"[A] bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse.” said Thomas Jefferson in 1787. The Constitution was a game-changing document but it consisted of a lot of loop-holes. These loop-holes made it inevitable for change. There are many cases now that are looked at and ruled on a case-by-case basis and the rules are often bent. I do not believe that incorporation is a violation of the 10th amendment because every trial is different and times are changed from the 1700s. The Founding Fathers wanted to protect the rights of the people and tell the government what they can do. I believe that the Bill of Rights protects the citizens the way the Founding Fathers intended. Throughout history we see them in action. …show more content…
These amendments were added in the light of slavery but it sets the tone for future conflicts. There is a much greater understanding of the Bill of Rights now than there was back in the day. An example of incorporation is in the case Cantwell v Connecticut. This was about free exercise of religion. This case was about three Jehovah’s witnesses promoting the religion in a neighborhood while insulting Roman Catholicism. They were arrested and charged. The Cantwells then said it was a violation of the 14th Amendment. The court found them to be innocent based on the First and Fourteenth Amendments because it violated due process. This case contradicts because it shows the law questioning any form of religious practice while also accepting free exercise of religion. The Bill of Rights is separated where only some rights are applied to state
The Union victory was a significant victory that would be remembered for years to come. The Reconstruction era followed soon after. It was intended to accomplish far more than it did, with the main objective of rebuilding the south. There were a variety of significant issues that made the Reconstruction process that much more difficult, initially impacting the overall process in a negative way. It was a struggle between the north and the south during peacetime after the war.
The second amendment is also one that is completely incorporated thanks to cases such as McDonald v Chicago that dealt with the right to keep and bear arms in the United States. The fourth amendment is the last amendment to be fully incorporated. A big case that helped do so was Mapp v Ohio in 1961. This case took place on the account that police officers had invaded Dollree Mapp’s house without a proper search warrant due to suspicion of harboring a suspected bomber. Mapp argued that they had done so unlawfully due to her fourth amendment rights stated in the constitution.
Between the creation of the Constitution and the Civil War, there was a period of implementation . In this period the Bill of Rights were ratified. During the years that followed and before the Civil War, there were a variety of “constitutional” violations and interpretations. For example, we read of John Adams who created a military without a Congressional declaration of war.
After the Civil War many amendments were created to ensure and guarantee success to those native and free to this country. The Fourteenth Amendment, is one of three amendments to the Constitution, that was created after the civil war to grant citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed. The main purpose of this amendment was to guarantee black rights. Many people were gracious when the amendment came in play but the rest were not satisfied and were against the ratification of the amendment. This amendment opened the doors to many who deserved it and many more who came in search for a better life.
One important part of these documents is the 10th Amendment. This does a lot for our country. The 10th Amendments main purpose is to help define federalism and has created two types of government for the state and the national government. The Meaning and Purpose of the 10th Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution was acquired on July 9th, 1868, as one of the three Reconstruction Amendments. The amendment discussed equal protection of the laws and citizenship rights. This new amendment was created in response to problems with former slaves that were freed after the American Civil War. The amendment puts a limit on the actions of all local and state officials. During the time of its creation, it did two major things, it made it to where all people born in the united states were citizens and it made it to where everyone is equally protected under the law.
“Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice. suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals” (Martin Luther King, Jr.). Based on the Constitution, equality has the possibility of being achieved because amendments can be placed in order to get closer to it. Also the Constitution has shown no discrimination to a certain group of people, and instead has tried to push the idea of equality to the next level. Although people, in the past, have been through many harsh events, the Constitution has always made a way to repair its mistakes.
America had just finished fighting the Civil War and we were broken. Reconstruction began in 1865 and was the time of rebuilding America after the Civil War tore apart our country. People also referred to the this time as “putting back the pieces”. Abraham Lincoln was the president during this period of time. He had thought of a blueprint for the Reconstruction; which consisted of an idea known as the Ten-Percent Plan.
The ‘Civil War’ Amendments The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were all deemed to be the Civil War amendments. In the US Constitution of 1787 US Constitution Amendment Abolishes slavery & involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, by the House on January 31, 1865, and adopted by the States on December 6, 1865. On December 18, 1865, Secretary of State William H. Seward proclaimed it to have been enacted. It was the first of the three Reconstruction Amendments adopted following the American Civil War.
Imagine a world in which The Civil War and the events after never happened. Southern states still hold slaves, there are no laws on immigration or who can become a citizen. The Civil War freed the slaves and allowed laws that dealt with citizenship and immigration to be ratified. This was what led to the creation of the three Reconstruction Amendments, which includes the Fourteenth Amendment. The Fourteenth Amendment has rich history, various meanings and applications, and can be used to shape our nation for the better today.
One element I find very interesting of the United States Constitution is the Tenth Amendment. The Tenth Amendment says, “The power not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” This is basically alluding to the idea that if a power is not directly given to the federal government is given to the states. I believe that one of the main reasons that this amendment was included in the Constitution because the Founding Fathers knew it needed to be a vital rule set from the beginning because it helped further their ideals of the balance of power.
The Confederation Congress used a bill of rights to preserve the people’s fiercely desired personal rights, while they used amendments to correct any errors or to edit federal laws and bills as necessary. The Constitution had to adapt to “changing economic and social conditions” (Thompson, 1913, p. 17), and this is exactly the flexibility the Amendments
The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) The amendments were put into place to protect the rights and civil liberties of all American citizens from the federal government. However, prior to the fourteenth amendment, there was no certainty with the constitution. The constitution did not state in a clear enough way who was protected under it and exactly what rights you had as an American Citizen. The 14th amendment was in response to the just passed thirteenth amendment, which ended slavery in all of the southern states.
The most notable being the addition of three Amendments, the 13th, the 14th, and the 15th. These Amendments outlawed slavery, granted citizenship to all former slaves
Constitution: Preamble and Bill of Rights” the author is trying to secure the unalienable rights of the people. In the first Amendment of the U.S. Constitution it states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble.” This Amendment gives power to the individual by prohibiting Congress from making new laws that will interfere with the freedom of speech of the people. The Preamble Constitution also reduces the power of the Federal Government by stating,” Secure the Blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” By saying this, the Constitution weakens the Federal Government by barring the government from making laws against these rights in not just the present but the future as well.