21
Sep
2008
A More Perfect Constitution
This week we’ll spend a lot of time talking about how we can change the Constitution. Every year dozens of amendments are proposed to the Constitution an in the entire history (230+ years) of the United States, we’ve only approved 27 amendments. Of those 27, the first 10 (the Bill of Rights) were more like an extension to the original Constitution. In fact, several amendments have been passed by congress and not passed by the states. Obviously its pretty difficult to amend it!
However, the Constitution is far from a perfect document. We have an Electoral College that prevents the people from directly electing the President, a Senate that isn’t truly democratic, and a Supreme Court that isn’t democratic at all! Some political scientists even argue that so many Americans are disinterested in the political system because an antiquated Constitution alienates them!
If you WERE actually able to amend the Constitution, what would you change?
I found a list of recently proposed amendments to the Constitution.
Some of the more interesting ones ( along with the Congress that voted them down) are:
109th Congress (2005-2006)
- To ensure reproductive rights of women
- To allow non-natural born citizens to become President if they have been a citizen for 20 years
- The “Every Vote Counts” Amendment – providing for direct election of the President and Vice President, abolishing the Electoral College
108th Congress (2003-2004)
- To lower the age restriction on Representatives and Senators from 30 and 25 respectively to 21
- To restrict marriage in all states to be between a man and a woman
- To allow Congress to pass laws for emergency replenishment of its membership should more than a quarter of either house be killed
107th Congress (2001-2002)
- To specify a right to “equal high quality” health care
- To allow for any person who has been a citizen of the United States for twenty years or more to be eligible for the Presidency
106th Congress (1999-2000)
- To provide a new method for proposing amendments to the Constitution, where two-thirds of all state legislatures could start the process
- To declare that life begins at conception and that the 5th and 14th amendments apply to unborn children
105th Congress (1997-1998)
- To provide for the reconfirmation of federal judges every 12 years
- To prohibit the early release of convicted criminals
Sanford Levinson, professor at the University of Texas, says we need to make some significant changes to the Constitution!
Larry J. Sabato, professor at the University of Virginia, makes of list of 23 amendments that should be made to the Constitution!
Some other interesting ideas:
- War Making Limitations
- Non-Natural Born Presidents
- Proportional Representation in the Senate
- Extending the length of House Terms
- Term limits for members of Congress
- End Lifetime tenure for Supreme Court Judges
- Mandatory retirement for Federal Judges
- Improving/Removing the Electoral College
- Automatic Voter Registration
- Mandatory National Service in the Military
What do you think? Should we add something new to the Constitution? What should we amend? Or should we simply have another Constitutional Convention and start all over?
And remember Thomas Jefferson’s ideas on the Constitution:
Every constitution, then, and every law, naturally expires at the end of nineteen years. If it be
enforced longer, it is an act of force, and not of right. – 1789
Download the assignment (.doc) here:
Amending the Constitution activity
You will use Microsoft Word, the textbook, and the internet to complete the assignment. I will let you know how to turn the assignment in at the end of class. Do not print it!
Take some time, when you’re completed with the assignment, to post some comments on MrOsman.com!
(Don’t forget your next test is on Wednesday the 24th)
Actually it does happen where pregnancies kill the mother… It doesnt happen everyday. But it does happen. I know what a miscarriage is. And there are diseases that can cause it. Diseases that mothers can know about before hand, especially if it isn’t their first child. So if a mom knows that her last baby barely made it because her body is not suitable for holding a child, you would want her to go through possibly losing a baby again?
Haha. I’m pretty sure pregnancies don’t usually kill the mother. And when it kills the baby, it’s called a miscarriage. And it happens. I think it’s very rare, however, that both the mom and child would die from a pregnancy. I think abortion should not be legal. Period. It’s the mom’s fault she is pregnant, so she needs to deal with it. Now that doesn’t mean she has to keep the baby. She can always give it for adoption. A baby is a person, whether it is born yet or not. What if your mom decided she wanted to get rid of you right now? It’s kinda the same thing, don’t you think??
I don’t understand why people think that pro-choice means pro killing babies… It doesn’t. Most pro-choice politicians aren’t gonna go out and have an abortion. They just think it is wrong for the government to tell you that you can’t. Because there are circumstances where an abortion is the best thing… what if a pregnancy is going to kill the mother or the child? With Gestational Diabetes… If you get pregnant there is a chance that you and the baby will die…
I am very pro-choice, but I agree with mr. alco up there. There should be a certain line drawn between exactly when the embryo becomes a living breathing human being. If a woman is 3 weeks pregnant and realizes that she has made a huge mistake then she should be allowed to have an abortion. The zygote doesn’t even have a brain, heart, lungs, or limbs yet, but if a woman is 8 months pregnant, the abortion should not be carried out. Technically, the baby could still live even if she had it that day.
I think the constitution should be amended, but its unrealistic for now. The process is too long and hard, and not enough people can agree on one issue.
id like the see the electoral college changed in an amendment. it isnt a fair representation of the voters in America.
and on the issue of abortion, I am pro-choice but i understand the opposing view. I think what we can do to solve this problem is draw the line of exactly when a fertilized egg becomes a human being. no one can say that for now, so to me its all opinion
I try to think of all these things in a Libertarian way, the government shouldn’t have the right to tell you what you can or can’t do to/put in your body, also they should have no control over marriage in the first place, thats between the people in the relationship and the churches(if they love each other, who are you to tell them they can’t be married), and the Government tries to step in charge when it should actually be there for foreign affairs and keeping order, but instead it gets itself tangled up with a great deal of domestic affairs that it shouldn’t have any control over.
Texas has over 20 million people in it and only 181 representatives in the Texas state legislature, so why do we let such a small fraction of people make decisions on behalf of so many people. I don’t think thats a true democracy, but maybe a poor excuse.
teh opinion section:
- abolishing electoral college – yes
- lower drinking age to 18 – yes
- keep abortion legal – yes
- gay marriage – yes
- 2 year mandatory service – WHAT?!(“in soviet russia, car drives you!)
- non-natural born presidents- yes(after a certain time that is)
What i think man and woman should be attracted to the opposite sex.
And im not up for the gay marriage. Marriage was meant for a men and a women, not the same sex!!!
Well i dont completely agree. What about the people that didnt make the decision to have sex, but were forced. If abortion was not legal they’d have to see some strangers face for the rrest of there life!!!
I cmopleeeetely agree. You made the decision to have sex. You have to live with the consequences of your actions. The baby shouldn’t suffer because you made a mistake.
I dont think they should completly get rid of it but i definetly think they should change it somewhat. I completly agree with making abortion illegal. An unborn baby is a person and still has the right to live. If the mom doesnt want it she can just give it to someone who does. Its the moms choice to have sex but its not the moms choice whether the baby wants to live or not.
Even if we change parts of the constitution there will always be people who have a problem with it … just keep it the way it is, because that is what everyone is use to.
there are plenty of things i would change about the constitution…like the alcohol age..an change the abortion law..it should be the girls choice or woman choice to kill there own babies..
I think it would be good to change some things. For example, I think that people should be able to marry whoever they want. They’re going to be together either way so might as well just let them do their thing. What would it hurt for them to make it legit if they’re already going to spend the rest of their lives together? I think it’s only fair, whether you agree with it or not.
I dont see why people want to change everything about the constition, instead of blaming it for screwing up the government they should be blaming the people who run it. Like it said the constitution has been around for 230+ years…if it ant broke dont fix it.
I don’t think we should get rid of the whole thing but we should definately change it.A lot of things have changed since it was written.
There are some things that I think would be an improvement if added to the constitution, but if we can make one slightly changed document last 230+ years then I see no reason to trash the whole thing.
The one about the 15th and 14th amendment applying to unborn children is unnescessary. Abortion is a womans choice. If a child cant be raised in the proper environment, it should be born. Thats when cases about child abuse and neglect happen. If abortion become illegal again Im going to freak.
Honestly: Larry Sabato has some really great ideas! http://amoreperfectconstitution.com/23_proposals.htm
My favorite is his alteration of the Senate and the term of the President.