Who should be protected by the bill of Rights? The Bill of Rights is to protect U.S. citizens from the misuse of power that may be committed by the government in different areas. It clearly restrict the three branches of government laid out in the Constitution. In The Bill of Rights, Reprinted from New York University Law Review, Hugo Black states that “The bill of rights protects people by clearly stating what government can’t do by describing ‘the procedures that government must follow when bringing its powers to bear against any person with a view to depriving him of his life, liberty, or property (Black 1960).’” The first 10 amendment either says what the government cannot do or limits its powers by providing undeniable procedures that it must …show more content…
Perhaps the most obvious rights Americans enjoy are acquired from the freedoms of speech, religion, assembly, and press guaranteed in the First Amendment. It is this amendment that gives America its environment of freedom, because if expression were restrained, oppression of the people would soon imitate. As George Washington said, "If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." When the people can 't voice their perspectives, tyranny begins. The government cannot take control over my opinions and thoughts. There is no reason that I should stop from sharing these perspectives that I hold. One of America 's greatest feature is the diversity- of religions, of political ideologies, of beliefs- found within our democracy, and it is the First Amendment that protects the possibility of us maintain this diversity. Thanks to the Bill of Rights, I can contribute to build upon the diversity by frankly sharing my thoughts with the society, without the thought that the government would
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Show MoreHow did the constitution guard against tyranny? In May 1787 55 individuals responded to the call for the constitutional convention. They were mostly wealthy and white males. Tyranny is the “accumulation of all powers in the same hands weather one, a few, or many.” This was written by James Madison.
Tyranny (The accumulation of all power… in the same hands whether of one, few or many) is everywhere whether you are a kid or and adult it's affecting you. In the summer of 1781 55 delegates representing twelve of the thirteen states met in philadelphia to fix the national government. The problem was that the existing government, under the article of confederation just wasn’t doing the job. It was to weak so the made a challenge to make a new central government. The constitution guarded against tyranny in four ways.
In Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense”, he said it’s absurd for an island to rule over a continent. This is especially true when Great Britain imposed tyrannic and restrictive laws on the colonies, so the founding fathers of the new independent country created the new constitution in a way the would prevent tyranny in the newly independent United States. The Articles of Confederation was the first plan of government for the newly formed U.S. The Articles were to weak to support a nation properly, so the new constitution began to form. How does the Constitution , a plan of government, guard against the government abusing its power.
In the late 1700’s, James Madison wrote the first Ten Amendments that are listed in the United States Constitution. The Bill of Rights were written to ensure American citizens that they have freedoms and rights that the government can 't infringe. Out of the Ten Amendments, I believe that the First and Eighth Amendment are the most significant. The First Amendment grants us freedom of speech, religion, press, petition, and for people to assemble peaceably.
Constitution DBQ What is tyranny and how do you guard against it? Tyranny is most often defined as harsh, absolute power in the hands of one individual - like a king or a dictator. The constitution was created May of 1787, in Philadelphia. “The accumulation of all powers … in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many (is) the very definition of tyranny.” It was made to replace the old constitution, the Articles of Confederation (Background Essay).
In the Constitution, there is no mention for the freedom of press, assembly, religion, or speech. Since the listed freedoms are not mentioned in the Constitution, the government is free to exploit and violate them. Americans fought a war for the security of their fundamental rights, and they don’t want a constitution that would place those rights in danger of loss. The Federalists would say that a bill of rights is not needed because The Constitution is the ultimate protection of the people, and the people are the sovereigns. This can be countered by the fact that, in the Constitution, there is no mention of the freedom of religion speech, press, etc.
The first amendment may seem like something that is generally understood among all of those who use it, but this may not be the case. While most citizens of the United States of America would certainly say that they understand and can comprehend what the first amendment means, an underlying lack of knowledge, upon what is presumed to be the most important of all the amendments, can still be discovered. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” The specific piece of the first amendment that is particularly important
Based on the first amendment which states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”. We the citizens of the United States have the freedom to choose and practice our religion, freedom of speech, freedom of press and freedom of petition. Although this amendment seems to be beneficial for the general public it actually does more harm than good. I do not believe that there is in fact a such thing as freedom. Freedom means the power to act, speak or think as one warns without hindrance or restraint.
(Doc. A). The power given to the people gives them the right to rebel and speak up if they feel they are being taken advantage of. The basic freedoms of the American people are guaranteed in the first ten amendments of our
We have our Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution); so why aren’t we that free? Let’s look at some of these amendments and why the interpretation of them today may be holding us back from true freedom. First Amendment Freedom of Speech – While we like to point to freedom of speech as the guard dog of our freedom, total freedom of speech has brought with it some unintended consequences. First, all speech is protected, even ugly, hate-filled speech.
The Constitution guarded against tyranny due to the principles of government and the Great Compromise. This argument will be proven by Federalism, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, and the NJ and VA plans. Federalism guarded against tyranny by making sure the state and central governments can check each other to ensure neither government has total control. In Federalist Papers #51, Madison states, “the different government will each control each other, that at the same time that each will be controlled by itself.” Our government, being split into three branches, controls each other and makes sure that one branch won’t be able to gain more power.
The Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments in our Constitution which protect our fundamental rights and ensure a limited government. In 1868 the 14th Amendment was added, which guarantees citizens equal protection under the law and due process. For the Bill of Rights to be effective it would have to protect everyone rights equally, but there are too many cases when minorities or anyone else’s rights are infringed. Therefore the Bill of Rights and 14th Amendment is ineffective and does not protect the rights of all citizens. Someone’s race, gender, and religion could all affect how they are treated.
US Constitution Essay: How does the Constitution guard against Tyranny? “Imagine if the Constitution of the United States of America wasn’t even a thing.” There would be so much chaos happening in our country. So much back and forth movement of disagreements, war, people dying because of no homes, food, water, or a leader. Tyranny would then come up a lot if there were no Constitution.
The constitution was signed and sent out to the states in 1787, but was not ratified until 1788. During this time in the states the constitution caused a great deal of controversy. While some, the Federalists, believed that a constitution is exactly what was needed, others, the Anti-Federalists, felt that a constitution severely needed a bill of rights. There are many reasons a bill of rights was included in the constitution. Although it was not in the first copy, it was promised to be in the next one if nine states would ratify it.
As human beings, we are all born with an entitlement of freedom of speech or synonymously known as freedom of expression as it is a basic human right. It is stated in the Federal Constitution and it is important for us human beings to protect our rights to freedom of speech and expression as it is the backbone for a democratic society. Having the right to express oneself freely without any restrictions is an essential part of what it means to be a free human being. Article 10 in the Federal Constitution states that; (a) every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression; (b) all citizens have the right to assemble peaceably and without arms; (c) all citizens have the right to form associations.