Okla-homey
12/15/2006, 07:19 AM
The best gift a government ever gave its people!
December 15, 1791 The Bill of Rights becomes law
You know folks, what happened this day in 1791 is just about the coolest thing about America. See, there had been declarations of rights before (e.g. Magna Carta, etc.) but never before in history had a nation decided to publish a universal list of rights guarenteed to all citizens and in so doing limit its own powers. How cool is that? That is still absolutely amazing.
Think of it, a government which chose to promise the people that there were some things the government simply could not do to the citizenry. No government in history had ever before deliberately limited its own powers without being forcibly compelled to do so by threat of arms.
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/4403/billrightsnew6qg.jpg
On this day in 1791, Virginia became the last state to ratify the Bill of Rights, making the first ten amendments to the Constitution law and completing the revolutionary reforms begun by the Declaration of Independence.
The first ten amendments to the federal constitution (a/k/a "The Bill of Rights") were required mainly because the good folks up in Massachusetts refused to ratify the Constitution as written without the promise of substantial amendment. Those former patriot hot-heads in Massachusetts were concerned that the new federal government under the Consitution would be too powerful without expressed limits.
Before the Massachusetts ratifying convention would accept the Constitution (which they finally did in February 1788) the document’s Federalist supporters had to promise to create a Bill of Rights to be added to the Constitution immediately upon the creation of a new government under the document.
The promise of a Bill of Rights to do just that helped to assuage the Anti-Federalists’ concerns and brought them onboard in support of the Constitution.
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/7908/billaamadisonsubje5xq.jpg
James Madison, the "Father of the United States Constitution"
The newly elected Congress had originally drafted the Bill of Rights on December 25, 1789. Virginia’s ratification on this day in 1791 created the three-fourths majority necessary for the ten amendments to become law. Written by James Madison who is considered the "Father of the Constitution" and loosely based on Virginia’s Declaration of Rights, the first ten amendments give the following rights to all United States citizens:
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/9817/billunitedstates5b15d6yv.jpg
Lets walk through these guarenteed individual rights...the asterisked ones indicate they have historically been the stuff of frequent litigation
*1. The Federal government will not choose an "official" state religion and people can worship however they choose. People also have freedom of speech and the right to peaceable assembly. Please note, state governments were still free to establish an official religion even under the Constitution and many had.
2. Right to keep and bear arms, especially because its important for citizens to be familiar with guns in case citizens are needed for military service.
3. You can't be compelled to allow soldiers to live in your house during peacetime. In wartime, not so much. This includes Federal and state action.
*4. Freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. Warrants for searches will not be issued without probable cause.
*5. Right to an indictment arising from actions of a grand jury for capital crimes and due process. Protection from double jeopardy, self-incrimination and public confiscation of private property without “just compensation.” (that "no self-incrimination" thingy really only applies in criminal cases, in civil cases, you often have to admit things even if it wrecks your case)
*6. Right to “speedy and public” trial by jury and a competent defense. This includes the right of the accused to require the appearance of witnesses in his defense (the right to a lawyer is generally interpreted as applying mostly to felony cases)
7. Right to trial by jury for civil cases when the amount in dispute is more than $20. Also, after that jury renders a verdict based on a finding of fact, that factual finding must be respected by other courts.
8. Protection against “excessive” bail or fines and “cruel and unusual” punishments ( for the record, execution by hanging or shooting was not considered "cruel or unusual" in 1791, therefore, as a "strict constructionist," I favor a return to these forms of execution if folks insist on the death penalty.:D )
9. Rights not enumerated are “retained by the people” (a "catch-all" provision which means that rights not listed would not suffer automatic exclusion)
10. Rights not given to the federal government or prohibited the state governments by the Constitution, “are reserved to the States... or to the people.” (Very important to entice the less populous states who were concerned about state sovereignty in the face of federal gubmint -- this one was also pretty important in enticing the slave states onboard. We later had a nasty civil war over what this one really means. The upshot is that it's just a reminder that Congress can't act without authority under the Constitution and not that states can defy valid Congressional acts.)
Finally, please note, by Federal law, the Constitution does not apply to Federally recognized Indian tribes, thus tribal courts don't have to guarentee a right to counsel for those Indians accused of crimes tried by tribal courts. This is because tribes "have the right to make their own laws and governed by them." (Williams v. Lee, 358 U.S. 217, 79 S.Ct. 269, 3 L.Ed.2d 251 (1959). That said, tribes voluntarily observe most of the Bill Rights anyway.
December 15, 1791 The Bill of Rights becomes law
You know folks, what happened this day in 1791 is just about the coolest thing about America. See, there had been declarations of rights before (e.g. Magna Carta, etc.) but never before in history had a nation decided to publish a universal list of rights guarenteed to all citizens and in so doing limit its own powers. How cool is that? That is still absolutely amazing.
Think of it, a government which chose to promise the people that there were some things the government simply could not do to the citizenry. No government in history had ever before deliberately limited its own powers without being forcibly compelled to do so by threat of arms.
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/4403/billrightsnew6qg.jpg
On this day in 1791, Virginia became the last state to ratify the Bill of Rights, making the first ten amendments to the Constitution law and completing the revolutionary reforms begun by the Declaration of Independence.
The first ten amendments to the federal constitution (a/k/a "The Bill of Rights") were required mainly because the good folks up in Massachusetts refused to ratify the Constitution as written without the promise of substantial amendment. Those former patriot hot-heads in Massachusetts were concerned that the new federal government under the Consitution would be too powerful without expressed limits.
Before the Massachusetts ratifying convention would accept the Constitution (which they finally did in February 1788) the document’s Federalist supporters had to promise to create a Bill of Rights to be added to the Constitution immediately upon the creation of a new government under the document.
The promise of a Bill of Rights to do just that helped to assuage the Anti-Federalists’ concerns and brought them onboard in support of the Constitution.
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/7908/billaamadisonsubje5xq.jpg
James Madison, the "Father of the United States Constitution"
The newly elected Congress had originally drafted the Bill of Rights on December 25, 1789. Virginia’s ratification on this day in 1791 created the three-fourths majority necessary for the ten amendments to become law. Written by James Madison who is considered the "Father of the Constitution" and loosely based on Virginia’s Declaration of Rights, the first ten amendments give the following rights to all United States citizens:
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/9817/billunitedstates5b15d6yv.jpg
Lets walk through these guarenteed individual rights...the asterisked ones indicate they have historically been the stuff of frequent litigation
*1. The Federal government will not choose an "official" state religion and people can worship however they choose. People also have freedom of speech and the right to peaceable assembly. Please note, state governments were still free to establish an official religion even under the Constitution and many had.
2. Right to keep and bear arms, especially because its important for citizens to be familiar with guns in case citizens are needed for military service.
3. You can't be compelled to allow soldiers to live in your house during peacetime. In wartime, not so much. This includes Federal and state action.
*4. Freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. Warrants for searches will not be issued without probable cause.
*5. Right to an indictment arising from actions of a grand jury for capital crimes and due process. Protection from double jeopardy, self-incrimination and public confiscation of private property without “just compensation.” (that "no self-incrimination" thingy really only applies in criminal cases, in civil cases, you often have to admit things even if it wrecks your case)
*6. Right to “speedy and public” trial by jury and a competent defense. This includes the right of the accused to require the appearance of witnesses in his defense (the right to a lawyer is generally interpreted as applying mostly to felony cases)
7. Right to trial by jury for civil cases when the amount in dispute is more than $20. Also, after that jury renders a verdict based on a finding of fact, that factual finding must be respected by other courts.
8. Protection against “excessive” bail or fines and “cruel and unusual” punishments ( for the record, execution by hanging or shooting was not considered "cruel or unusual" in 1791, therefore, as a "strict constructionist," I favor a return to these forms of execution if folks insist on the death penalty.:D )
9. Rights not enumerated are “retained by the people” (a "catch-all" provision which means that rights not listed would not suffer automatic exclusion)
10. Rights not given to the federal government or prohibited the state governments by the Constitution, “are reserved to the States... or to the people.” (Very important to entice the less populous states who were concerned about state sovereignty in the face of federal gubmint -- this one was also pretty important in enticing the slave states onboard. We later had a nasty civil war over what this one really means. The upshot is that it's just a reminder that Congress can't act without authority under the Constitution and not that states can defy valid Congressional acts.)
Finally, please note, by Federal law, the Constitution does not apply to Federally recognized Indian tribes, thus tribal courts don't have to guarentee a right to counsel for those Indians accused of crimes tried by tribal courts. This is because tribes "have the right to make their own laws and governed by them." (Williams v. Lee, 358 U.S. 217, 79 S.Ct. 269, 3 L.Ed.2d 251 (1959). That said, tribes voluntarily observe most of the Bill Rights anyway.