Amar notes that In a typical law school curriculum, the First, Ninth and Tenth Amendments are integrated into an introductory survey course on Constitutional Law; the Sixth, Eighth and much of the Fifth are taught in Criminal Procedure; the Fifth Amendment takings clause is featured in Property; the Fourth Amendment becomes a course unto itself, or is perhaps pushed into Criminal Procedure or Evidence (because of the judicially created exclusionary rule); and the Second and Third are ignored. Each clause is typically considered separately… (Amar xi) Indeed to a certain extent the Ninth Amendment seems designed to address the fact that the preceding amendments are so various: Madison wanted it clear that the specific guarantees within the Bill of Rights did not imply the nonexistence of rights not listed within it
With that ?achieved, the amendments submitted by Madison were taken up, debated and perfected with scarce a single move to weaken them. (Brant 223)
Nevertheless, protection for freedom of speech, of the press, and of religion would become the foundation of individual liberty, without which most other rights in the Constitution would be virtually meaningless. (Labunski 256) Madison's original plan was for twelve amendments, of which two failed
As an antecedent of the American Bill of Rights, the English one was a skimpy affair, though important as a symbol of the rule of law and of fundamental law. (Levy 5)
Special protections as fundamental rights are claimed for an assortment of human endeavors, even though they are founded on no explicit provision in the original Constitution or any of its subsequent amendments. (McDowell 26)
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has defined the Commerce Clause more narrowly than others, according to Raney Barnett of the University of Chicago Law Review. Barnett references Thomas' view that when Congress uses the clause to regulate manufacturing or agriculture that "exceeds the powers of Congress under the clause" (Barnett, 2001, p
S. Congress the authorization to tackle "certain economic issues" (Patterson, 2012)
2). Meantime Texas Congressman Ron Paul claims the Supreme Court has "…utterly abused the commerce clause for decades" (Paul, 2012)
It was created to provide people with a large number of freedoms. When the Founding Fathers sat down to write it, they carefully considered all the issues that they and their fellow countrymen had faced when they were still in England, before they came to America to have the freedoms they wanted (Billias, 2009)
If they tried to turn the New World into what they had just left behind, it would be of no benefit to anyone involved (Pritchett, 1959). With that in mind, the Constitution was written to show that all men were created equal and that they had certain rights that were given to them simply because they were human beings (Maier, 2010)
Because they knew what it was like to be oppressed, they also knew they could not operate the United States that way and have the people accept it. If they tried to turn the New World into what they had just left behind, it would be of no benefit to anyone involved (Pritchett, 1959)
In his Federalist papers and in other political essays, Madison (1787) showed how states had disobeyed the Articles of Confederation and therefore needed a stronger legal bond linking each state to the union. Madison in particular pointed out the system of checks and balances that the Constitution ended up providing, to limit the powers of any one branch of government and theoretically prevent tyranny and oppression (Aboukhadijeh, 2012)
For example, James Madison was a federalist who nevertheless sponsored the creation of a Bill of Rights that would answer to the fears held by many antifederalists. Many staunch federalists believed that the Bill of Rights was "unnecessary," (Finkelman, 1990, p
According to Gray (1978), the Constitution bears some elements of Aristotlean philosophy and legalism, referring directly to Dickinson's own mistrust of documents. There is a difference between the agreed-upon norms, values, and laws in the nation and the "actual provisions of the written constitution," (Gray, 1978, p
Instead of shutting down the debate in Philadelphia, men like Madison and Dickenson ensured that the concerns and voices of all Americans would be heard and acknowledged. John Dickinson was "one of the most prominent men in American political life," was well-regarded by his peers and uniquely suited to the challenges of compromise and nation-building (Powell, 1936, p
74). Federalism has become central to the identity of the United States, to the point where the Civil War was later fought with federalist ideals in mind, and the constitutions of many other emerging democracies since the United States have modelled their constitutions after the American one (Rose, 1990)