Constitution

Amendment 14th

Because many states continued to pass laws that restricted the rights of former slaves, on June 13, 1866, Congress passed and sent to the states for ratification, Amendment XIV. Ratified on July 9, 1868, the amendment granted U.S. citizenship to former slaves and specifically changed the rule in Article 1, Section 2 that slaves be counted only as three-fifths of a person for purposes of representation in Congress. It also contained three new limits on state power: a state shall not violate a citizen's privileges or immunities; shall not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; and must guarantee all persons equal protection of the laws. These limitations on state power dramatically expanded the protections of the Constitution. Prior to the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment, the protections in the Bill of Rights limited only the actions of the federal government, unless the provision specifically stated otherwise. The Supreme Court, in what is called "the doctrine of incorporation" has since interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment to apply most provisions in the Bill of Rights against state and local governments as well. This has meant that the Fourteenth Amendment has been used more frequently in modern court cases than any other constitutional provision. Guaranteed Rights of Citizenship to all Persons Born or Naturalized: The right of citizenship in the Fourteenth Amendment was intended to overturn the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford, a decision that had long been considered as one of the Supreme Court's worst mistakes. Dred Scott, born into slavery, argued that he should be granted freedom from the family that claimed ownership over him because he had lived in free states and thus had become a citizen of the United States before returning to Missouri, a state where slavery was sanctioned. Chief Justice Taney, denying Scott's appeal, held that African Americans were not citizens, and therefore were "not included, and were not intended to be included, under the word citizens." By specifically granting citizenship to all persons born or naturalized, the Fourteenth Amendment has not only guaranteed citizenship to former slaves but to most children born within the United States, even if the child's parents are not and cannot become citizens. Amendment XIV, however, limited the broad grant of citizenship to those "subject to U.S. jurisdiction." As a result, Native Americans, who were governed by tribal law, were not guaranteed citizenship by this amendment. Many Native Americans became citizens by a variety of means such as marriage, treaties, or military service. But with the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, Congress granted the rights of citizenship to all Native Americans. Privileges and Immunities: Within five years of its adoption, the privileges and immunities clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was interpreted very narrowly by the U.S. Supreme Court. In In Re Slaughter-House Cases, the Court rejected the argument that the provision gave the federal government broad power to enforce civil rights, finding that to do so would infringe on a power that had and should belong to the states. The Court found that the only privileges protected by the clause are those "which owe their existence to the Federal Government, its National character, its Constitution, or its laws," all of which are already protected from state interference by the supremacy clause in Article VI. Subsequent cases have recognized several federal privileges such as the right to travel from state to state, the right to petition Congress for a redress of grievances, the right to vote for national officers, and so forth, but other efforts to broaden the meaning of this clause have been rejected. The Fourteenth Amendment changed federalism by incorporating, for the first time, a check on state power by the national government. Critics say it all but did away with state sovereignty, while supporters say that the amendment was vital to protecting individuals from abuses by state governments. The Seventeenth Amendment also changed federalism by providing for direct election of Senators.

Constitution

Constitution of the United States (1787) The Constitution was written in 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by delegates from 12 states, in order to replace the Articles of Confederation with a new form of government. It created a federal system with a national government composed of three separated powers, and included both reserved and concurrent powers of states. The Constitution was a compact, although Federalists and Anti-Federalists disagreed over whether the states or the people were the agents of the compact. Principles of the Constitution include checks and balances, individual rights, liberty, limited government, natural rights theory, republican government, and popular sovereignty. New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution on June 21, 1788, ensuring that it would become the law of the land. However, calls for amendments came from many states, and in 1791 ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were added. Over the course of the next two centuries, 17 more amendments have been ratified. George Washington was the president of the Constitutional Convention, the body that framed the new government. James Madison is known as the "Father of the Constitution" because of his great contributions to the formation of the new government. Gouverneur Morris wrote the Constitution's final language. Antecedents of the Constitution include John Locke's political writings about forms of government and natural rights theory, Thomas Hobbes and Montesquieu, and English charters of liberty including the Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights. James Madison saw one important difference between those documents and the Constitution, however: "In Europe, charters of liberty have been granted by power. America has set the example . . . of charters of power granted by liberty."

Federalism. How constitution defines it

Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant (Latin: foedus, covenant) with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units (such as states or provinces). Federalism is a system based upon democratic rules and institutions in which the power to govern is shared between national and provincial/state governments, creating what is often called a federation. The term federalist describes several political beliefs around the world. Also, it may refer to the concept of parties; its members or supporters called themselves Federalists.[1] ***Federalism is one of the most important and innovative concepts in the U.S. Constitution, although the word never appears there. Federalism is the sharing of power between national and state governments. In America, the states existed first, and they struggled to create a national government. The U.S. Constitution is hardwired with the tensions of that struggle, and Americans still debate the proper role of the national government versus the states. Chief Justice John Marshall, the longest-serving leader of the Supreme Court, noted that this question "is perpetually arising, and will probably continue to arise, as long as our system shall exist." Americapedia Federalism ****Federalism is a system of dual sovereignty. The Constitution provides a federal system in which power is divided between the federal government and state governments. This is what James Madison called a "double security" in Federalist No. 51. The Constitution specifically lists the powers of the Legislative Branch in Article I, the powers of the Executive Branch in Article II, and the powers of the Judicial Branch in Article III. Under a theory of limited government, the federal government is assumed to have no powers other than those listed. The Tenth Amendment confirms that the states and the people retain powers not delegated to the federal government. Under our federal system, the federal and state governments have reserved and concurrent powers. As the Founders anticipated, the power struggles that sometimes occur between the two types of governments serve as part of the system of checks and balances, designed to prevent an abuse of power and protect individual rights. Supreme Court cases that have involved issues of federalism include McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), South Dakota v. Dole (1987), United States v. Lopez (1995) and United States v. Morrison (2000). Many of these cases hinged on the interpretation of the Commerce Clause. The Fourteenth Amendment changed federalism by incorporating, for the first time, a check on state power by the national government. Critics say it all but did away with state sovereignty, while supporters say that the amendment was vital to protecting individuals from abuses by state governments. The Seventeenth Amendment also changed federalism by providing for direct election of Senators.

Articles and amendments for the power of federal gov, state gov and the people

Limited Government Government has only those powers delegated to it by the people. Several articles and amendments to the Constitution create a limited federal government: one restrained to specific, enumerated powers. This federal system serves as a check on government power. Article I lists the powers of Congress, Article II lists the powers of the executive branch, and Article III lists the powers of the judiciary branch. The structure and purpose of each branch was devised so as to assure checks and balances, which provide another way of limiting government power and potential abuses. The Tenth Amendment notes that the states or the people retain those powers not delegated to the federal government. However, the Necessary and Proper Clause of Article I, Section 8 led some Anti-Federalist critics of the Constitution, including Patrick Henry, to argue that the government's powers were not sufficiently limited. The Supreme Court has held in cases such as McCullough v. Maryland (1819) that implied powers do exist by virtue of the listed powers. Furthermore, the specific prohibitions against the power of Congress in Article I, Section 9 have been interpreted by some to add weight to the argument in favor of implied powers.