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4th Amendment Research Paper

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On July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was signed and The United States of America declared itself a separate and independent nation. On June 21, 1788 the United States Constitution was made official, replacing the Articles of Confederation. Since its ratification, the Constitution has been amended several times in order to better apply to current times and situations the Founding Fathers could not have predicted. Despite all the changes the Constitution has gone through, its core principles remain. The authors of the Constitution set limits, which still apply to our modern day society, on each branch of government. These branches consist of the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches. The Legislative branch is responsible for …show more content…

The Fourth Amendment was formally sanctioned in 1791 as a direct response to the Writs of Assistance. These were search warrants issued by courts to assist the British government in enforcing trade and navigation laws. The warrants authorized officers to search any house for smuggled goods without specifying either the house or the goods. The Fourth Amendment was proposed to stop this and states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” In laymen terms, this amendment prevented officers to search people’s property without their consent, or the approval of a judge. In order to get such approval, the officer must have probable cause and swear they believe a crime is being committed. However, if the judiciary is not present, officers were able to conduct a warrantless search. This changed in 1914, when the Supreme Court established the exclusionary rule. This rule states that evidence obtained unconstitutionally is excluded in court and cannot be used as part of the case. The Fourth Amendment goes hand in hand with the Fourteenth Amendment which states that no state, “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, …show more content…

Reasonably, the Founding Fathers desired a republican form of government, where the citizens of the United States were able to vote for the people who they wished to be represented by. And while Thomas Jefferson wrote “all men are created equal” in the Declaration of Independence, it excluded several citizens who were entitled to a vote. Originally, only Caucasian men were allowed to vote, this changed in 1870 when all men who were citizens, regardless of race, were allowed to vote, as stated in the 15th Amendment. It was not until 1920 when all citizens, despite their sex, were allowed to vote because of the 19th Amendment. In 1971, the voting age was changed from 21 to 18 and this was made into the 26th Amendment. However, 19 states allow citizens of the age of 17 to vote as long as they will be 18 by Election Day. It is shameful to think that some of the authors of the Constitution believed blacks to be second class citizens and women to be frail and ignorant citizens. It is even more shameful to think that some citizens still think that. Nevertheless, America, as a whole, has advanced and left those archaic beliefs and gender roles behind. Now, all citizens who are old enough to vote are able to elect who represents them. The Constitution states that each state

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The Amendment That Gives Us Protection The constitution of the United States was written in 1789 and it consists of 27 amendments. One of the amendments is the fourth. The fourth amendment states that the people have a right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures and shall not be violated without a warrant issued upon probable cause. The fourth amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures by the government and requires that search warrants need to be reviewed by the judge and a reason.

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In the first couple of centuries after the Europeans first came to the Americas and established colonies they also established a government. However, the United States government in the 17th century has numerous differences from the American government in the 21st century. American citizens have overcome numerous obstacles for gaining the right to vote. During the 20th century both women and African Americans gained the right to vote. There was even an amendment established in the United States Constitution, the fifteenth amendment, which prohibits state and federal governments from denying any citizen the right to vote despite their race, religion, or the state of being subjugated to a person more powerful.

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In 1776 the Declaration of Independence is signed and the right to vote during the Colonial and Revolutionary periods is restricted to white, free, male property owners over the age of 21. This amounted to 6 percent of the adult population at the time and continued the legacy of white supremacy and bourgeois dominance. (Keyes, Millhiser, Ostern, & White, 2012) In 1787 the United States Constitution was adopted and it provided our country with its structure as well as its fundamental political and civil rights. The Bill of Rights included various freedoms but absent was the right to vote.

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