The Articles of Confederation was the first document that declared the thirteen colonies to be a "united nation." No longer were they thirteen separate states fighting for the same cause, but they were one, unified country. However, there were big problems with the Articles as well. The biggest was that Congress had no control over internal affairs; the states had absolutely ALL the power when it came to taxes, commerce, etc. These are things that need to be regulated by a higher form of authority because a state can only see one thing: its own needs. Instead of having an authority that would look out for all the states, each state would only agree to a Congressional request if it provided for their own specific needs.
In turn, the Constitution was a much better, more thought out document. It set up a system of checks and balances that gave each branch of government--legislative, executive, judicial--authority over the others. Congress could now demand taxes that would keep the nation from collapsing in on itself. Now there were people whose job was to watch over the nation as a whole.
2. How critical are the Bill of Rights?
The Bill of Rights is absolutely at the core of "most important documents in the USA." It guarantees freedom to each American citizen as an individual. None of the branches of government can override these rights, and if they tried, I'm pretty sure that chaos would ensue.
3. Is Capital Punishment constitutional?
From what I can tell in our reading, it seems that the issue of Capital Punishment can go either way. :/ While one state may find the death penalty to be "cruel and unusual" by the 8th Amendment, other states conclude, using the 14th Amendment, that some people willingly forfeit their right to life when they commit a certain type of crime--like taking a fellow man's life.
Interpretation is a difficult thing. . .However, I absolutely do NOT believe that the federal government should be allowed to step in and make a uniform policy about whether capital punishment is right or wrong. It seems to me that the government would be imposing on a morality issue rather than a state/civil (I can't think of the word) issue. And I don't think they should be allowed to do that. The states and people who live in them have to have some sort of governing power.
States and the people should have the final say in imposing the death penalty. Very good post.
ReplyDeleteI do agree. The Bill of Rights is very important!
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