US Constitution 101

[Lost in Translation]

3 minutes ago, Marblehead said:

The 14th.

 

 

It has. Some so-called "sanctuary cities" are trying to extend the right to vote to non-citizens, and many people are objecting to attempts to enforce that only citizens vote by blocking bills for voter ID requirements. So many elected officials are willfully ignorant of the Constitution. It's shameful. 

[Lost in Translation]

Just now, Lost in Translation said:

So many elected officials are willfully ignorant of the Constitution

 

This is especially sad since, as I am demonstrating in this thread, the Constitution is neither a large document nor a difficult to read document. There is no reason that this should not be a required reading for high school graduation.

[Lost in Translation]

Fifteenth Amendment

 

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Section 1.

 

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 race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

 

Section 2.

 

The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxv

 

The Fifteenth Amendment adds teeth to the Fourteenth Amendment. Recall from the 14th Amendment that citizenship was granted to all persons born in the US (e.g. granted freed slaves citizenship) but then redefined the way that representatives were calculated to each state by subtracting from that state's total representation the percentage of adult males 21 years of age who were denied the vote for reasons other than criminal behavior. This, in effect, reduced the representation of the southern states in Congress by dropping the count of the freed slaves from 3/5 to 0 - assuming the southern states did not grant the right to vote to the freed slaves.

 

I suppose they thought that would be sufficient to nudge the southern states into compliance. Well, just to make certain, the 15th amendment was passed in 1870 (two years after the 14th) to explicitly grant the right to vote to the freed slaves, or at least to the freed male slaves 21 or older. Women's suffrage will come later - in 1920 - when we get to the 19th Amendment.

 

Additional Commentary

 

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The final decision of Congress not to include any-thing relating to the right to vote in the Fourteenth Amendment, aside from the provisions of section 2, left the issue of Negro suffrage solely with the states, and Northern states were generally as loath as Southern to grant the ballot to African-Americans, both the newly freed and those who had never been slaves. But, in the second session of the 39th Congress, the right to vote was extended to African-Americans by statute in the District of Columbia and the territories, and the seceded states as a condition of readmission had to guarantee Negro suffrage. Following the election of President Grant, the “lame duck” third session of the Fortieth Congress sent the proposed Fifteenth Amendment to the states for ratification. The struggle was intense because Congress was divided into roughly three factions: those who opposed any federal constitutional guarantee of Negro suffrage, those who wanted to go beyond a limited guarantee and enact universal male suffrage, including abolition of all educational and property-holding tests, and those who wanted or who were willing to settle for an amendment merely proscribing racial qualifications in determining who could vote under any other standards the states wished to have. The latter group ultimately prevailed.

 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-15/section-1–2/abolition-of-suffrage-qualifications-on-basis-of-race

 

Edited October 28, 2018 by Lost in Translation

[Lost in Translation]

Sixteenth Amendment

 

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The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxvi

 

Income tax. What more can I say? The 16th Amendment was passed in 1913, so welcome to the 20th Century!

[Marblehead]

There's one I could easily vote in favor of rescinding.

 

[Lost in Translation]

Seventeenth Amendment

 

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The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislatures.

 

When vacancies happen in the representation of any state in the Senate, the executive authority of such state shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, that the legislature of any state may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

 

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.

 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxvii

 

This is a change to Article 1, section 3. Whereas originally Senators were chosen by state's legislators, now Senators are chosen directly by the state's people.

[Lost in Translation]

6 minutes ago, Marblehead said:

There's one I could easily vote in favor of rescinding.

 

 

Me too.

[Lost in Translation]

Eighteenth Amendment

 

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Section 1.

 

After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.

 

Section 2.

 

The Congress and the several states shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

 

Section 3.

 

This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several states, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the states by the Congress.

 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxviii

 

The 18th Amendment was passed in 1919 and outlawed the manufacture, distribution and sale of alcoholic beverages within the United States and her territories. This amendment was subsequently repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933. Remarkably the "Roaring Twenties" seemed to have no lack of alcohol. I suppose it is true that where there is will, there is a way...

[Marblehead]

Yeah, a lot of people made some big time money importing and distributing intoxicating liquors during those years.

 

[Lost in Translation]

Nineteenth Amendment

 

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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.

 

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxix

 

The 19th Amendment was passed in 1920 and finally gave suffrage to women. Fifty two years later David Bowie gave us Suffragette City, one of his many fantastic songs from the 1972 Ziggy Stardust album. If not for the 19th Amendment we may not have had that song, so thank you to all who made this possible.

[Lost in Translation]

Twentieth Amendment

 

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Section 1.

 

The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.

 

Section 2.

 

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.

 

Section 3.

 

If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.

 

Section 4.

 

The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.

 

Section 5.

 

Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the ratification of this article.

 

Section 6.

 

This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states within seven years from the date of its submission.

 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxx

 

There is a lot to parse in the 20th Amendment.

 

Section 1 describes the exact day and time when Presidential, Congressional, and Senatorial terms shall end.

 

Section 2 mandates that Congress shall meet at least once a year and specifies the day and time of the meeting.

 

Sections 3 and 4 describe what Congress must do if the people fail to elect a President or Vice President, or if something were to happen after election but before the commencement of the Presidential term to make the President unable to serve.

 

Sections 5 and 6 are boilerplate stuff, describing the rules of when and if to apply this amendment.

 

Detailed Explanation of the Twentieth Amendment

 

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In its report on the proposed Twentieth Amendment, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary suggested several reasons for its passage and ratification. It said in part:

 

“[W]hen our Constitution was adopted there was some reason for such a long intervention of time between the election and the actual commencement of work by the new Congress. . . . Under present conditions [of communication and transportation] the result of elections is known all over the country within a few hours after the polls close, and the Capital City is within a few days’ travel of the remotest portions of the country. . . .”

 

“Another effect of the amendment would be to abolish the so-called short session of Congress. . . . Every other year, under our Constitution, the terms of Members of the House and one-third of the Members of the Senate expire on the 4th day of March. . . . Experience has shown that this brings about a very undesirable legislative condition. It is a physical impossibility during such a short session for Congress to give attention to much general legislation for the reason that it requires practically all of the time to dispose of the regular appropriation bills. . . . The result is a congested condition that brings about either no legislation or illy considered legislation. . . .”

 

“If it should happen that in the general election in November in presidential years no candidate for President had received a majority of all the electoral votes, the election of a President would then be thrown into the House of Representatives and the memberships of the House of Representatives called upon to elect a President would be the old Congress and not the new one just elected by the people. It might easily happen that the Members of the House of Representative, upon whom devolved the solemn duty of electing a Chief Magistrate for 4 years, had themselves been repudiated at the election that had just occurred, and the country would be confronted with the fact that a repudiated House, defeated by the people themselves at the general election, would still have the power to elect a President who would be in control of the country for the next 4 years. It is quite apparent that such a power ought not to exist, and that the people having expressed themselves at the ballot box should through the Representatives then selected, be able to select the President for the ensuing term. . . .”

 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-20

Edited October 30, 2018 by Lost in Translation

[Marblehead]

Maybe we could get Congress to meet only once a year and for a 24 hour period only.  I'm sure they would do far less damage that way.

 

[Lost in Translation]

Twenty First Amendment

 

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Section 1.

 

The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

 

Section 2.

 

The transportation or importation into any state, territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

 

Section 3.

 

This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several states, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the states by the Congress.

 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxxi

 

The 21st Amendment of 1933 repealed the 18th Amendment of 1919.

 

Hooray, we can legally get drunk again!

[Pilgrim]

11 minutes ago, Lost in Translation said:

Twenty First Amendment

 

 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxxi

 

The 21st Amendment of 1933 repealed the 18th Amendment of 1919.

 

Hooray, we can legally get drunk again!

And next..... Well Colorado.... tax it and bank it to heck with public health. I do believe I recall smoking 1 joint was the equivalent of 4 tobacco cigarettes  in regards to tar entering the lungs so yeah Cannabis is really, really bad when smoked. all smokers should use tar bloc I know someone who smokes and it frightening to see what these things catch. https://www.amazon.com/Tarblock-Cigarette-Filters-Count-Pack/dp/B006KBHBR8/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1540950249&sr=8-3&keywords=tarblock

 

Legalizing pot will cut down on drug related arrests and crime from the violence street dealers are responsible for as well as the pesticides and other dangerous chemicals they lace it with. The best part of it all is the smokers of weed will cease to be competitive in the market place opening up more and more opportunities for others to compete and secure good paying jobs as the competition will dwindle.

[Lost in Translation]

21 minutes ago, Pilgrim said:

Legalizing pot will cut down on drug related arrests and crime from the violence street dealers are responsible for as well as the pesticides and other dangerous chemicals they lace it with. The best part of it all is the smokers of weed will cease to be competitive in the market place opening up more and more opportunities for others to compete and secure good paying jobs as the competition will dwindle.

 

Pot is legal for recreational use in Washington, Oregon, California and Colorado. We'll know soon enough if the benefit it worth the risk.

 

Personally I feel all drugs should be legal for adults' personal use. I'm a libertarian. If you eff up and overdose that's on you. I feel no desire to tell others how to live their lives, but neither do I feel the need to rescue others when they make stupid choices. If someone contritely asks me for aid then I give it thoughtful consideration and usually do what I can to help, but I have never lost a minute's sleep by saying no.

 

 

[Pilgrim]

3 minutes ago, Lost in Translation said:

 

Pot is legal for recreational use in Washington, Oregon, California and Colorado. We'll know soon enough if the benefit it worth the risk.

 

Personally I feel all drugs should be legal for adults' personal use. I'm a libertarian. If you eff up and overdose that's on you. I feel no desire to tell others how to live their lives, but neither do I feel the need to rescue others when they make stupid choices. If someone contritely asks me for aid then I give it thoughtful consideration and usually do what I can to help, but I have never lost a minute's sleep by saying no.

 

 

Agreed

[Marblehead]

9 hours ago, Lost in Translation said:

Hooray, we can legally get drunk again!

The first time I was stationed at Fort Gordon, Augusta, Georgia the entire state was dry on Sundays.  But you could buy home-brew ant time you wanted.

 

[Lost in Translation]

4 hours ago, Marblehead said:

The first time I was stationed at Fort Gordon, Augusta, Georgia the entire state was dry on Sundays.  But you could buy home-brew ant time you wanted.

 

 

Kansas is the same way. On Sunday you can see beer in the cooler at "Quick Trip" but they won't sell it to you until Monday. I don't recall if you could order a drink at a restaurant on Sunday. I do recall the bars were all closed. It's been 25 years since I lived there...

[Lost in Translation]

Twenty Second Amendment

 

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Section 1.

No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.

Section 2.

This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states within seven years from the date of its submission to the states by the Congress.

 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxxii

 

The 22nd Amendment sets term limits upon President. The basic term limit it two terms (8 years) but a President can serve just under ten years if he begins his service during the term of the former President (e.g. promoted from Vice President to President, etc)

[Lost in Translation]

The 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951. You will recall that FDR was elected four times as President (1932,36,40 and 44) and served three full terms plus part of the fourth. The 22nd Amendment was a direct response to his presidency.

 

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Franklin Delano Roosevelt (/ˈroʊzəvəlt/,[1] /-vɛlt/;[2] January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 32nd President of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. A Democrat, he won a record four presidential elections and became a central figure in world events during the first half of the 20th century. Roosevelt directed the federal government during most of the Great Depression, implementing his New Deal domestic agenda in response to the worst economic crisis in U.S. history. As a dominant leader of his party, he built the New Deal Coalition, which realigned American politics into the Fifth Party System and defined American liberalism throughout the middle third of the 20th century. His third and fourth terms were dominated by World War II. He is often rated by scholars as one of the three greatest U.S. presidents, along with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt

[Lost in Translation]

Twenty Third Amendment

 

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Section 1.

The District constituting the seat of government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:

 

A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a state, but in no event more than the least populous state; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the states, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a state; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.

Section 2.

The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxxiii

 

This says that Washington DC shall have the same number of Presidential Electors as the least populous state, which in this case is Wyoming. Since Wyoming has three electors (1 Congressman and 2 Senators) then so shall Washington DC.

 

Only four amendments left and we'll be done!  

[Marblehead]

4 hours ago, Lost in Translation said:

The 22nd Amendment sets term limits upon President. The basic term limit it two terms (8 years) but a President can serve just under ten years if he begins his service during the term of the former President (e.g. promoted from Vice President to President, etc)

Too bad they didn't consider setting the same limits for Representatives and Senators.

 

[Lost in Translation]

10 minutes ago, Marblehead said:

Too bad they didn't consider setting the same limits for Representatives and Senators.

 

 

That is a GOOD idea! 2 x (<15) for Senators and 5x (<11) for Congressmen.

 

Then people would complain about the increase in lobbyists. *sigh* You can't win 'em all...

[Lost in Translation]

On 10/27/2018 at 2:12 PM, Lost in Translation said:

Fourteenth Amendment

 

 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv

 

The Fourteenth Amendment extended the right to vote to the freed slaves and clarified how to count the population for the purpose of calculating representation in Congress.

 

Let's go through this by section.

 

 

This just states that all persons born or naturalized in the US are citizens of the US. In other words, it's not possible to be born here yet not be a citizen here. This eliminates the argument that freed slaves are not citizens.

 

 

This says that representation shall be based upon the total population of persons in each state, minus the Indians not taxed and any male inhabitants 21 years of age or more who are denied the right to vote for any reason except for crime or rebellion. In other words, if a state denies its male citizens 21 years of age the right to vote for any reason except participation in criminal or rebellious behavior then that state will lose representation in proportion to the number of people it denies the right to vote.

 

 

This basically states that anyone who (prior to the Civil War) had sworn an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States and then subsequently fought on behalf of the South against the United States is ineligible to hold office (civilian or military) within the United States without a 2/3rd overriding vote of both houses of Congress.

 

 

In other words, the US will honor its debts but will NOT honor the debts of the Confederacy of Southern States. 

 

 

Congress can do what it needs to do to enforce this $%*#. 

 

I'll let this sink in for a bit. Feel free to comment or ask questions.

 

Additional information from the Talk Trump thread. An excellent explanation of the intentions of the 14th Amendment's authors.

 

 

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What does it all mean?

 

In a nutshell, it means this: The constitution of the United States does not grant citizenship at birth to just anyone who happens to be born within American borders. It is the allegiance (complete jurisdiction) of the child's birth parents at the time of birth that determines the child's citizenship--not geographical location. If the United States does not have complete jurisdiction, for example, to compel a child's parents to Jury Duty - then the U.S. does not have the total, complete jurisdiction demanded by the Fourteenth Amendment to make their child a citizen of the United States by birth. How could it possibly be any other way?

 

https://www.14thamendment.us/articles/anchor_babies_unconstitutionality.html

 

[Lost in Translation]

Twenty Fourth Amendment

 

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Section 1.

The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

Section 2.

The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

 

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxxiv

 

Plainly put, the 24th Amendment says you cannot force someone to pay to vote to President, Vice President, Congressional members or Senators. Curiously the amendment only applies those specific elections, so I guess you could make someone pay to vote in statewide elections...