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The Gaffer's Philosophy;
Part 5: The Constitution:
In this piece I want to look at our constitution. Nowadays we have a great many
people babbling about their rights. Many also babble about the bill of rights
which is really the first ten amendments to the constitution. I suspect that
many of them have never read this document or the amendments. For those who
wish to, it is all posted in Our Archives under William's Corner. Read it
yourself. This is much to important to take my word for it.
Lets look at our constitution. It is, after all, the most important document in the Western world. It is the cornerstone of our own democracy and the model which other nations look to in their quest for democracy. It behooves us to know something about it before we shoot off our mouths. The preamble sets the tone for us.
"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."
That is one of the most clear and concise statements I have ever seen. It needs no elaboration. The rest of the document is divided into seven articles which cover the various aspects of the structure and powers of our government. To be clear, the seventh article is simply the ratification of the preceding articles. That is followed by the amendments.
Article one establishes the structure and the powers of the legislature. Section 2 of that article deals with the structure and apportionment of the House of Representatives. In the apportionment paragraph we find that Indians were not counted for this purpose. Slaves were counted as three fifths of a person. Everyone else, I surmise, was counted as a free person.
There is no sense pretending about this. Our founders were the products of their times. As a result our constitution implicitly condones a very evil human institution. That is slavery with all of its monstrous destruction of human dignity. Thanks to the thoughtfulness of our founders, the methods to correct these errors is also built into the constitution.
Section three of Article one deals with the structure and power of the Senate. One of the most important powers of the Senate is the power to try all impeachments. Conviction requires a 2/3 majority. In the case where the President is tried, the Chief Justice must preside.
Sections four and five deal with elections, meetings, and the control of the memberships of the two bodies. One interesting note is the power of each House to boot a member out. All they need is a 2/3 majority to do so. So, being elected by the people does not guarantee a seat in either House.
The remaining sections, six through ten, deal with the various powers of the two Houses. These regard pay, revenue, commerce, interactions of and with the separate states and the executive. There is a veritable laundry list of powers that belong to the two the Houses. The best way to get a handle on them is to read the list.
Article two defines the structure and power of the executive branch of our government. The power, as we know, is vested in the office of the President. This article deals with the election of the President, eligibility for office, the order of succession, and the powers of the President.
Section two gives the President absolute power over the military and the state militias. Pretty much everything else that he does requires the consent of the Senate. That is why we now have those awful, vicious conformation hearings wherein so many lowlife so called witnesses ooze onto the national scene.
I believe this is why we can no longer get our very best people to seek or accept appointments to these offices. Decent people are not willing to be subjected to the evil partisan emotional violence of our current and recent Senates. Before we lay all the blame on the senators, let's look at the ones who put them there, ourselves. Where do you stand when you vote? Do you stand in your own petty pocketbook? Do you vote your own pocketbook without regard to the health of the nation which allows you to have a pocketbook? That is what most of us do. We could put the rascals out if we really wanted to.
Article three establishes the Supreme Court and the judicial powers of the federal government. Two interesting things can be noticed. First, the Supreme Court is established by the constitution. Any inferior courts must be established by Congress. Second, the only way to get rid of a judge, once appointed, is through death, retirement, or impeachment.
Article three also establishes the constitutional right of trial by jury in a local venue. This was a reaction to some of the nastiness of good old King George III of England. Here are two of the charges against George from our declaration of Independence. "FOR depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of Trial by Jury: FOR transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended Offences:"
Section three of article three defines treason as follows, "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court."
To be sure, this makes it almost impossible to get a conviction in a case of treason. It is also why no prosecutor will even bother to make a charge of treason. I am not here to say it should be easy to get a conviction, but I would like to see this amended. I think clear evidence of treason ought to count as much as having two witnesses.
Article four deals with the cooperation between states and citizens rights. This is about honoring the laws and procedures of other states. It provides for extradition of criminals. It also allows for the expansion of the United States through admitting new states. Most important, it guarantees a constitutional form of government to the citizens of all states.
Article five is a very important article. It provides for amending the constitution. Our founders surely knew that they were not perfect. They also surely knew that they could not foresee the future. So, they understood that the constitution was not perfect as they set it down. Hence, they provided these rules for amending it. They did not make amendments easy to obtain. It requires a 2/3 vote of both houses or 2/3 of the states to even propose amendments. After that, any amendments so proposed must be ratified by 3/4 of the states before they become part of the constitution.
Article six is a remainders container. It acknowledges the obligations made by the United states prior to the constitution. It declares the constitution to be the supreme law of the land binding all judges. It also binds all representative and officers of the United States to support the constitution. Finally, it rejects any religious test to qualification for any office.
Article seven is, as I said, the ratification of the constitution with the signatures of the responsible representatives.
Next time, I will get into the amendments to this most wondrous document.
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