The U.S. Constitution
The U.S Constitution was written in 1787 at a convention in Philadelphia. James Madison is considered to be the person who wrote the Constitution. He wrote different parts of the Constitution. The Constitution was created to solve the problem that was present at the time where the central government did not have enough power to rule the government effectively. It was then ratified in several states before it went into effect in March in 1789. It is the supreme law of the country and is used by the country in ensuring justice is seen to all equally. It contains seven articles. The Constitution has been amended in a total of twenty seven times. It provides the basis through which the three branches of the government are formed. It is through these three branches (the executive branch, the judicial branch and the legislative branch) that the country is run in a stable form.
Article 1 of the Constitution is concerned with elaborating the different powers of the Legislative branch of the government .In the first section; the constituents of the first section are outlined. In this section, the Senate as well as the House of Representatives are said to be what make up the Congress. In the second section, the House or Representatives is discussed at length in the processes involved for election and such. In the third section, the Senate is discussed in the same way the House of Representatives was discussed in the second section. The fourth section discusses the organization of the Congress. It says that the Congress shall assemble at least once per year. In section five, the constituents of the Congress are assigned their respective jobs. Each house is given powers to define its own rules which determine how the House will conduct its own proceedings. In section six of this article, money and war-time jobs are discussed. The compensations to senator and representative will be paid to each of them by the U.S. treasury. This will be for their service to the country. In section seven, bills are discussed in this section. Section eight has outlined the powers that have been assigned to the Congress. The Congress is assigned the powers to collect taxes, borrow money for the country, and declare war as well as raising and supporting armies. Section nine of Article shows the powers that are forbidden to the Congress.In section ten, the powers that are prohibited to the States are outlined. The States are prohibited from laying duties on imports or exports among other prohibitions.
Article two elaborates the powers and the involvement of the Executive branch of the government. This article outlines the qualifications for the president as well as his vice. In addition, several conditions are also placed for anyone who wants to vie for the said position. Apart from being born in the country, the presidential candidate should have been in the country for a period of not less than14 years. There are powers of the president that are outlined in this article. The president is bestowed the power of being commander-in-chief, be able to issue great pardons, be able to make treaties as well as ensure that the laws are executed. Other powers of the president are outlined in this article.
Article three is concerned about the Judiciary branch of the government. This article outlines the different works of the judiciary. The Supreme Court here is granted the supreme powers of the court system. The crimes are to be tried in the State upon which they were committed. The judiciary is responsible of deciding cases which are under the Constitutional law as well as the federal law. The article also outlines that only those charged with treason shall lose their lives. This is because the cases involve the convicted persons going to war against the country.In case there are cases that involve ambassadors, these cases are taken straight to the Supreme Court where they are tried.
Over the years, there have been several amendments that have been made to the Constitution. Among these amendments is the amendment of the Bill of Rights. This amendment was done to incorporate the bill of rights article which is considered to be a universal article that ensures the lives of every person are protected. The 13th amendment involved the abolishment of slavery from the society. The 14th amendment to include all people during elections was passed. The discrimination on the basis race, color or any other platform was abolished in the 15th Amendment. The 26th amendments involved changing the voting age to 18 years. This was arrived at through discussion in the congress. The reconsidering the length of a presidential term was also amended in the 22nd Amendment.
The Constitution of America has maintained its shape over the years and has brought the stability that is greatly needed in the central government as well as the federal government in total. This has ensured that the three branches of the government work in cooperation to produce quality team work that sees the country to great heights. The Constitution has also maintained its status as a symbol unity that ensures that the people of the country are united under it.
Work Cited
NC Civic Education Consortium “Constitution 101: An Introduction and Overview to the U.S. Constitution” 2012. PDF file.
