Abstract
The paper is dedicated to amendments to the Constitution of the United States. The work focuses especially on the Bill of Rights, i.e. the first ten amendments of the Main Law of the country. It includes the analysis of the first amendment. The attention is also paid to the Bill of Rights itself, its structure and some historical peculiarities. Further, the other important amendments to the US constitution are analyzed. The paper highlights the significance of the 13th, 14th, 15th and 19th amendment and their role in shaping of the constitution. Finally, the work provides an insight into the amending process.
The First Amendment to the US Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (“Bill of Rights”, n.d.). At the beginning, the Amendment applied only to the laws enacted by the Congress but later it other legislative institutions confirm the validity of the First Amendment. This means that the US Government protects the rights of the churches and therefore there would not be any exclusive religion of sect. Besides, the freedom of speech warrants your right to express dissatisfaction, fears and opinions about the actions of the Government. This part of the Amendment was restricted for several times during the 20th century, mostly because some thoughts people express are considered to be offensive to others. The right of assemble peaceably allows the freedom of meeting, protests and strikes.
The most important, in my opinion, is the part of the Amendment that protects the freedom of speech and the press. People are free to express what they are thinking about as well as to read news they want to. But also means that journalists should write about trustworthy events and actions. The freedom of the press is a crucial feature of the democracy because the censorship can lead to the totalitarian regime in the country. That is why the press should not be oppressed. Nevertheless, it should be controlled because the media is one of the most important meaning-makers in the modern society.
The Bill of Rights is considered to be one of the most important documents in the history of the United States. Its importance can be compared with the one of the US Constitution. Actually, the Bill of Rights is an essential appendix to the constitution because it restricts the power of the Congress and therefore it protects the rights of the citizens. Originally, the topic was widely discussed. After the Constitution was approved many politicians did not see the reasons for Amendments provided in the Bill of Rights. Besides, the Bill itself was associated with the British monarchy. The very concept of the Bill had roots in the Great Britain: the Coronation Chart by Henry I, Magna Carta issued in 1215 and the English Bill of Rights in 1689. All these documents were about restriction of human’s right under the power of the king. The American Bill of Rights, on the other hand, was about protection of citizens’ rights and freedoms. The first eight amendments proclaim that people are free to express their opinion, to follow any religion, to assemble in groups, to be protected against unfair trials, to possess property and to feel secure in their houses. But two last amendments are somehow defining meaning of the previous amendments. The Ninth Amendment states that “enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retain by other people” (“The Bill of Rights: Its History and Significance”, n.d.). This amendment was made to avoid conflicts between the rights provided by the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Tenth Amendment confirms that the United States respect laws of other countries if they do not stay in conflict with the laws of the country. The Bill of Rights seems to be extremely important. The United States would never develop in a state with a high developed democracy without this document.
However, there were other amendments of the great significance. The most important of them are the Thirteenth, the Fourteenth, the Fifteenth and the Nineteenth Amendments to the US Constitution. Perhaps, the Thirteenth one is the most well-known. It was ratified in 1865, soon after the end of the Civil War. The Amendment abolishes the slavery throughout the whole country. This act is considered to be one of the biggest successes in the American history, because since that day the black population got at least right to work, to receive payment for it and not to be persecuted only because of their skin colour. However, it took lots of time to make all the nations in the United States to be treated equally. The Fourteenth Amendments provides everyone who was born or naturalized inside the country with their civil rights. This was another vital step towards equalizing the population of the United States. Another important document of that time is the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution. It allows every man, including ex-slaves, to vote and to choose their representatives. The right to vote is the main and the inherent right and freedom of every citizen. But this amendment did not allow women to vote and this situation continued till 1920, when the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified. The act proclaimed that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex” (Jordan, 1999, p. 52). Finally, every citizen of the state could fulfill his or her civil duty. And all these amendments together are now protect rights of everyone irrespective of sex, race and other different factors.
The Constitution of the United States was adopted on September 17, 1787. Since that year it was amended for 27 times. This means that the initial version of the constitution left much to be desired. However, this also reflects the process of development of the United States and therefore shows the dynamic and changes for the better made for three hundred years of the American history. The process of amending was not smooth. Even the first ten amendments included into the Bill of Rights were issues of long discussions. The Congress consolidates representatives with different backgrounds and therefore arguments are inevitable. The process of the amending can be considered as unfair sometimes because the voting is the voice of majority and people who defend minor interests are not usually taken into account. For example, the Thirteenth Amendment was not supported by representatives of the Southern States. However, it adopted. On the other hand, this change was a very significant success in the development of democratic ideas.
All in all, lawmaking process is very complicated and lots of factors should be considered before adopting any act, amendments or statement. There is no ideal law. One can be appropriate during the specific time framework but it needs amendments after a while. The US Constitution shows flexibility towards significant social changes as well as respect to every citizen. And this is the core idea that stands behind the amending process.
Jordan T. L. (1999). The U.S. Constitution: fascinating facts about it. New York, NY: Oak Hill Publishing Company.
Bill of Rights. Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html
The Bill of Rights: Its History and Significance. Retrieved from http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/billofrightsintro.html
