The U.S. Constitution also included many of those Magna Carta rights from the first state constitutions. Equally important in developing the rights delineated in the Bill of Rights was another 17th century English document, the 1689 English Bill of Rights, which limited power of the monarch, mandated free elections, gave the citizens the right to petition laws they deemed unjust, and created the concept of a system of checks and balances by instituting Parliamentary checks on the monarch's power and authority ("Origins and Foundations of American Government," Everyday Civics, Virginia Department of Education). "The clause in the English Bill of Rights prohibiting excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishments was taken over, virtually word for word, in the Virginia Bill of Rights of 1776 and ultimately became the 8th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States" ("Bill of Rights," American Presidency, 2006)
The specific clauses of the 1689 English Bill of Rights that are still evident in American civic life also include stipulations that parliaments are to be held frequently. This meant that the king could not dismiss Parliament to enforce his own singular authority, just as Congress has regular sessions, and just as the president's legislative acts (including appropriations) must be approved through Congress. The English Bill of Rights also allowed for freedom of speech and debate in Parliament and gave Parliament the all-important 'powers of the...
As a result, the Bill of Rights was implemented into the Constitution, to address the concerns of anti-federalists. While at the same time, it gave the federalists a strong central government that could adjust with: the various changes. This is significant, because it shows how the Constitution is a working document that seeks to provide a balance between: personal freedoms and the need to protect the nation. In many ways,
Constitution The most important Amendment to the U.S. Constitution -- and this is probably something that the great majority of Americans would agree with -- is the 1st Amendment (page D-20): it provides all citizens with freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right of people to gather peacefully to protest to the government if they feel their rights have been blocked in some way. Why is Amendment
" (Berns, 28). The assertion that these rights are innate places them before the structuring of society and government, and makes the task for a society built out of these principles to find some way to attain them. This broad perspective sets the stage for Berns' handling of the segments of society that were understood to be unworthy or unwilling to enter into the social contract of the United States. The
In addition it was agreed that issues of federal budget, revenue and taxation would originate with the House of Representatives. The Great Compromise issued in a spirit of success to the convention and essentially ended the division between the small and large states. However, it did nothing to alleviate the pending debate between the Federalist and the Anti-Federalist. Decisions on how much power to give to the people and to
Most of which are relating back to upholding or changing previous Court decisions and Civil Rights legislation, regarding the way it is upheld today in specific cases. One case in particular, Gomez-Perez v. Potter, is a case which deals with the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and what employers can do to protect themselves against former employees suing them for breach of this code. The ADEA states that
Peace Freedom is the Foundation of Peace. Without freedom, there is no peace. America, by nature, stands for freedom, and we must always remember, we benefit when it expands. So we must stand by those nations moving toward freedom. We must stand up to those nations who deny freedom and threaten our neighbors or our vital interests. We must assert emphatically that the future will belong to the free. Today's
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