The Constitution gave Congress the responsibility to organize the executive and judiciary, increase revenues, declare war, and enact all laws necessary for the exercise of these powers. The president is allowed to veto certain pieces of legislation, but Congress has the power to override the president`s vetoes by a two-thirds majority of both houses. The Constitution also provides for the Senate to deliberate and approve important appointments of executives and judges, as well as approval of the ratification of treaties. The rule of law is a principle under which all persons, institutions and entities are accountable to laws that: Section 2. Transportation or importation into any state, territory or possession of the United States for the supply or use of intoxicating liquor in those States, in violation of the law, is hereby prohibited. One of the main points of contention between federalists and anti-federalists was the absence of a list of basic civil rights in the constitution. Many federalists have argued, as in Federalist No. 84, that the people have not renounced any rights by adopting the Constitution. In several States, however, the debate on ratification in some States depended on the adoption of a bill of rights. The solution was known as the Massachusetts Compromise, in which four states ratified the Constitution but at the same time sent recommendations for amendments to Congress. Article V explains the amendment process, which is different and more difficult than the law-making process. If two-thirds of the Senate and two-thirds of the House of Representatives vote to amend the Constitution, an amendment is put to a vote in the state legislatures.
Alternatively, two-thirds of state legislatures can file a motion with Congress, and then Congress convenes a national convention at which states propose amendments. Three-quarters of state legislators or state conventions must vote in favor of an amendment in order to ratify it. Article VI of the United States Constitution states that “the Constitution and laws of the United States promulgated under this Constitution; and all treaties concluded or concluded under the authority of the United States shall be the supreme law of the land. This is commonly referred to as the supremacy clause. In addition, all federal, state, and local officials must take an oath to support the Constitution. This means that state governments and officials cannot take action or enact laws that affect the Constitution, laws passed by Congress, or treaties. The Constitution was interpreted in 1819 as giving the Supreme Court the power to invalidate all acts of the state that interfere with the Constitution and the laws and treaties adopted on its basis. This power itself is not explicitly enshrined in the Constitution, but was declared existing by the Supreme Court in McCulloch v. Maryland. The general theme of constitutional law deals with the interpretation and implementation of the United States Constitution. Because the Constitution is the foundation of the United States, constitutional law addresses some of the fundamental relationships within our society.
These include relations between the Länder, the Länder and the Federal Government, the three branches (executive, legislative, judicial) of the Federal Government and the rights of the individual vis-à-vis the Federal Government and the Government of the Länder. The area of judicial review is an important issue in constitutional law. The Supreme Court has played a crucial role in the interpretation of the Constitution. Therefore, the study of constitutional law focuses heavily on Supreme Court decisions. Article IV describes the powers of States in relation to each other. States have the power to create and enforce their own laws, but must respect the laws of other states and help enforce them. Congress may pass federal laws about how states comply with the laws and records of other states. Article I assigns responsibility for legislation to the legislature (Congress). Congress is divided into two parts or “chambers”, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The bicameral Congress was a compromise between the big states, which wanted representation on the basis of population, and the small ones, which wanted the states to have equal representation.
Article VI states that federal law is supreme or superior to state and local laws. This means that if a state law conflicts with a federal law, federal law prevails. The Thirteenth Amendment made slavery illegal. See U.S. Const. amend. XIII. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states from restricting the “rights and immunities” of a citizen without due process. See U.S.
Const. amend. XIV. The Supreme Court has interpreted the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as providing citizens with protection from state interference in almost all of the rights enumerated in the first eight amendments. This process of extending the Bill of Rights to States is called the doctrine of incorporation. The Fourteenth Amendment also guarantees the same protection of laws. See Equal protection. The right to vote is protected by the Fifteenth Amendment (“The right to vote cannot be denied. for reasons of race. “), the Nineteenth Amendment (which guarantees the right to vote regardless of gender) and the Twenty-fourth Amendment (extension of the right to vote to persons aged 18). See U.S.
Const. Amendments XV, XIX and XXIV. Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens of the United States and the state in which they reside. No State may enact or enforce laws that restrict the privileges or immunities of United States citizens; nor can any State deprive a person of life, liberty or property without recourse to judicial proceedings; deny a person within its jurisdiction the same protection of the law. The founders also strove to establish relations between states. States are required to give “full confidence and recognition” to the laws, registries, treaties and judicial proceedings of other states, although Congress can regulate how states share documents and define the scope of this clause. States are prevented from discriminating against citizens of other States in any way and cannot impose tariffs on each other. States must also extradite persons accused of crimes to other States for trial.