In our world today we have many facilities, organizations, and unions but a controversial one today is the ACLU which stands for American Civil Liberties Union. According to http://action.aclu.org. For almost 100 years the ACLU has worked to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the constitution and laws of the U.S. The ACLU is a non-profit organization. They have worked hard to change policies and help America in many situations.
In the past few years, the United States has seen a huge spike in the money spent in federal elections (See Appendix 4.B). Not only have candidates been making greater efforts to communicate their ideas to the American public, but super PACs have also been displaying their support for candidates and their political policies; they do so by using their right to accept unlimited donations from the public and later, use that money to promote certain candidates, or to sway voters in a desired direction. The immense power that super PACs have to sway voters has come under harsh criticism, spurring the creation of new laws and limits on the super PACs in an attempt to keep them in check and to avoid possible corruption. These limits on super
The establishment of the Constitution after the failed Articles of Confederation remains a source of controversy among American citizens even in modern times. In his essay “The Hope of the Framers to Recruit Citizens to Enter Public Life,” Jack N. Rakove accurately argues that the Constitution was meant to be an avenue for the people to enter into and be involved in politics, and for the government to be involved in the peoples’ lives in order to ensure a non-autocratic future for the new nation. An element of the Constitution through which the Framers ensured the freedom and political participation of American citizens was the Bill of Rights. “The principal result of the ratification debates was the acceptance of an idea that the framers
The Free Speech Coalition claims that these prohibitions are overbroad and vague and,
FEC,” he addresses the idea that Citizens United has many developed aspects to it; the case is arguing that Citizens United “does not involve cartel or monopoly practices, or abuse of children, or any of the other traditional exceptions to First Amendment protection.” However, Epstein also addresses that corporations are not citizens and cannot vote. But many people still ask: if corporations are not citizens and cannot vote, why are they protected under the First Amendment? This protection under the First Amendment gives corporations and unions rights that states do not have the power to overrule; businesses, essentially, have more power and more sway in their opinions. Epstein is very objective when presenting the issues of this case; however, he considers this power political corruption because the First Amendment does not protect the use of money, which means that “anyone who uses money to obtain assistance in preparing for political speech has crossed over the line into potentially criminal conduct.”
The synopsis of the Citizens United case is that there cannot be a ban on a speech given based on the corporate identity of the speaker. This law was aimed at Senator Hillary Clinton who was receiving funds from for-profit organizations. As for Citizens United, this is a nonprofit organization that has a 12 million dollar budget. They came up with a 90 minute documentary in order to keep people from voting for Hillary Clinton. President Obama actually condemned the ruling in his 2010 state of the union address.
This case highlighted the First Amendment condemning any limit on free speech. However, during the case proceeding, the Court had dissents for deciding when the government may restrict the First Amendment. The case spread the fact that
This time Fish argues that the First Amendment protects unpopular speeches or writings from having the government have its opinion. Fish explains that there is not an issue with the First Amendment, but rather than an issue with the editors not accepting the consequences of the
The Constitution—the foundation of the American government—has been quintessential for the lives of the American people for over 200 years. Without this document America today would not have basic human rights, such as those stated in the Bill of Rights, which includes freedom of speech and religion. To some, the Constitution was an embodiment of the American Revolution, yet others believe that it was a betrayal of the Revolution. I personally believe that the Constitution did betray the Revolution because it did not live up to the ideals of the Revolution, and the views of the Anti-Federalists most closely embodied the “Spirit of ‘76.” During the midst of the American Revolution, authors and politicians of important documents, pamphlets, and slogans spread the basis for Revolutionary ideals and defined what is known as the “Spirit of ‘76”.
The civil right Act is one of the America’s biggest legislation in the American history. The legislation outlawed discrimination based on religion, color, sex, race, the nation of origin, employment, access to public places and enforced desegregation of schools as well as the freedom of voting. The act did not actually end the discrimination but it paved the way for the further progress. The progressive amendments of the act attempted to introduce different clauses that ensured the integration of the entire American populace e.g. 13th amendment provided for the abolition of slavery, 14th amendment enhanced the right of equal protection under the law, and 15th amendment protected the voting right and guaranteed citizenship to the entire American
In order to achieve this type of governing system, the opinions of the people need to be heard. The first amendment does not go too far in protecting citizens’
Such as the Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly case which banned tobacco advertising. This decision was made even though it infringed on the corporations right to free speech (Hudson). I agree with this decision to ban tobacco advertising regardless of the fact that it is unconstitutional. This Supreme Court ruling refutes the validity of the argument that the individual right of free speech in advertising being more important than the common good, in this case the common good attributes to public health. It is clear these prescription drugs are a hazard to public health.
Fundamentally, the Supreme Court ruled that “corporations, unions, and other groups may engage in unlimited political spending
The Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics video titled “Key Constitutional Concepts” explores the history of the creation of the United States Constitution in addition to key concepts crucial to the document. Two central themes explored in the video include the protection of personal rights and importance of checks and balances. The video strives to explain these concepts through Supreme Court cases Gideon v. Wainwright and Youngstown v. Sawyer. To begin, the video retraces the steps leading up to the Constitutional Convention in Virginia in 1787. It opens by explaining the conflict that led to the Revolutionary War and the fragility of the new nation.
Judicial Activism is a type of judicial review where they are more likely to consider constitutional issues rather than executive or legislative action. Since the legislature makes laws in favor of the majority, Judicial Activism provides protection against unjust laws for those in the minority. This phrase was first used by an American Historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. , in an 1947 article in Fortune magazine. Judicial Restraint is a type of approach to judicial review where the judges will make their decisions based on what the Framers would have done. They will also be hesitant to remove laws that are obviously unconstitutional.
