Essay about The American Constitution - 2885 Words

The American Constitution The basis of all law in the United States is the Constitution. This Constitution is a document written by outcasts of England. The Constitution of the United States sets forth the nations fundamental laws. It establishes the form of the national government and defines the rights and liberties of the American people. It also lists the aims of the government and the methods of achieving them. The Constitution was written to organize a strong national government for the American states. Previously, the nations leaders had established a national government under the Articles of Confederation. But the Articles granted independence to each state. They lacked the authority to make the†¦show more content†¦The executive branch includes the President the vice President, the cabinet and all federal departments, and most governmental agencies. All executive power is vested in the President [US Const. Art. II, sec 1, cl. 1], currently Bill Clinton, who serves a four-year term. The President is the commander in Chief of the military [US Const. Art. II, sec 2, cl. 1], and has primary authority over foreign affairs. The President has the power to make treaties, but only with two-thirds of the US senate [US Const. Art. II, sec 2, cl. 2]. The President of the US has the power to nominate all Supreme Court Justices, all other federal juries, ambassadors, and all other officers of the United States. The President had the jurisdiction to veto legislation. The vice President is the President of the Senate. The Vice President serves the same four year term as the President. The President is the head of the thirteen government departments. These departments are not listed in the constitution and have varied in name and in number over the years. Currently they are the DEPARTMENTS OF STATE, TREASURY, DEFENSE, JUSTICE, INTERIOR, AGRICULTURE, COMMERCE, LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, TRANSPORTATION, ENERGY, and EDUCATION. The heads of each department form the cabinet, which is theShow MoreRelatedThe Constitution And The American Constitution1141 Words   |  5 Pagestheir mistakes and promptly followed up by making quite possibly the most successful constitution ever in 1776. To ensure that American citizens would enjoy their new freedom, our founders kept in mind what John Locke had said in his An Essay Concerning Human Understanding â€Å"life, liberty, and property,† by coining â€Å"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness† into the final draft of the constitution. The constitution is important because it â€Å"exists to protect the rights of all citizens, and has noRead MoreThe American Constitution And The Constitution1197 Words   |  5 PagesLet take a look at some of the compromises and challenges the Founding Fathers had to overcome when they set out to rewrite the American Constitution. The government built upon the Articles of Confederation was failing and change was needed. The American Constitution would not have been adopted without compromise over very difficult topics such as slavery, size and structure of government, taxation, elections, and governing responsibilities. The Federal and States balance of authority and divisionRead MoreAmerican Constitution2557 Words   |  11 PagesPO 201 – American Constitution Oct 15, 2012 1. The most general definition of politics would be the process by which values are authoritatively allocated for a particular society. More specifically that allocation speaks to the process where it is decided when, what, who, and how resources are distributed. Many would say that politics is no more than the art of governing humanity through deception, and some would even go as far as to say it is nothing more than conducting public affairsRead MoreThe American Constitution Essay2253 Words   |  10 PagesPolitical Science 300: The American Constitution 12/01/2016 Marijuana Throughout the history of the republic, there has been controversy between state and federal power. The state and federal power has been an ongoing dilemma regarding the separation of powers since the beginning of the constitution. An issue was brought to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTOS) that could change the future of upcoming court cases. There has been question whether the Constitution grants certain laws as voidRead MoreExample Of The American Constitution927 Words   |  4 Pages  The american constitution is frequently all the conjured Concerning illustration the framework from claiming american democracy, yet parts about it need aid often underestimated. Robert Dahls book may be a helpful update that the american constitution is far starting with the best could be allowed foundation to equitable framework - Whats more that it may, indeed, a chance to be significantly starting with an perfect gas one.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dahl recognizes those constitution in the light of the authenticRead MoreThe Uniqueness of the American Constitution858 Words   |  4 PagesThe Uniqueness of the American Constitution We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, 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. This document, written more than 200 years ago is still the backbone that allows America to be an example of freedomRead MoreThe Genius of the American Constitution1000 Words   |  4 Pages The Genius of the American Constitution Since the advent of human government, one of the principle fears held by the constituents of the government has always been to prevent any form of tyranny or abuse within it. Tyranny can be loosely described as one person or a group of people having total power in a government leading to the subjugation and oppression of people’s rights. Many new nations wish to eliminate any aspect of their government that may eventually lead to tyranny. The United StatesRead MoreEssay on American Constitution2296 Words   |  10 Pagespaper The significance of the fact that the Nevada Constitution is lengthier than the U.S. Constitution is insurance for the state. The Constitution assures the states of its problems and its issues. The Nevada Constitution was approved on the first Wednesday of September 1864. In the state of Nevada, the significant fact that lengthens our Constitution from the U.S. Constitution is the gaming Constitution. The gaming Constitution needs to be addressed when congress or any other politicalRead MoreThe Principles Of The American Constitution1720 Words   |  7 PagesThe principles of the American constitution base it’s ideals on Judeo-Christian beliefs and morals. Laws against murder, adultery, theft and practices deemed â€Å"unholy† were instituted with belief these guidelines and restrictions would create a stable but more importantly, prosperous nation economically and socially. However, nearing the 1920’s these rules were challenged in their purity and importan ce which lead many to question the doctrine of the ideal lifestyle those involved in religious practiceRead MoreHow Democratic Is The American Constitution Essay1616 Words   |  7 PagesDemocratic is the American Constitution? is how effective the Constitution is at promoting the ideals of a democracy. For Dahl, there are several issues surrounding the Constitution, from its drafting, to its ideology, to its relevance. By analyzing Dahl’s critiques of the Constitution in terms of the parallels that exist between factions and the two-party system, the issue of unequal representation, and the necessity for the Framers to compromise on their ideals to ratify the Constitution, Dahl defined

Black Codes Free Essays

Ryan Fagan U. S. History Honors Bushong 4/27/12 How did the Black Codes prevent the immediate integration of the freed black men into society? Written pages: 5 The Civil War caused many issues for American Society, from the physical separation of the southern states, to the issue of ending slavery, being the most well known, and for good reason. We will write a custom essay sample on Black Codes or any similar topic only for you Order Now While the north wanted the slaves to be free, the south did not, which obviously caused Problems. This topic of free vs. slavery did not begin after the war started though, the government had dealt with many different cases and often the ended in favor of slavery. After the Civil War the issues with slavery still existed because of the creation of Black Codes, codes that basically forced the â€Å"free† men to report to a white employer or supervisor who decided what they could and could not do freely. These are just few of many reasons that the integration of freed black men, and men of color, took almost a century after the day they were legally released to truly have their freedom. One of the many reasons that the integration of the freed men into society was not more immediate was because of the stance of the national government before the war. The north may have not been slave states, but when it came to helping a slave in need, they were not going to be the ones to lend a hand. The Dred Scott case is a prime example of this stance. In this case a slaved argues that his owner moved from a slave state to a free state, thereby causing him to become a free citizen of society. This case was extremely controversial. While on one hand the slave made a point, the other hand caused the government to deny his request for freedom, without real rational reason. When the government’s stance changed and Abraham Lincoln became president, the newly elected president caused the country to go to war with itself because of his public stance on slavery. This tragic event caused the south to secede from the United States and form their own government. Of course the sole issue of the south’s secession was not the loss of slavery, but also had an economic aspect as well. When the Civil War was over, it was quite obvious that the southern states still had a deep and powerful hatred for anyone of color. This hatred, as mentioned before, is the primary reason for the southern states creating the Black Codes. Not only did the Black Codes cause issues between the southern ex-slave owners and their freed slaves, but it also caused a great number of issues in the northern states. The northern states saw these Black Codes as an unfair and cruel way of bringing back slavery. Primarily because in the southern states state government, the white legislators saw no real reason to end the inequality between the white men, and the men of color (â€Å"Constitutional rights foundation,† 2011). Without establishing a new state of mind the governments in the southern states would continue to make these laws, leaving the federal government unable to make any real changes to ensure the well being of the men of color. This only delayed the integration of the men of color into society even longer, because the relationship between the state governments and the national governments were too fragile at this point in time to make anything positive happen. In reviewing the South Carolina Black Codes, it is clear how biased and restricted the everyday lives of the freed men were. In order to integrate into society completely, the freed man would not only need to attempt to change the views of the white men around them, they were still required to follow the Black Codes. Rebellion could only get the freed men so far because they were not permitted to own anything that could be used as a weapon. The South Carolina Black Codes also prevented the migration of freed men to South Carolina without the approval of two South Carolina white men. These white men, known as freeholders, were essentially the people responsible for the freed men, also known as servants, that they approved. After that the Black Codes basically permit slavery to those who take on the responsibility for the freed men. The reason that the free slaves were not able to immediately integrate in society was the Continued existence of the Black Codes. The Black Codes only promoted the previously accepted view of superiority and resulted in lasting conflicts between the races for years. The immediate elimination of the Black Codes would have completely removed any political power that one race would have ad over the other, which in turn would have prevented the conflicts of pride and respect. An immediate overturning of the Black Codes would have also caused the issues of indirect slavery, and violations of rights given to all men by the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. The overall attitude towards freed slaves would have been completely different and would have resulted in a faster change in public opinion and would have allowed the integration of the freed slaves to be much more fluid. Work Cited Black codes and jim crow laws. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. sciway. net/afam/reconstruction/blackcodes. html Constitutional rights foundation. (2011). Retrieved from http://www. crf-usa. org/brown-v-board-50th-anniversary/southern-black-codes. html Herda, D. J. (1948). The dred scott case: Slavery and citizenship  . Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc. The mississippi black code (1865). (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://wps. ablongman. com/long_longman_lahdemo_1/0,8259,1546454-,00. html How to cite Black Codes, Essay examples Black Codes Free Essays Thomas Dixon September 13, 2012 Honors U. S History Black Codes The Black Codes were laws in the United States after the Civil War with the intent of limiting the basic human rights and civil liberties of blacks as much as possible. Black Codes is used most often to refer to laws passed by Southern states at the end of the Civil War to control the labor, housing and other activities of newly-freed slaves. We will write a custom essay sample on Black Codes or any similar topic only for you Order Now In Texas, the Eleventh Legislature produced these codes in 1866, right after the Civil War. The law reaffirmed the position that slaves and free blacks had held in Texas and was intended to make blacks work. The codes showed how stubborn white Texans were accepting blacks as equals and also their fears that freedmen would not work unless forced. The codes continued legal discrimination between whites and blacks. The legislature, when it amended the 1856 penal code, emphasized the difference between whites and blacks by defining all people with one-eighth or more black ancestry as persons of color, subject to special parts in the law. The black codes were enforced immediately after the American Civil War. Though different from state to state, they each set out to secure a steady supply of cheap labor, and continued to assume the weakness of the freed slaves. The black codes had their roots in the slave codes that had formerly been in effect. The idea behind slavery in America was that slaves were property, and, as such, they had few, if any, legal rights. The slave codes, in their many loosely-defined forms, were seen as effective tools against slave unrest, particularly as a protective method against revolts and runaways. Enforcement of slave codes also varied, but bodily punishment was widely and harshly used to great effect. These black codes were very unfair and lucky for African Americans are not used today. How to cite Black Codes, Essay examples

Illusion and Identity in Atwood’s free essay sample

Identity in Atwood’s â€Å"This is a Photograph of Me† In her poem â€Å"This is a Photograph of Me,† author Margaret Atwood uses imagery and contrast to explore issues of illusion versus reality as well as identity. The poem is split into two halves. The first half contains descriptive words about scenery and natural objects, and the second half, surrounded by parentheses, begins with the unnerving surprise that the narrator is dead. The poem opens with a description of a picture that at first seems blurry but slowly comes into focus, like a photograph slowly developing, that even resembles a written poem itself (â€Å"blurred lines and grey flecks/blended with the paper. †) The second and third stanzas go on to describe objects in the picture, including a â€Å"small frame house,† a â€Å"lake,† and â€Å"some low hills. † The first half has a reminiscent and descriptive tone, falsely leading the reader along with serenity. We will write a custom essay sample on Illusion and Identity in Atwood’s or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page But even here, there is a shroud of mystery, with a description not just of a â€Å"branch,† but of â€Å"a thing that is like a branch,† and the house is â€Å"halfway up/ what ought to be a gentle slope,† not halfway up a gentle slope. What could this mean? The calm albeit mysterious peacefulness of the first half ends with the fourth stanza’s jarring declaration, beginning with an opening parenthesis, that the photograph the narrator is describing â€Å"was taken/ the day after [she] drowned. The pace of the poem after this revelation seems frantic, searching for the narrator in the lake, which was in the first half described as being â€Å"in the background† and now â€Å"in the center/ of the picture. † The narrator tells the reader that what can be seen is distorted and one must look intently, playing with the themes of illusion and identity. Perhaps the ambiguity of the poem and the exploration of illusion and identity are hinting at a feminist perspective that a woman’s true spirit is overcast by a male-dominated society. Or perhaps the poem’s focus is eluding to a more universal human search for identity, a with a narrator who is unsure and obscured, but â€Å"just under the surface,† about to break out – previously dead but now reborn, to find a new path. Or perhaps the author is talking about poetry or literature itself and the author’s hidden intentions lurking in the work. As noted earlier, the description of the â€Å"photograph† at the beginning resembles a description of a poem: â€Å"blurred lines and grey flecks/ blended with the paper,† like lines of writing and the letters comprising words. The author dies with the birth of her poem, when the piece lives on its own; but the author is still there, somewhere, her intentions a key part of the text. The photograph in the poem, in the first half, is described as â€Å"smeared† and â€Å"blurred† and in the second half there is still â€Å"distortion. † So instead of disclosing the narrator’s story and identity, no resolution is apparent. On the contrary, the photograph creates illusion and obscures identity. The reader is left with uncertainty, just like the blurred and distorted photograph of the poem.