What are the three most important aspects or sections of the constitution - Essay Example

?Most important aspects of the Constitution Introduction The Constitution of the United s of America is considered to be the supreme law of the country. The Constitution, penned over a span of many years and approved of on September 17, 1787, consists of numerous articles, clauses, and amendments that help to define the relationship that exists between the government, the states, and every citizen of the United States. The Constitution aids in enforcing the boundaries and rights of this relationship. While every aspect and section of the Constitution is important to maintaining control and equality in the United States amongst all citizens, there are some sections that stand out from the others. The first ten amendments, also known as the Bill of Rights, the Fifteenth Amendment, and Article Five each have a significance not only in its context, but in the history behind their existence. Bill of Rights The first ten amendments in the Constitution are more commonly referred to as the Bill of Rights and were among the first laws agreed upon for United States citizens. Just as the name suggests, the purpose of these amendments is to outline the legal rights that all United States citizens are entitled to. The significance of the Bill of Rights is that they show some of the issues that existed back when they were first penned in 1789; they also reveal the responses that were given to some of these problems and what was done to overcome them. These were issues that were at the hearts of many of the citizens of America, as well as the government officials that could make the desired changes for the sake of humanity. As amendments of the Constitution, these rights are meant to be upheld and exercised as people see fit. They are also used to help citizens should their rights be questioned, especially in a court of law. One of the most important and most exercised amendments in the Bill of Rights is the First Amendment, which allows for freedom of religion, speech, assembly, and petition. It is this amendment that has allowed people to speak their minds and express their thoughts and feelings, just as long as they adhere to the portion of the amendment that goes against speaking with the intention of starting a physical altercation with another. Under this amendment, citizens are able to freely express themselves as individuals, providing opportunities to healthily debate with others that do not agree on the same position. The significance of this amendment is that it allows citizens to exercise their rights to be individuals without having to censor themselves. Furthermore, it is because of the First Amendment that the United States has the media and art that it does. By exercising their rights to speak or express themselves freely, people have written literature, painted pictures and buildings, and have made careers as musicians under this amendment. It can be said that an entire amendment is the cause of a free, expression-filled America. Yet another most touched-upon amendment, as well as the most controversial, is the Second Amendment, which allows citizens the right to possess weapons. The importance of this amendment is that it provides citizens with the opportunity to protect themselves and their families. Despite the controversy surrounding this amendment and how it should be interpreted, this amendment is being used to make sure that people are entitled to certain levels of physical protection. The Second Amendment is currently being tried in college campuses throughout the United States with the hopes that school-related violence will be drastically decreased. This amendment caters to the safety of American citizens while ensuring that the method of safety is properly implemented and not abused. The importance of these two amendments does not suggest that the other amendments are unimportant to the citizens of the United States. The Sixth Amendment promises a speedy trial for criminal offenses and the Seventh Amendment guarantees a trial by jury of the defendant's peers; the Fourth Amendment protects citizens from searches and seizures without proper warrants or probable cause; and the Eighth Amendment protects criminals from excessive bail or cruel and unusual punishments. The significance of these amendments is that they detail and protect the rights and freedoms of all United States citizens. Without these amendments putting forth these laws and rights, the land of the free would be anything but free. Fifteenth Amendment The Fifteenth Amendment is normally counted among the original twelve amendments, which includes the Bill of Rights, as it was added into the Constitution in 1870 and revised again in 1919. This amendment states that a person cannot be denied the right to vote based on their gender, ethnicity, race, or social class. The significance of this amendment is based on its history. In 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment was penned as a response to African Americans wanting to partake in many of the activities that America had to offer. These citizens, many former slaves, argued for their statuses as human beings and as citizens of America. While they may have been slaves or children of parents who were slaves thirty years prior, in 1870 they were citizens like anybody else. They were granted the right to vote without their race, skin color, and past slave status being taken into consideration. In 1919, the first wave of the feminist movement came with a number of women who were against the fact that they were unable to vote. Like the minority races before them, women believed that equality of humans meant all humans and not just the races and genders that were regarded as being the best. Women fought for suffrage and in 1919, the Fifteenth Amendment was altered to include gender in addition to race, ethnicity, and social status. The Fifteenth Amendment is an important amendment and a vital aspect of the Constitution because it shows how the United States has evolved in regard to the rights and equality of all citizens. Equality for all Americas was not something that simply happened overnight. Indeed, it took a few centuries before this great country got it right. The government and those that were capable of making changes agreed that minorities, both in gender and in race, were not being given the same equal opportunity that the United States was boasting of. With the addition of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution, the United States became a country founded on the concept of equality for every man and woman. Article Five The fifth article of the United States Constitution states the process that can be undergone to alter the Constitution. These changes can involve adding new amendments or ratifying the ones currently in the Constitution. As such, this article is significant because it embraces the fact that times change, and with time so do ideas and concepts about what makes a better world. This article has proved to be useful, especially in the early days of the Constitution. For example, the Fifteenth Amendment, as previously mentioned, did not become part of the Constitution until 1870, almost a century after the Constitution had been written. In a country that previously approved of slavery, the abolishment of slavery brought with it the deserved rights and freedoms of those who were previously slaves. Instead of continuing to deny them rights, those able to change the Constitution not only approved of minorities voting, but they made it a part of the supreme law of the country. Likewise, when women began to protest being unable to vote, the Constitution was altered to allow them that right. The Constitution originally started with just ten amendments, which are those that make up the Bill of Rights. Some of these were altered during the 19th and 20th centuries, but others still were conceived. Seventeen additional amendments, known as subsequent amendments, were added between the original ratification of the Constitution and 1992. There are numerous amendments that are waiting to be ratified and some amendments that have been approved by Congress but not ratified. Even though the Constitution was not intended to be changed, it became clear that life simply would not allow static laws to govern ceaselessly changing people. Another example of the Constitution being changed to meet the needs of citizens surrounds the Eighteenth and Twenty-first Amendments. The Eighteenth Amendment prohibited the manufacturing and selling of alcohol, during the infamous Prohibition. After it was determined that this move had not benefited citizens but made them more rebellious, the Twenty-first Amendment was written, which permits all states to import alcoholic beverages. As a portion of the law, it is up to the individual states to determine who is eligible to drink based on their age. In the present day, changes are still being made. The Second Amendment pertaining to possessing weapons stands the chance of being altered depending on how the courts conclude the interpretation of the amendment. Even the First Amendment is seeing the possibility of being changed since it currently protects racist speech, which many people are against. As people grow and evolve, they need and expect different things. Article Five of the Constitution makes way for these changes as they arise. By the examples given, it is shown how much times and people are able to change. What is great about Article Five is that it acknowledges that there has to be room for this change and alteration, especially in regard to how people are treated or what they expect. We are not the same country we were back when the Constitution was first written; we are hardly the same country that we were five years ago. Seeing the changes made in the early years of the Constitution reveals that people never stop growing and their needs must always be met to ensure a peaceful, happy society. Conclusion The United States Constitution is one of the most important documents in our country’s history. It provides a structure to the relationship between the government and its people. Though the document as a whole is of great importance, outlining everything that needs to be known about the laws and rights of citizens, there are some sections that stand out based on their historical context and what they are still doing to our nation in the present day. The Bill of Rights divulge into the rights of American citizens, showing what they are entitled to as citizens. The Fifteenth Amendment is one of the greatest aspects behind America becoming a country that depends on the equality of all its peoples. Finally, Article Five shows the importance of change by discussing the processes required for changing the Constitution to allow us to keep up with this always-changing country. References Vile, J.R. (2010). A companion to the United States Constitution and its amendments. New York: ABC-CLIO, Inc. Read More