLITICAL, IDEOLOGICAL, RELIGIOUS, AFFILIATIONS, CREED, RELIGION, AND, WHATEVER, WHATEVER, AND, WHATEVER!!!!!!!SUFFICE IT TOP SAY, THAT IF EWE DO EVEN LEAVE CERTAIN THINGS TO STAND ALONE AND IN THEIR PROPER CONTEXTS AND PERSPECTIVES, AND HERE WHEN WE DECIDE TO EVEN LEAVE ALONE JUSTICE AND ORDER, AND RATHER PERMIT (ALLOW) COMMONSENSE TO REIGN AND REIGN SUPREME OVER ALL AND ALL OTHER EXPEDIENCIES; AND HERE DOING SO WITHOUT WITH ALL THE COURAGE, BOLDNESS OF RESOLVE AS WELL AS THE MANIFEST GATHERINGS OF KNOWLEDGE, INSIGHTS AND UNDERSTANDING, WITHOUT LET OR HINDRANCE, AND, IN THE FULLEST OF LETTER AND SPIRIT OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!!!!!THERE IS A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE; LOTS AND LOTS OF WORK TO BE DONE!!!!!!! YOUR EXCELLENCIES, SOMETIMES WE DO VARIOUSLY THINK, CONSIDER, AND EVEN BELIEVE AND TRUST THE VERY MUCH OF CERTAIN ENDS AS TRUE, THAT CONSTITUTIONS (HERE IN THE CONTEXTS OF LETTER AND SPIRIT) ARE ONLY ATTRIBUTABLE AND CONNECTED TO THE SOUL OF ANY PARTICULAR MOTHER NATION, HERE WITHIN THE CONTEXTS OF OUR POLITICAL AND IDEOLOGICAL THREADS OF UNDERSTANDING TO THAT EFFECT!!!!!!!HOWEVER, YOU MAY APPRECIATE THE MOST OVERRIDING WEALTH OF REASONING, AS IT WERE, IN THE CONTEXT OF VARIOUS FULLY INTERWOVEN MAPPINGS AND MATCHINGS IN THE VERY CONSTRUCTS TRUTH, AND IN FACTS, AS THEY PERTAIN TO THE PRACTICALLY WORKABLE IDEALS OF JUSTICE, MORAL FIBRE AND COMMONSENSE, THAT CONSTITUTIONS BY REASONS, GROUNDS AND GROUNDINGS OF THEIR “BEING” AND NATURE DO HAVE THEIR PRESERVES AND POWERS OF DISCRETION EVEN AND EVENLY WIDELY EXTENDABLE TO THE SHORES OF OTHER NATIONS!!!!!!!THIS IS IN VIEW OF THE REASONING, THAT NO ONE LIVES IN ISOLATION OF THE OTHER, AND THAT IS WHY IT BECOMES NECESSARY FOR “THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY”, FOR EXAMPLE, TO INTERVENE WHEN AND WHENEVER CARNAGE SUCH AS ETHNIC CLEANSING AND OTHER EVILS, FOR EXAMPLE, SURFACE IN CERTAIN PARTS OF THE WORLD!!!!!!!IT IS TO BE EMPHASISED, HERE FURTHER, THAT ANY TRACES OF SLOWPACED MOVEMENTS AND ACTIONS THAT MAY WELL CHARACTERISE THIS PARTICULAR GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN UNDER THE GUISES OF CURRENT OPPOSITION PARTY STANCES ON THE MATTER, DO LOOM, AND SO DEEPLY SO WEIGHTILY LOOM WITH SUCH DANGERS OF ECONOMIC CHAOS AND ANARCHY THAT HAVE THE CAPACITY NOT ONLY TO HARM THE ENTIRE NATION AND PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BUT ALSO THE OVERALL GLOBAL ECONOMY!!!!!!!THESE, AND EVEN MORE OF THESE MATTERS OF CONCERN, AMONG OTHER THINGS, CONSTITUTE THE MOST COMPELLING AND INDISPUTABLY PLAUSIBLE REASONS AND GROUNDS UPON WHICH ACTION; SOME WELL-INFORMED NATIONAL INTERESTS PROVOKED ACTIONS MUST AND MUST NECESSARILY APPLY AND REIGN SUPREME, AND THE TIME TO START DOING SO, AND SO, IS NOW, YOUR EXCELLENCIES!!!!!!!WE MAY WELL BE IN THE DARK AT THE MOMENT; OWING TO ALL THE PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES THIS PARTICULAR GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN IS INFLICTING SO MUCH DAMAGE AND INJURY ON THE CONSCIENCES OF LOTS OF THE AMERICAN INNOCENT PUBLIC!!!!!!!HOWEVER, THE MOST FULFILLING WEALTH OF TREASURIES OF GOOD NEWS IS THAT ALL THE ANSWERS ARE FULLY ESPOUSED AND ENCRYPTED BOTH IN LETTER AND IN SPIRIT IN THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!!!!!WHEN IN DOUBT, AND NOT KNOWING WHERE TO TURN FOR CLUES, AS IT WERE, FULLY MIRRORED IN THIS PARTICULAR REGARD, JUST GET CONNECTED WITH US, AND WE WOULD REFER YOU, YOUR EXCELLENCIES, TO THE ROCK OF THE AGES WHO WOULD SPEAK, AND SPEAK WITH A VOICE “SU7PREME” AND OVERRIDINGLY SO SUPREME IN THE SKIES ABOUT IT ALL!!!!!!!NOW, BASED ON THE FOREGOING POINTERS AND POINTERS TO TRUTH, AND OF JUSTICE, WE ARE MOST HUMBLY AND RESPECTFULLY URGING YOU, YOUR EXCELLENCIES, TO TAKE THE NECESSARY, MOST AWAKENING STEPS TO DEVELOP A WEALTH OF FRAMEWORK OF TERMS OF REFERENCE; AND HERE DOING SO WITH THE DICTATES OF THESE THINGS AS YOUR MAJOR GUIDING LIGHTS!!!!!!!IT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPORTANT TAKING NOTE OF THE FACT, THAT YOU WERE ELECTED INTO OFFICE AS “COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF” AND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THAT, YOU SOLEMNLY SWORE AN OATH-A SACRED OATH TO THIS END; THAT YOU “WILL FAITHFULLY “EXECUTE” “THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT” OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”, AND TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY “PROTECT” AND “DEFEND” THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, “SO HELP ME GOD”!!!!!!! THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AS REFERENCED FROM WIKIPEDIA SOURCES READS AND SAYS: United States Constitution From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia United States Constitution Page one of the Original Copy of the Constitution Created September 17, 1787 Ratified: June 21, 1788 Location National Archives, Washington, D.C. Author(s) Philadelphia Convention Signatories: 39 of the 55 delegates Purpose: To replace the Articles of Confederation (1777) Read online: United States Constitution at Wikisource United States of America The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America.[1] The Constitution originally consisted of seven Articles. The first three Articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, whereby the federal government is divided into three branches: the legislature, consisting of the bicameral Congress; the executive, consisting of the President; and the judiciary, consisting of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. The fourth and sixth Articles frame the doctrine of federalism, describing the relationship between State and State, and between the several States and the federal government. The fifth Article provides the procedure for amending the Constitution. The seventh Article provides the procedure for ratifying the Constitution. The Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and ratified by conventions in eleven States. It went into effect on March 4, 1789.[2] Since the Constitution was adopted, it has been amended twenty-seven times. The first ten amendments (along with two others that were not ratified at the time) were proposed by Congress on September 25, 1789, and were ratified by the necessary three-fourths of the States on December 15, 1791.[3] These first ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights. The Constitution is interpreted, supplemented, and implemented by a large body of constitutional law. The Constitution of the United States was the first constitution of its kind, and has influenced the constitutions of many other nations. Federal government History Main article: History of the United States Constitution First government Main article: Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the first constitution of the United States of America.[4] It was drafted by the Continental Congress in mid-1776 to late 1777, and formal ratification by all 13 states was completed in early 1781. The chief problem with the new government under the Articles of Confederation was, in the words of George Washington, no money.[5] The Continental Congress could print money; but, by 1786, the currency was worthless. (A popular phrase of the times chimed that a useless object or person was .. not worth a Continental, referring to the Continental dollar.) Congress could borrow money, but couldnt pay it back.[5] No state paid all their U.S. taxes; Georgia paid nothing, as did New Jersey in 1785. Some few paid an amount equal to interest on the national debt owed to their citizens, but no more.[5] No interest was paid on debt owed foreign governments. By 1786, the United States would default on outstanding debts as their dates came due.[5] In the world of 1787, the United States could not defend its sovereignty as an independent nation. Most of the troops in the 625-man U.S. Army were deployed facing—but not threatening—British forts being maintained on American soil. Those troops had not been paid; some were deserting and others threatening mutiny.[6] Spain closed New Orleans to American commerce; U.S. officials protested, to no effect. Barbary Pirates began seizing American ships of commerce; the Treasury had no funds to pay the pirates extortionate demands. If any extant or new military crisis required action the Congress had no credit or taxing power to finance a response.[5] The new government (of the united states) was proving inadequate to the obligations of sovereignty within the confederation of the individual states. That is, although the Treaty of Paris (1783) was signed between Great Britain and the United States and each of the states by name, the various individual states proceeded blithely to violate it. New York and South Carolina repeatedly prosecuted Loyalists for wartime activity and redistributed their lands over the protests of both Great Britain and the Confederation Congress.[5] Individual state legislatures independently laid embargoes, negotiated directly with foreigners, raised armies and made war, all violating the letter and the spirit of the “Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union”. During Shays Rebellion in Massachusetts, Congress could provide no money to support an endangered constituent state. Nor could Massachusetts pay for its own internal defense; General Benjamin Lincoln was obliged to raise funds from Boston merchants to pay for a volunteer army.[7] During the next Convention, James Madison angrily questioned whether the Articles of Confederation was a binding compact or even a viable government. Connecticut paid nothing and positively refused to pay U.S. assessments for two years.[8] A rumor had it that a seditious party of New York legislators had opened a conversation with the Viceroy of Canada. To the south, the British were said to be openly funding Creek Indian raids on white settlers in Georgia and adjacent territory. Savannah was fortified and the State of Georgia was under martial law.[9] Congress was paralyzed. It could do nothing significant without nine states, and some legislation required all thirteen. When a state produced only one member in attendance, its vote was not counted. If a states delegation were evenly divided, its vote could not be counted towards the nine-count requirement.[10] The Articles Congress had virtually ceased trying to govern.[11] The vision of a respectable nation among nations seemed to be fading in the eyes of revolutionaries such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Rufus King. Their dream of a republic, a nation without hereditary rulers, with power derived from the people in frequent elections, was in doubt.[12] Constitutional Convention Main article: Constitutional Convention (United States) On February 21, 1787, the Articles Congress called a convention of state delegates at Philadelphia to propose a plan of government. Unlike earlier attempts, the convention was not meant for new laws or piecemeal alterations, but for the “sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation”. The convention was not limited to commerce; rather, it was intended to “render the federal constitution adequate to the exigencies of government and the preservation of the Union. The proposal might take effect when approved by Congress and the states.[13] On the appointed day, May 14, 1787, only the Virginia and Pennsylvania delegations were present. A quorum of seven states met on May 25. Eventually twelve states were represented; 74 delegates were named, 55 attended and 39 signed. The delegates arrived with backgrounds in local and state government and Congress. They were judges and merchants, war veterans and revolutionary patriots, native-born and immigrant, establishment easterners and westward-looking adventurers. The participating delegates are honoured as the Constitution’s “Framers”.[14]Drafting the Constitution!!!!!!! Signing the Constitution, unanimous by delegation. Eleven states ratify to begin in 1789, unanimously 1790 The Constitutional Convention began deliberations on May 25, 1787. The delegates were generally convinced that an effective central government with a wide range of enforceable powers must replace the weaker Congress established by the Articles of Confederation. The high quality of the delegates to the convention was remarkable. As Thomas Jefferson in Paris wrote to John Adams in London, It really is an assembly of demigods. According to one view, the Framers embraced ambiguity in the constitutional text, since it allows for compromise and cooperation about broad concepts rather than specific circumstances.[15] Delegates used two streams of intellectual tradition, and any one delegate could be found using both or a mixture depending on the subject under discussion: foreign affairs, the economy, national government, or federal relationships among the states. The Virginia Plan recommended a consolidated national government, generally favouring the most populated states. It used the philosophy of John Locke to rely on consent of the governed, Montesquieu for divided government, and Edward Coke to emphasize civil liberties. The New Jersey Plan generally favoured the less populated states, using the philosophy of English Whigs such as Edmund Burke to rely on received procedure, and William Blackstone to emphasize sovereignty of the legislature. The Convention devolved into a “Committee of the Whole” to consider the fifteen propositions of the Virginia Plan in their numerical order. These discussions continued until June 13, when the Virginia resolutions in amended form were reported out of committee. All agreed to a republican form of government grounded in representing the people in the states. For the legislature, two issues were to be decided: how the votes were to be allocated among the states in the Congress, and how the representatives should be elected. The question was settled by the Connecticut Compromise or Great Compromise. In the House, state power was to be based on population and the people would vote. In the Senate, state power was to be based on state legislature election, with two Senators generally to be elected by different state legislatures to better reflect the long term interests of the people living in each state. The Great Compromise ended the stalemate between “patriots” and “nationalists”, leading to numerous other compromises in a spirit of accommodation. There were sectional interests to be balanced by the three-fifths compromise; reconciliation on Presidential term, powers, and method of selection; and jurisdiction of the federal judiciary. Debates on the Virginia resolutions continued. The 15 original resolutions had been expanded into 23. On July 24, a committee of five (John Rutledge (SC), Edmund Randolph (VA), Nathaniel Gorham (MA), Oliver Ellsworth (CT), and James Wilson (PA)) was elected to draft a detailed constitution. The Convention adjourned from July 26 to August 6 to await the report of this Committee of Detail. Overall, the report of the committee conformed to the resolutions adopted by the Convention, adding some elements. From August 6 to September 10, the report of the committee of detail was discussed, section-by-section, and clause-by-clause. Details were attended to, and further compromises were effected. Toward the close of these discussions, on September 8, a Committee of Style of five was appointed. Its final version was taken up on Monday, September 17, at the Conventions final session. Several of the delegates were disappointed in the result, a makeshift series of unfortunate compromises. Some delegates left before the ceremony, and three others refused to sign. Of the thirty-nine signers, Benjamin Franklin summed up addressing the Convention, There are several parts of this Constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them. He would accept the Constitution, because I expect no better and because I am not sure that it is not the best. The advocates of the Constitution were anxious to obtain the unanimous support of all twelve states represented in the Convention. Their accepted formula was “Done in Convention, by the unanimous consent of the States present.” George Washington noted in his diary that night, the proposal was agreed to by eleven state delegations and the lone Mr. Hamilton for New York. Transmitted to the Articles Congress then sitting in New York City, the Constitution was forwarded to the states by Congress recommending the ratification process outlined in the Constitution. Each state legislature was to call elections for a “Federal Convention” to ratify the Constitution. They expanded the franchise beyond the Constitutional requirement to more nearly embrace “the people”. Eleven ratified initially, and all thirteen unanimously did so a year later. The Articles Congress certified eleven states beginning the new government, and called the states to hold elections to begin operation. It then dissolved itself on March 4, 1789, the day the first session of the First Congress began. George Washington was inaugurated as President two months later. Ratification: The 13 colonies in 1775!!!!!!!It was within the power of the old congress to expedite or block the ratification of the new Constitution. The document that the Philadelphia Convention presented was technically only a revision of the Articles of Confederation. But the last article of the new instrument provided that when ratified by conventions in nine states (or 2/3 at the time), it should go into effect among the States so acting. Then followed an arduous process of ratification of the Constitution by specially constituted conventions. The need for only nine states was a controversial decision at the time, since the Articles of Confederation could only be amended by unanimous vote of all the states. However, the new Constitution was ratified by all thirteen states, with Rhode Island signing on last in May 1790. Three members of the Convention – Madison, Gorham, and King – were also Members of Congress. They proceeded at once to New York, where Congress was in session, to placate the expected opposition. Aware of their vanishing authority, Congress, on September 28, after some debate, unanimously decided to submit the Constitution to the States for action. It made no recommendation for or against adoption.[16] Two parties soon developed, one in opposition, the Antifederalists, and one in support, the Federalists, of the Constitution, and the Constitution was debated, criticized, and expounded clause by clause. Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, under the name of Publius, wrote a series of commentaries, now known as the Federalist Papers, in support of the new instrument of government; however, the primary aim of the essays was for ratification in the state of New York, at that time a hotbed of anti-federalism. These commentaries on the Constitution, written during the struggle for ratification, have been frequently cited by the Supreme Court as an authoritative contemporary interpretation of the meaning of its provisions. The closeness and bitterness of the struggle over ratification and the conferring of additional powers on the central government can scarcely be exaggerated. In some states, ratification was effected only after a bitter struggle in the state convention itself. In every state, the Federalists proved more united, and only they coordinated action between different states, as the Anti-federalists were localized and did not attempt to reach out to other states.The Continental Congress – which still functioned at irregular intervals – passed a resolution on September 13, 1788, to put the new Constitution into operation. Historical influences!!!!!!!Fundamental law This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2012) Several ideas in the Constitution were new. These were associated with the combination of consolidated government along with federal relationships with constituent states. Enlightenment and Rule of law John Locke Two Treatises of Government life, liberty and property The due process clause of the Constitution was partly based on common law and on Magna Carta (1215), which had become a foundation of English liberty against arbitrary power wielded by a tyrant. Both the influence of Edward Coke and William Blackstone were evident at the Convention. In his Institutes of the Laws of England, Edward Coke interpreted Magna Carta protections and rights to apply not just to nobles, but to all British subjects. In writing the Virginia Charter of 1606, he enabled the King in Parliament to give those to be born in the colonies all rights and liberties as though they were born in England. William Blackstones Commentaries on the Laws of England were the most influential books on law in the new republic. British political philosopher John Locke following the Glorious Revolution was a major influence expanding on the contract theory of government advanced by Thomas Hobbes. Locke advanced the principle of consent of the governed in his Two Treatises of Government. Governments duty under a social contract among the sovereign people was to serve them by protecting their rights. These basic rights were life, liberty and property. Montesquieu emphasized the need for balanced forces pushing against each other to prevent tyranny (reflecting the influence of Polybiuss 2nd century BC treatise on the checks and balances of the Roman Republic). In his The Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu argues that the separation of state powers should be by its service to the peoples liberty: legislative, executive and judicial. Division of power in a republic was informed by the British experience with mixed government, as well as study of republics ancient and modern. A substantial body of thought had been developed from the literature of republicanism in the United States, including work by John Adams and applied to the creation of state constitutions. Native Americans The Iroquois nations political confederacy and democratic government under the Great Law of Peace have been credited as influences on the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution.[17]Relations had long been close, as from the beginning, the colonial English needed allies against New France. Prominent figures, such as Thomas Jefferson in colonial Virginia and Benjamin Franklin in colonial Pennsylvania, two colonies whose territorial claims extended into Iroquois territory, were involved with leaders of the New York-based Iroquois Confederacy.[18] In the 1750s, at the Albany Congress, Franklin called for some kind of union of English colonies to effectively deal with Amerindian tribes.[19] John Rutledge (SC) quoted Iroquoian law to the Constitutional Convention, We, the people, to form a union, to establish peace, equity, and order... [20] The Iroquois experience with confederacy was both a model and a cautionary tale. Their Grand Council had no coercive control over the constituent members, and decentralization of authority and power had frequently plagued the Six Nations since the coming of the Europeans. The governance adopted by the Iroquois suffered from too much democracy and the long term independence of the Iroquois confederation suffered from intrigues within each Iroquois nation.[21] The 1787 United States had similar problems, with individual states making separate agreements with European and Amerindian nations apart from the Continental Congress. Without the Conventions proposed central government, the framers feared that the fate of the confederated Articles United States would be the same as the Iroquois Confederacy. Other bills of rights United States Bill of Rights consists of the 10 amendments added to the Constitution in 1791, as supporters of the Constitution had promised critics during the debates of 1788.[22] The English Bill of Rights (1689) was an inspiration for the American Bill of Rights. Both require jury trials, contain a right to keep and bear arms, prohibit excessive bail and forbid cruel and unusual punishments. Many liberties protected by state constitutions and the Virginia Declaration of Rights were incorporated into the Bill of Rights. Original text The Constitution consists of a preamble, seven original articles, twenty-seven amendments, and a paragraph certifying its enactment by the constitutional convention. Preamble: Authority and purpose We the People, as it appears in an original copy of the Constitution. Main article: Preamble to the United States Constitution See also: wikisource: Constitution of the United States of America#Preamble 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 Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. The Preamble sets out the origin, scope and purpose of the Constitution. Its origin and authority is in “We, the people of the United States”. This echoes the Declaration of Independence. “One people” dissolved their connection with another, and assumed among the powers of the earth, a sovereign nation-state. The scope of the Constitution is twofold. First, “to form a more perfect Union” than had previously existed in the “perpetual Union” of the Articles of Confederation. Second, to “secure the blessings of liberty”, which were to be enjoyed by not only the first generation, but for all who came after, “our posterity”.[23] This is an itemized social contract of democratic philosophy. It details how the more perfect union was to be carried out between the national government and the people. The people are to be provided (a) justice, (b) civil peace, (c) common defense, (d) those things of a general welfare that they could not provide themselves, and (e) freedom. A government of liberty and union, now and forever, unfolds when “We” begin and establish this Constitution.[a][25] Seven Articles National government Legislature Main article: Article One of the United States Constitution See also: wikisource: Constitution of the United States of America#Article I Article One describes the Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government. Section 1, reads, 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 article establishes the manner of election and the qualifications of members of each body. Representatives must be at least 25 years old, be a citizen of the United States for seven years, and live in the state they represent. Senators must be at least 30 years old, be a citizen for nine years, and live in the state they represent. Article I, Section 8 enumerates the legislative powers, which include: To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof. Article I, Section 9 lists eight specific limits on congressional power. The United States Supreme Court has interpreted the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause in Article One to allow Congress to enact legislation that is neither expressly listed in the enumerated power nor expressly denied in the limitations on Congress. In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), the Supreme Court read the Necessary and Proper Clause to permit the federal government to take action that would enable [it] to perform the high duties assigned to it [by the Constitution] in the manner most beneficial to the people,[26] even if that action is not itself within the enumerated powers. Chief Justice Marshall clarified: Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the Constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consist with the letter and spirit of the Constitution, are Constitutional.[26] Executive Main article: Article Two of the United States Constitution See also: wikisource: Constitution of the United States of America#Article II Article II, Section 1 creates the presidency. The section vests the executive power in a President. The President and Vice President serve identical four-year terms. This section originally set the method of electing the President and Vice President, but this method has been superseded by the Twelfth Amendment. Qualifications The President must be a natural born citizen of the United States or a citizen at the time of the adoption of the Constitution, at least 35 years old and a resident of the United States for at least 14 years.[27] The first president to be born an American citizen was Martin Van Buren.[28] Succession Section 1 specifies that the Vice President succeeds to the presidency if the President is removed, unable to discharge the powers and duties of office, dies while in office, or resigns. The later 25th Amendment clarifies this. Pay The President receives Compensation, and this compensation may not be increased or decreased during the presidents term in office. The president may not receive other compensation from either the United States or any of the individual states. Oath of office The final clause creates the presidential oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. Section 2 grants substantive powers to the president: The president is the Commander in Chief of the United States Armed Forces, and of the state militias when these are called into federal service. The president may require opinions of the principal officers of the federal government. The president may grant reprieves and pardons, except in cases of impeachment (i.e., the president cannot pardon himself or herself to escape impeachment by Congress). Section 2 grants and limits the presidents appointment powers: The president may make treaties, with the advice and consent of the Senate, provided two-thirds of the senators who are present agree. With the advice and consent of the Senate, the President may appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States whose appointments are not otherwise described in the Constitution. Congress may give the power to appoint lower officers to the President alone, to the courts, or to the heads of departments. The president may make any of these appointments during a congressional recess. Such a recess appointment expires at the end of the next session of Congress. Section 3 opens by describing the presidents relations with Congress: The president reports on the state of the union. The Recommendation Clause:[29] The president has the power and duty[30] to recommend to Congresss consideration such measures which the president deems as necessary and expedient. The president may convene either house, or both houses, of Congress. When the two houses of Congress cannot agree on the time of adjournment, the president may adjourn them to some future date. Section 3 adds: The president receives ambassadors. The president sees that the laws are faithfully executed. The president commissions all the offices of the federal government. Section 4 provides for removal of the president and other federal officers. The president is removed on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. Judiciary Main article: Article Three of the United States Constitution!!!!!!!See also: wikisource: Constitution of the United States of America#Article IIIArticle Three describes the court system (the judicial branch), including the Supreme Court. There shall be one court called the Supreme Court. The article describes the kinds of cases the court takes as original jurisdiction. Congress can create lower courts and an appeals process. Congress enacts law defining crimes and providing for punishment. Article Three also protects the right to trial by jury in all criminal cases, and defines the crime of treason. Judicial power. Article III, Section 1 is the authority to interpret and apply the law to a particular case. It includes the power to punish, sentence, and direct future action to resolve conflicts. The Constitution outlines the U.S. judicial system. In the Judiciary Act of 1789, Congress began to fill in details. Currently, Title 28 of the U.S. Code[31] describes judicial powers and administration.As of the First Congress, the Supreme Court justices rode circuit to sit as panels to hear appeals from the district courts.[b] In 1891, Congress enacted a new system. District courts would have original jurisdiction. Intermediate appellate courts (circuit courts) with exclusive jurisdiction heard regional appeals before consideration by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court holds discretionary jurisdiction, meaning that it does not have to hear every case that is brought to it.[31]!!!!!!!To enforce judicial decisions, the Constitution grants federal courts both criminal contempt and civil contempt powers. The court’s summary punishment for contempt immediately overrides all other punishments applicable to the subject party. Other implied powers include injunctive relief and the habeas corpus remedy. The Court may imprison for contumacy, bad-faith litigation, and failure to obey a writ of mandamus. Judicial power includes that granted by Acts of Congress for rules of law and punishment. Judicial power also extends to areas not covered by statute. Generally, federal courts cannot interrupt state court proceedings. [31]Arisings Clause.The Diversity (of Citizenship) Clause. Article III, Section 2, Clause 1. Citizens of different states are citizens of the United States. Cases arising under the laws of the United States and its treaties come under the jurisdiction of federal courts. Cases under international maritime law and conflicting land grants of different states come under federal courts. Cases between U.S. citizens in different states, and cases between U.S. citizens and foreign states and their citizens, come under federal jurisdiction. The trials will be in the state where the crime was committed.[31] Judicial review. Article III, Section 2. U.S. courts have the power to rule legislative enactments or executive acts invalid on constitutional grounds. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Any court, state or federal, high or low, has the power to refuse to enforce any statute or executive order it deems repugnant to the U.S. Constitution. Two conflicting federal laws are under pendent jurisdiction if one presents a strict constitutional issue. Federal court jurisdiction is rare when a state legislature enacts something as under federal jurisdiction.[c] To establish a federal system of national law, considerable effort goes into developing a spirit of comity between federal government and states. By the doctrine of ‘Res Judicata’, federal courts give full faith and credit to State Courts.[d] The Supreme Court will decide Constitutional issues of state law only on a case by case basis, and only by strict Constitutional necessity, independent of state legislators motives, their policy outcomes or its national wisdom.[e] Exceptions Clause. Article III, Section 2, Clause 2. The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in cases about Ambassadors and other public ministers and consuls, for all cases respecting foreign nation-states.[32]Standing. Article III, Section 2, Clause 2. This is the rule for federal courts to take a case. Justiciability is the standing to sue. A case cannot be hypothetical or concerning a settled issue. In the U.S. system, someone must have direct, real and substantial personal injury. The issue must be concrete and ripe, that is, of broad enough concern in the Court’s jurisdiction that a lower court, either federal or state, does not geographically cover all the existing cases before law. Courts following these guidelines exercise judicial restraint. Those making an exception are said to be judicial activist.[f] Treason. Article III, Section 3. This part of the Constitution strips Congress of the Parliamentary power of changing or modifying the law of treason by simple majority statute. It is not enough merely to think treasonously; there must be an overt act of making war or materially helping those at war with the United States. Accusations must be corroborated by at least two witnesses. Congress is a political body and political disagreements routinely encountered should never be considered as treason. This allows for nonviolent resistance to the government because opposition is not a life or death proposition. However, Congress does provide for other less subversive crimes and punishments such as conspiracy.[g] Federal relationships The States Main article: Article Four of the United States Constitution See also: wikisource: Constitution of the United States of America#Article IV Article Four outlines the relation between the states and the relation between the federal government. In addition, it provides for such matters as admitting new states as well as border changes between the states. For instance, it requires states to give full faith and credit to the public acts, records, and court proceedings of the other states. Congress is permitted to regulate the manner in which proof of such acts, records, or proceedings may be admitted. The privileges and immunities clause prohibits state governments from discriminating against citizens of other states in favor of resident citizens (e.g., having tougher penalties for residents of Ohio convicted of crimes within Michigan). It also establishes extradition between the states, as well as laying down a legal basis for freedom of movement and travel amongst the states. Today, this provision is sometimes taken for granted, especially by citizens who live near state borders; but in the days of the Articles of Confederation, crossing state lines was often a much more arduous and costly process. Article Four also provides for the creation and admission of new states. The Territorial Clause gives Congress the power to make rules for disposing of federal property and governing non-state territories of the United States. Finally, the fourth section of Article Four requires the United States to guarantee to each state a republican form of government, and to protect the states from invasion and violence. Amendments Main article: Article Five of the United States Constitution See also: wikisource: Cucci Club afrolatinopromotions.co.uknstitution of the United States of America#Article V Amending clause. Article V, Section 1. Article V provides for amendments. Amendment of state Constitutions at the time of the 1787 Constitutional Convention required only a majority vote in a sitting legislature of a state, as duly elected representatives of its sovereign people. The very next session, meeting by the same authority, could likewise undo the work of any previous sitting assembly. This was not the fundamental law the founders such as James Madison had in mind.[33] Nor did they want to perpetuate the paralysis of the Articles by requiring unanimous state approval. The Articles of Confederation had proven unworkable within ten years of its employment.[34] Between the two existing options for changing the supreme law of the land, (a) too easy by the states, and (b) too hard by the Articles, the Constitution offered a federal balance of the national legislature and the states. Two-thirds of both houses of Congress could propose an Amendment, which can become valid for all intents and purposes as the Constitution, when three-fourths of the states approve.[h] No Amendment can ever take away equal State votes in the U.S. Senate unless a state first agrees to it. No amendment regarding slavery or direct taxes could be permitted until 1808. Slavery was abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment in December 1865, direct tax on income was effected by the Sixteenth Amendment in February 1913.[35] Incorporated Amendments. The Fourteenth Amendment is used by federal courts to incorporate Amendments into the state constitutions as provisions to protect United States citizens. By 1968, the Court would hold that provisions of the Bill of Rights were fundamental to the American scheme of justice and apply it to the states in their relationship to individual United States citizens in every state.[36] Among the Bill of Rights, Doug Linder counts the First, Second, Fourth, and Sixth Amendment as fully incorporated into State governance. Most of the Fifth Amendment is incorporated, and a single provision of the Eighth. The Third Amendment is incorporated only in the U.S. Second Circuit, the states of New York, Connecticut and Vermont. The Supreme Court has not determined the Constitutional issue is yet ripe for national application in every state. The Seventh Amendment is not incorporated.[37] Twentieth Century Amendments use the prohibitive phrase, neither the United States nor any State to comprehensively incorporate the Amendment into the States at the time of its ratification into the Constitution. Federal Government Main article: Article Six of the United States Constitution See also: wikisource: Constitution of the United States of America#Article VI Article Six establishes the Constitution, and the laws and treaties of the United States made according to it, to be the supreme law of the land, and that the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any thing in the laws or constitutions of any state notwithstanding. It validates national debt created under the Articles of Confederation and requires that all federal and state legislators, officers, and judges take oaths or affirmations to support the Constitution. This means that the states constitutions and laws should not conflict with the laws of the federal constitution and that in case of a conflict, state judges are legally bound to honor the federal laws and constitution over those of any state. Article Six also states no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. Ratification Main article: Article Seven of the United States Constitution See also: wikisource: Constitution of the United States of America#Article VII Ratification clause. Article VII, Section 1. Article Seven details how to initiate the new government as proposed. The Constitution was transmitted to the Articles Congress, then after debate, forwarded to the states. States were to ratify the Constitution in state conventions specially convened for that purpose. The ratification conventions would arise directly from the people voting, and not by the forms of any existing State constitutions.[38] The new national Constitution would not take effect until at least nine states ratified. It would replace the existing government under the Articles of Confederation only after three-fourths of the existing states agreed to move together by special state elections for one-time conventions. It would apply only to those states that ratified it, and it would be valid for all states joining after.[31] The Articles Congress certified eleven ratification conventions had adopted the proposed Constitution for their states on September 13, 1788, and in accordance with its resolution, the new Constitutional government began March 4, 1789.[39](See above Ratification and beginning.) The Amendments Amendment of the state Constitutions at the time of the 1787 Constitutional Convention required only a majority vote in a sitting legislature of a state, as duly elected representatives of its sovereign people. The next session of a regularly elected assembly could do the same. This was not the fundamental law the founders such as James Madison had in mind.[citation needed] Nor did they want to perpetuate the paralysis of the Articles by requiring unanimous state approval. The Articles of Confederation had proven unworkable within ten years of its employment. Between the options for changing the supreme law of the land, too easy by the states, and too hard by the Articles, the Constitution offered a federal balance of the national legislature and the states. Procedure See also: Article Five of the United States Constitution Three steps to Amendments House-passed 12 proposals 2/3-majority, then to Senate (States later ratify 10 of 12) Senate-passed 12 proposals 2/3-majority, then 3/4 States = Bill of Rights Changing the fundamental law is a two-part process of three steps: amendments are proposed then they must be ratified by the states. An Amendment can be proposed one of two ways. Both ways have two steps. It can be proposed by Congress, and ratified by the states. Or on demand of two-thirds of the state legislatures, Congress could call an Article V Convention to propose an amendment, or amendments, which would only be valid if ratified by a vote of three-fourths of the states. To date, all amendments, whether ratified or not, have been proposed by a two-thirds vote in each house of Congress. Over 10,000 constitutional amendments have been introduced in Congress since 1789; during the last several decades, between 100 and 200 have been offered in a typical congressional year. Most of these ideas never leave Congressional committee, and of those reported to the floor for a vote, far fewer get proposed by Congress to the states for ratification.[i] In the first step, the proposed Amendment must be supported by two-thirds in Congress, both House and Senate. The second step requires a three-fourths majority of the states ratifying the amendment. Congress determines whether the state legislatures or special state conventions ratify the amendment.[40] On attaining Constitutional ratification of the proposal by three-fourths of the states, at that instant, the fundamental law is expressed in that Amendment. It is operative without any additional agency. No signature is required from the President. Congress does not have to re-enact. The Supreme Court does not have to deliberate. There is no delay to re-draft and re-balance the entire Constitution incorporating the new wording. The Amendment, with the last required state ratifying, is the supreme law of the land[citation needed]. Unlike amendments to most constitutions, amendments to the United States Constitution are appended to the body of the text without altering or removing what already exists. Newer text is given precedence.[j] Subsequent printed editions of the Constitution may line through the superseded passages with a note referencing the Amendment. Notes often cite applicable Supreme Court rulings incorporating the new fundamental law. Successful Main article: List of amendments to the United States Constitution The Constitution has twenty-seven amendments. The first ten, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified simultaneously by 1791. The next seventeen were ratified separately over the next two centuries. Bill of Rights Main article: United States Bill of Rights The National Archives displays the Bill of Rights as one of the three Charters of Freedom. The original intent of these first ten Amendments was to restrict Congress from abusing its power. For example, the First Amendment – Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion – was ratified by the states before all states had, of their own accord, disestablished their official churches. The Federalist Papers argued that amendments were not necessary to adopt the Constitution. But without the promise in their ratification conventions, Massachusetts, Virginia and New York could not have joined the Union as early as 1789. James Madison, true to his word, managed the proposed amendments through the new House of Representatives in its first session. The amendments that became the Bill of Rights were ten proposals of the twelve that Congress sent out to the states in 1789.[k] Later in American history, applying the Bill of Rights directly to the states developed only with the Fourteenth Amendment. Wikisource has original text related to this article: United States Bill of Rights No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges ... of citizens ... nor deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny the equal protection of the laws. The legal mechanism that courts use today to extend the Bill of Rights against the abuses of state government is called incorporation. The extent of its application is often at issue in modern jurisprudence. Generally, the Bill of Rights can be seen as the States addressing three major concerns: individual rights, federal courts and the national government’s relationships with the States. Individual rights The first Amendment defines American political community, based on individual integrity and voluntary association. Congress cannot interfere with an individual’s religion or speech. It cannot restrict a citizen’s communication with others to form community by worship, publishing, gathering together or petitioning the government. The First Amendment addresses the rights of freedom of religion (prohibiting Congress from establishing a religion and protecting the right to free exercise of religion), freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of petition. Trial and sentencing Given their history of colonial government, most Americans wanted guarantees against the central government using the courts against state citizens. The Constitution already had individual protections, such as strictly defined treason, no ex post facto law and guaranteed habeas corpus except during riot or rebellion. Now, added protections came in five Amendments. STATEMENT OF RECOMMENDATIONS MEANT FOR THE ATTENTIONS AND PERUSALS OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TOGETHER WITH HER EXCELLENCY MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; AND HERE BY THE LETTER AND SPIRIT OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND ALSO IN YOUR POSITION AS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF AND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, YOU DO HAVE THE FULLEST PRESERVES OF STRENGTHS, POWER AND SPIRIT OF AUTHORITY OVER MATTERS OF STATE AND STATE POLICY DECISIONS AND ACTIONS, FOR THAT MATTER, TO SET IN ORDER, AND IN AN ORDERLY ORDERED ORDERS OF AN ORDER SUPREME TO ESPOUSE AND ACCORDINGLY ADVANCE THE FOLLOWING: 1.SET OUT IN ORDER OF AN ORDERLY ESPOUSED, CRYSTAL CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS AND TIME-SPECIFIC POLICY ACTION NOTIFICATIONS MEANT FOR IMPLEMENTATION BY THE US CONGRESS WHICH IS HEADED BY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY-LED MAJORITY LEADER AND SPEAKER, HERE IN THE PERSON OF HIS HONOURABLE JOHN BOEHNER TO END THE CURRENT SHUTDOWN (DEADLINE AND AN ULTIMATUM TO BE GIVEN HERE), AND ALSO PASS THE BUDGET; AND IN THIS CONTEXT, A KIND OF INSTRUCTIONS THAT ARE TO COMPEL HIM AND HIS OFFICE TO COMPLY FULLY WITH SUCH POLICY DIRECTIVES AND ORDERS WITHOUT ANY FURTHER DELAY SINCE FAILURE TO ACCORDINGLY COMPLY WITH SUCH POLICY ACTION-RELATED INSTRUCTIONS, ORDERS AND DIRECTIVES MAY WELL SIGNAL AND IMPLIED CONSTITUTE SOME MANIFEST OFFENSES AGAINST THE STATE; AND IN THIS CASE, SOMETHING SOMEWHAT LIKENED TO AN UNWARRANTED AFFRONT AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL AGAINST STATE LAW AND STATE LAW FOR THAT MATTER SUPREME!!!!!!!IT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPORTANT MAKING MATTERS QUITE CLEAR HERE AND NOW, THAT THE NEED FOR PEACE, ORDER, UNITY PURPOSE, AMONG OTHER THINGS CONSTITUTE SOME IF NOT COMPLETELY ALL OF THE THINGS WE NEED TO NURTURE AND DEFEND AS PREREQUISITES FOR SMOOTH AND GREATER-PURPOSES DEFINED NATION BUILDING AND DEVELOPMENT!!!!!!!FOR, SUCH ARE THE MOST MEMORABLE LEGACIES THAT WERE LEFT BEHIND BY OUR FOUNDING FATHERS, AND THEREFORE ANYONE THAT TRIES TO UNDERMINE SUCH VALUES AND PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY HANDLING AND ADMINISTRATION MUST BE MADE TO EXPLAIN HIMSELF OR HERSELF BEFORE THE LAWS OF STATE!!!!!!!
Posted on: Wed, 16 Oct 2013 00:57:52 +0000
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