Bill of Rights and Amendments Bill of Rights and Amendments The United States Constitution was recognized to Americans as a vague statement in clarifying the privileges and the rights of individuals and centralizing the power within the government itself. With the passing of the Bill of Rights and the first ten amendments, it grants the people to what is said to be their “natural rights” following additional rights that have significantly changed our society. Amendments and Constitution According to the Constitution, an amendment may be proposed and be presented, where it is put to a two thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The original article is then forwarded for processing and …show more content…
It was sent to Congress to be authorized and to enact the appropriate legislations. The House of Representatives vote to propose the 13th Amendment followed the Senate vote, and essentially made the two thirds majority vote (13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, 2010). Quickly after the ratification by the states it was proclaimed an amendment and adopted in 1865. Unlike most provisions in the Constitution, this amendment was self-executing, that even without action of Congress, to demeanor by secluded individuals. The success and the approval by the necessary three-quarters of U.S states, the 14th Amendment guaranteed to the newly freed slaves protection and citizenship along with all its privileges. This amendment resolved any pre-Civil War concerns of the African American community’s citizenship by stating that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States and of the state in which they reside” (Primary Documents of American History, 2011). This amendment also reinsured that they had the equal rights and privileges of the rest of the citizens, and granted all these citizens the “equal protection of the laws” (Primary Documents of American History, 2011). In the wake of the passage of the 13th and 14th amendment, the 15th amendment gave “the right of citizens of the United States to vote and
- Congress passed a 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which states that "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction there of, are citizens of the United States and of the states in which they reside," thus repudiating the Dred Scott ruling which had denied slaves their right of citizenship. The 15th amendment provided that, “The rights of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be be denied or abridged by the United States or any states on the account of race, color or previous condition of servitude.”
This amendment confronted the citizenship and legal rights of everyone born in the United States, including former slaves. The Fourteenth Amendment restricted states from enacting laws that restricted the rights of former slaves. This was very important because it ensured that the African Americans had a better chance at receiving the rights that they deserved. With all of the laws that had been preventing the blacks from living as equals in society, the Fourteenth Amendment promised change that was necessary to make strides towards ending the prejudice that had helped lead to the country’s civil
One of the two ways the Constitution can be amended is by Congressional method. Two-thirds of both houses of Congress may vote to pass an amendment and then submit the amendment to the states where three-fourths must vote to ratify. This process
The Bill of Rights were ratified on December 15, 1791. The Bill of Rights is the first 10 amendments in the United States Constitution. The United States Constitution was the basic human rights of America’s citizens as well as the foundation (or basic) laws for the citizens to follow. There were many people who were for and against the whole “freedom” from Britain, Federalists and Anti-federalists. Alexander Hamilton was a Federalist, he did not agree that the Bill of Rights was something that America needed. Alexander Hamilton believed that the president should serve for his lifetime, and he should have the final “say” in everything.
The Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments in the constitution, these amendments were adopted and ratified concurrently which explains why they are often grouped together. The Bill of Rights serve as an outline for United States citizens to understand their basic rights as a human being. These rights range from the right to have freedom of speech, assembly and religion to the right to a trial by jury. As a result of the fact that these amendments were passed over 200 years ago, there are many debates regarding the technicalities of the amendments. It is no surprise that over the years, beliefs, perspectives and opinions have changed. The ever changing world-- in terms of morals and ethics-- we live in causes individuals to be constantly
The Bill of Rights is easily one of the most important sections within constitution, and this is because of the way that it protects the citizens of the United States from the government. One of the items therein the Bill of Rights is the 4th Amendment which states that, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” Broken down, this one sentence gives the people the right to be secure and not be violated by the government when it comes to their property, papers and effects. This keeps them from being searched or having items seized without a warrant. This warrant that can be created has to be specific about the places that are going to be searched and the items that will be seized. This article will be divided into multiple sections that overall encompass the meaning of, how it came to be, and why it is important. The importance of this specific amendment is absolutely endless, and without it, our country would not be in the place that it is today.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Equality is possible by the Constitution in the following way: Bill of Rights, All 27 Amendments, and the Constitution. Also using events that were caused to have equality, ex: Civil War, Civil Rights Movement, Revolutionary War. Finally many readings that were based on the Constitution are, the Gettysburg Address, I Have A Dream, and What to a Slave is the Fourth of July. The two perspectives of the argument is,it is achievable to make society have equality based on the Constitution, or it is not achievable to make society equal based on the
Upon creating the U.S. Constitution, the framers of America believed that “in order to form a more perfect union,” we required a government that would “secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” They sought to form a political entity that would take the necessary steps to ensure that the people of the nation would have the freedom to act and speak according to their own free will and guarantee their future generations the entitlement to that same liberty. The bill of rights, laid out as the first 10 amendments in the Constitution, guarantees citizens a number of personal freedoms that the government cannot infringe upon. Through the process of incorporation, the amendments not only apply to the federal government, but also to the states and local government. Therefore, allowing for the reservation of powers to the states and the people that were not notably allowed to the federal government.
From the time that the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1787, the definition of the second amendment had remained the same. In 1980, Ronald Reagan was elected into office and carried a gun rights enthusiast along with him. At the same time a Republican senator from Utah, Orrin Hatch, was handed the reigns of chairman of an important sub-committee. Senator hatch stated that he had discovered proof that individual citizens could rightfully own firearms under the second amendment. The National Rifle Association then began biased studies to corroborate with Senator Hatch’s opinion. After many disagreements and debates, Senator Hatch rose victorious.
The Bill of Rights was passed because concepts such as freedom of religion, speech, equal treatment, and due process of law were deemed so important that, barring a Constitutional Amendment, not even a majority should be allowed to change them. Rule of law is a principle under which all persons, institutions, and entities are accountable to laws that are: publicly promulgated, equally enforced, independently adjudicated, and consistent with international human rights principles. The United States, as a democratic republic, derives ultimate authority and power from the citizens and runs the government through elected officials. Our elected officials follow the same rule of law as the people they govern, and it is the electorate’s hope that the laws they enforce are inevitably followed. However, this is not always the case, and during the thirty-seventh presidency of the United States, the people’s trust of our executive office was shaken by a corrupt Nixon administration and its scandalous ways.
There are four ways to amend Constitution. One of the methods, also the most common method, is when the House of Representatives and Senate both must vote on the proposed amendment. According to the Constitution, for an amendment to pass it is required that the House of Representatives and Senate (which make up Congress) must pass it with a two-thirds majority. If it is approved by the two-thirds, then the proposed amendment is sent to the state legislatures for approval. It is required for the three-fourths of all state legislatures to approve the amendment. If it is approved, then the proposed amendment becomes ratified and added to the Constitution.
The Bill of Rights is a formal declaration of the legal and civil rights of the citizens. Also known as the first ten amendments of the constitution, ratified in 1791 and offering freedoms like speech, assembly, and worship. Originally, the Bill of Rights were proposed by James Madison and they then became the law of the land. The purpose of the Bill of Rights was a statement of basic individual freedoms that refrain from the English Bill of Rights passed in 1689. A century later, 7 out of the 13 of the newly independent United States of America adopted a bill of rights as an addition to their state constitutions, the other 6 states continued using the English bill of rights in the bodies of their constitutions. Virginia is historically known
“Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others.I do not add ‘within the limits of the law because law is often but the tyrant's’ will,and always so when it violates the rights of the individual” -Thomas Jefferson. The Constitution was created because of the ineffectiveness of the Articles of Confederation did not simply protecting the rights of the people which the Founding Fathers was concerned about. The Constitution was a social contract was an agreement among the people in society which the people give up part of their freedom to the government for protection of their natural rights by the government. Then the Constitution was
In 1869 on Feb. 26, Congress sends the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution to the states for approval. The amendment would guarantee black Americans the right to vote. In 1875 Congress approved the Civil Rights Act on March 1, guaranteeing equal rights to black Americans in public accommodations and jury duty. The legislation was invalidated by the Supreme Court in 1883.
The Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments from the United States Constitution. The Bill of Rights was written by James Madison on December 15, 1791. The purpose of the Bill of Rights is to address the rights of the individuals that the Constitution did not specified correctly and it also was written to protect the rights of the individuals liberties even if the majority wanted to take them away.