... , social status, and even gender all determine the ability a person has to achieve this American Dream. One of the contradictions of the American Dream is the reality of slavery in the United States. African American citizens have endured the unequal terms set by the Constitution. For example, "the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution-the ideal of equal citizenship under the law that promised its people liberty" ... States of racism and injustices, equality must come through and everyone must have the same opportunities. Gender also plays a vital role in the ...

• Word Count: 967
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... is unconstitutional and immoral. These antiabortionists do not realize that out of the 7,591 words forming the Constitution (including all 27 Amendments), "abortion " is not among them. Although the petitioners are protected under the First Amendment to peacefully protest about how wrong abortion may be, they are not the only ones allowed to use their voices. Not only do antiabortionists ... Although "Pro-Life " citizens believe that life begins at conception, the Supreme Court rules otherwise. "Then, the Court established that the word "person" as used in the due process clause and in o...

• Word Count: 1391
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... to an individual incriminating themselves. The final protection of personal privacy is implied in the First Amendment that calls for the "freedom of association courts have found that this implies the right to keep one's associations private" (Gottfried 10). By assuring the privacy of associations, the Constitution is protecting the privacy of individual's correspondence as well. However, the privacy of associations is often times ... a warrant, trash or garbage that individuals leave out for collection" ("Privacy of Garbage"). This ruling goes against the Fourth Amendment that protects ...

• Word Count: 2150
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... typically had to hide their sexuality. Today, mainstream television shows, commercials, sports stars, politicians, etc., have facilitated the increased awareness of gays and lesbians. Social acceptance has been the first giant leap for people of this lifestyle. The next logical step for homosexual couples is the "legal union." Legal union would not only mean they are married, but that they would be eligible for ... of Americans disapproved of gay and lesbian marriages. During interviews conducted by the author on this topic, it was found that most people over the age of 35 interviewed we...

• Word Count: 1218
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... like to avoid change" (Houser, 1) thus presenting the first problem. A constitutional amendment would be required in order to make any changes regarding the Electoral College. In order to ratify an amendment, it is essential that it be proposed either by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two ... November. It would be best to declare the candidate as winner based on a majority of the vote. Should no candidate have a majority of the vote, there should be a run-off between the two...

• Word Count: 1466
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... protect African Americans the government first had to establish that they were in fact citizens. This overturned the Dred Scott Decision of 1857 which said African Americans were not citizens, but property. The 14th Amendment also established something called equal protection. In other words this amendment made all rights and principles listed in the constitution applicable to all people who met the qualification of a "person". This was ... a big step because now all the states were required to follow this document. One of the amendments authors, Senator Jacob M. Howard said, "It establ...

• Word Count: 579
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... came together to resolve problems of the first constitution, the Articles of Confederation. The Articles served as a written constitution for the people to put down their ideas during the years 1781 to 1789 but was plagued by numerous complications. The Articles gave the states sovereignty, freedom, and power to govern themselves but must limit power of the national government. This included the inability of the Confederation Congress to tax leading to ... , appointed each state two representatives regardless of population, adhering to the New Jersey Plan. After the initiation of the Gre...

• Word Count: 1291
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... even one or two of them, life as the current generation of Americans know it will be altered forever, perhaps irreversibly. Out of those first ten though, the ones most important to me personally are the first, second, fourth, fifth, and sixth amendments. The First Amendment is important to me because for a person to have a voice in this world is among the most basic rights in existence, and should ... never be taken away lest the progress of the human race be halted. The Second, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments ... ...

• Word Count: 953
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Race has been constructed due to hierarchies and white people having power over African Americans. Back in the 1800's, if an African American could not speak a language similar to the Englishmen, they were considered to be illiterate resulting in that person becoming a slave. Due to the construction of racism, unconscious racism is a trait in today's world that has become socially acceptable ... to obtain. For hundreds of years, the idea of race and racism has come up in people's everyday lives. ... first settled Virginia and lasted until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Un...

• Word Count: 762
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Gay rights activists and attorney have sited basically four Amendments in the Constitution for the basis of their argument. These four include the 1st, 8th, 9th and 14th Amendments. (Sullivan 191) The argument for violation of the first Amendment, ["Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion . . ."] is based on the religious controversy surrounding homosexuality and same sex marriages. Because most religions ... . ." (Sullivan 90). Being that marriage is an integral part of the Constitutional rights of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," it is logical to...

• Word Count: 1519
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... is even more complex. Recently in American society, censorship of music has become a considerable political and moral issue that is arrogantly destroying the rights of Americans to enjoy the art of music. Although the First Amendment says that Congress cannot make laws that interrupt the free flow of spoken or written words, these rights are still being destroyed by those who think that they have ... be concerned about our society? Absolutely. Violent and sexual lyrics are indeed something to be concerned about, but the distinction between art and corruption depends on our individual va...

• Word Count: 1335
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction to equal protection of the laws." This 14th Amendment quickly established the first movement of civil rights, rights that could not be ... taken away due to race. The backlash created by this ... amendment triggered much change and helped spark the "Gilded Age." The government was acknowledging black freedmen as citizens of the Unite...

• Word Count: 1687
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... sides to this issue. First, is that as an American citizen we have the right to understand that it is the government's duty to protect the people they represent and look out for their best interests. Perhaps this is just the line where the controversy ends; that the government and this legislation are doing just that. In the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks, ... tools to fight terrorism. But we should not forget what gave rise to the original opposition - many aspects of the bill increase the opportunity for law enforcement and the intelligence community to return to an era...

• Word Count: 1886
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... disunity, slavery, foreign/interstate relations, land disputes, and national debt led to the formation of the Articles of Confederation in 1777. America's first constitution, however, only lasted ten years until fifty-five delegates met in Philadelphia with the same common purpose: to preserve the American union, protect the American democracy from abroad, and curb the unrestrained social reformation rampant in other states. America's newly established independence awakened ... each other, "Should a voteless slave of the Southern states count as a person apportioning direct taxes?- The ...

• Word Count: 1336
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized". The Fourth Amendment applies to all governmental agencies, agents or anyone acting on their behalf on the federal, state, and local levels. It was the intention of the writers of the Fourth Amendment to protect the common person from overzealous government agents. When originally written it established that the courts must first examine the facts, testimonies ... , evidences etc. to determine whether or not probable cause existed to grant the issuance of a search warrant. However, as the textb...

• Word Count: 615
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... by James Madison and became the first 10 Constitutional Amendments. The Bill of Rights balanced the Constitution by speaking to the rights of the individual thereby assuaging the fears of those who felt the Constitution did not go far enough in addressing them. Voting and election rights are addressed in Article __ . The public has limited involvement under The Constitution. The most direct elections are done when the representatives and senators are elected ... government specific roles and partial rule over the others, The Constitution ensures that no one person is in complete control...

• Word Count: 935
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... would not be allowed. This means that the same-sex marriage subject should be decided by the powers of the states and the populaces within. The Constitution clearly states its principle of federalism by stating that powers not granted to the federal government nor prohibited to the states by the Constitution of the United States are reserved to the states or the people. The first same sex marriage case took place in Minnesota ... that a Texas law that proscribed certain sexual conduct between adult parties of the same sex, which therefore was unconstitutional as a violation of the Due P...

• Word Count: 2327
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... amendment abolished slavery and provided blacks with an education. The 14th amendment allowed anyone born in the U.S. or a naturalized person to become a citizen and the 15th amendment forbade any state from preventing anyone the right to vote on basis of race, color, or condition of servitude. In other words the 13th amendment was among the first steps in freeing black slaves and giving them knowledge through ... education so they could have the opportunity to rise economically. The 14th and the 15th amendments ... power, economic power and education where the things the North mainly w...

• Word Count: 695
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , 1996, 229-230). The Right to Equal Protection Under the Law The Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the Constitution attempt to protect the defendant from the tyranny of the government and its executive powers. The Fifth Amendment guarantees the right to protection from self-incrimination and also denies the government the right to infringe upon the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as guaranteed in the First Amendment. The Sixth Amendment ensures, in ... the case of criminal proceedings ... ...

• Word Count: 1330
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... time nearly monopolized by the approximate thirty to forty million people yearly who purchase and use drugs. This inherently leaving various law enforcement agencies with less ability to confront other crimes. Then there is the problem of prisons. The space in the prisons is extremely limited, and the cost of keeping a person in prison is astronomical in caparison to the prevention being provided in ... reference to drug prohibition. The issue of limited prison space gains significance greatly when you consider an estimated sixty-percent ... and/or failure of drug prohibition policy. S...

• Word Count: 1653
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... for the sake of children who can access the information at a library; however, some argue that children should have the same rights under the First Amendment that adults do. Just because someone is young does not mean that they are not entitled to their Constitutional rights. Another reason why it is so difficult to create laws that regulate Internet pornography is because there is not a person ... in charge. The United States does not own the Internet and therefore has even ... less control. The Internet is controlled by ... ...

• Word Count: 1195
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... nation, but there were many administrative problems under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation was ratified in 1781 and was later superseded by the Constitution of the United States in 1789. Congress believed that the first need of the new administration was that of unity among the new states. The initial draft was submitted by the committee to the Second Continental Congress on July 12, 1776. ... As to a wider agenda, the instigation of the Constitution of the United States would suggest that the Revolution had encouraged change in all aspects of American Life. N...

• Word Count: 2128
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... a significant inhibition of the legal process. The need to inform a person they are being recorded during a telephone conversation is understandable, but an agent having to go to such extremes to obtain not only the callers" permission, but also that of specific supervisors is preposterous. There are, however, exceptions to this rule, though not always efficient and effective in themselves, under certain circumstances. First, in circumstances ... where certain factors are significant enough to remove the ... ...

• Word Count: 2672
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , but with various changes following the contemporary political thought. We can see the British model seen through American eyes in the writing of Thomas Paine. He recognized the birth of the senate in the English House of Lords, but dismisses the English system as "the remains of aristocratical tyranny". He also sees the president in the person of King George III, but the English king is merely "the remains of monarchical tyranny" He ... figures (notably Jefferson) because it was the perceived incompetency and tyranny of the British central government that had driven the colonies to rev...

• Word Count: 1820
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... to protect their country and its values. However the political coup of the Bush administration policies was a Trojan horse for obliterating the very liberties Americans are fighting for. Many Americans rationalized illicit policy by forming arguments that either commit fallacies or aren't well thought through. The first of the three arguments for illicit policy is that the government is infringing on civil liberties and privacy ... is argument. For one it assumes that hiding is equivalent to privacy. This is not true. The counter argument is simple. We all have something embarrassing to...

• Word Count: 1630
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate