Brushing Up On The Constitution (part 5)

Previous entries in the series can be found here: (Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four).

This entry will finish Article One of the Constitution, dealing with the limitations placed upon the congress, and the limitations placed upon the states.

Article One, Section Nine:

A1.S9.C1: The migration or importation of such persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight; but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.

Congress cannot prohibit the importation of slaves or other individual into any state that was signatory to the Constitution until the year 1808. However, it can tax the slave trade at a rate of up to $10 per person brought in to the country.

According to the article on Wikipedia, Congress did put such a prohibition into effect at the earliest possible opportunity, January 1st, 1808.

A1.S9.C2: The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.

The congress cannot suspend habeas corpus except in specific circumstances: rebellion or invasion of the country.

A1.S9.C3: No bill of attainder, or ex post facto law, shall be passed.

Congress cannot write a law declaring a person or persons guilty and punish them without the benefit of a trial. Nor can it create laws which apply retroactively, whether to make legal something which was illegal, or vice versa.

A1.S9.C4: No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.

A reiteration of Article One, Section Two, Clause Three, regarding how taxes were to be apportioned amongst the states. Note again that this is purely in relation to population, not in relation to the income of any members of that population.

A1.S9.C5: No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one State over those of another: Nor shall vessels bound to or from one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties, in another.

Congress cannot lay a tax on items exported from the states. Any laws it creates which apply to revenue generation from ports must be applied equally to all ports in all states. In addition, it cannot tax ships from one state when they enter another state.

A1.S9.C6: No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time.

Money cannot be withdrawn from the treasury except if it is required by an appropriations bill. The income and expenditures of the government must be published as a matter of public record.

A1.S9.C7: No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office or title, or any kind whatever from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

The United States will not confer titles of nobility (though, sometimes it seems like such titles as Congressman and Senator have reached that level, doesn't it?). Also, no public servant is allowed to accept gifts or titles from any foreign dignitary or power without the consent of the congress.

Article One, Section Ten:

A1.S10.C1: No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.

This places particular limits on the states which join the union. Many of these are either reserved powers of the federal government, or are limitations also placed on the federal government. Specifically, the states cannot enter into treaties, alliances, or other confederations (reserved to the federal government); grant letters of marque and reprisal (reserved to the congress in A1.S8.C11); coin money (reserved to the federal government in A1.S8.C5); emit bills of credit (also A1.S8.C5); make anything but gold or silver coin a legal form of payment for debts (yet again, A1.S8.C5); pass a bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or any law which impairs private contracts (the first two restrictions are shared with congress in A1.S9.C3.); and finally, the states, like the congress, cannot grant titles of nobility. (There goes my dream of being Duke of the Western Rivers, I suppose...)

A1.S10.C2: No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and the new produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any State, on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and controul of the Congress. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay.

The states are restricted from taxing imports and exports, as well as unduly delaying them other than as absolutely necessary for inspections. Any money that the states gain from taxing imports and exports must be turned over to the treasury of the United States. Also, congress has oversight over any such laws regarding this taxation as the states happen to enact. The power to maintain a standing military is reserved to the federal government, not the states, as is the power to enter into treaties with foreign powers.

Brushing Up On The Constitution (part 4)

My apologies right at the start for the three week break in this series. I'd like to say it's because there was plenty else to blog about (which there was), but chalking it up to my natural laziness is probably a lot more accurate. Setting that aside...

Up today are Article One, Section Seven and Article One, Section Eight. In other words, bills, or acts of Congress, and the powers of Congress. Section Eight is actually why I started on this endeavor in the first place, because I think it highlights just exactly how far the country has gotten away from its founding document. If you need a refresher on what has come before, follow the links to part one, part two, and part three of the series.

Article One, Section Seven:

A1.S7.C1: Sect. 7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments, as on other bills.

The House is responsible for starting bills dealing with bringing money into the government. Any other type of bill can start in either the House or the Senate. Even with revenue-generating bills, however, the Senate can propose amendments to them, including material that was not originally in the bill.

A1.S7.C2: Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senates shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve; he shall sign it; but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each House respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law.

Even after a bill is passed by both the House and the Senate, it is not law unless it is approved and signed into law by the President. If he does not approve of the bill, he sends it back to the body which originally created the bill (the House or Senate, depending), along with notation of what he did not approve of in the bill. In common usage, this is referred to as a veto. Each body can then reconsider the bill, and if both agree with a 2/3rds majority, can pass the bill into law without the president's signature.

Any bill that the President does not act upon (either sign or send back as unacceptable) after ten working days (Sunday is not considered a working day for these purposes) is considered to have been signed into law. The exception to this is if Congress prevents the President from returning a bill to them as unacceptable by adjourning their session, in which case the bill will not be considered as having been signed into law.

A1.S7.C3: Every order, resolution or vote, to which the concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be re-passed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill.

Any bill that requires the approval of both the House and the Senate must also be approved by the President, or disapproved by him, and subsequently re-passed by the House and Senate by 2/3rds majorities.

Article One, Section Eight:

A1.S8.C1: Sect. 8. The Congress shall have power To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States; but all duties; imposts and excises, shall be uniform throughout the United States;

Congress can impose and collect taxes, pay the debts of the national government, provide for the military, and for the general wellbeing of the nation. Also, any taxes imposed by the congress have to be the same in all parts of the United States.

Note that this does not say the general wellbeing or welfare of the people, though the courts have construed the term to mean this. This is the technicality through which we have our current systems such as Welfare.

A1.S8.C2:To borrow money on the credit of the United States;

Congress has the power to borrow money "on the credit of the United States". (Anybody know what the credit limit of the government of the United States is?)

A1.S8.C3:To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes;

Congress has the power to oversee and put limits on commerce with foreign nations, commerce between the states (also referred to as interstate commerce, and has this power ever been abused), and with the Indian tribes.

A1.S8.C4:To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies, throughout the United States;

Congress will establish the rules pertaining to naturalization of immigrants (the process of becoming a citizen of the United States), which will be the same for all immigrants, and also laws pertaining to bankruptcy.

A1.S8.C5:To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;

Congress oversees the coining of money and its value (questions have been raised as to the constitutionality of paper money based on the wording of this sentence), as well as the valuation of foreign currency, and sets the standards of weights and measures.

A1.S8.C6:To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States;

Congress sets the punishments for counterfeiting the currency of the country.

A1.S8.C7:To establish post-offices and post-roads;

This invests in congress the power to create post offices and roads for the use of the mail system. (The USPS now has the 35th highest revenue of any company in the world, just below Home Depot. They trail by $400,000,000.00, which looks like a lot until you consider that that's all the difference there is between two businesses pulling in $69,000,000,000 each per year. For comparison, this is slightly higher than the $68,815,000,000 GDP of Pakistan. Yes, I know it's constitutional... it says so right here, but the USPS alone is pulling in as much money as a medium-sized country generates per year. Amazing, isn't it?)

A1.S8.C8:To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;

This gives congress the power to establish intellectual property laws, written to "promote the progress of science and useful arts". There is some argument now as to how well the intellectual property laws as written are actually promoting the progress of science, but this is the intent of them.

A1.S8.C9:To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;

Congress has the power to create the lesser court system. This, for instance, is where the district court system comes from.

A1.S8.C10:To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas and offences against the law of nations;

Congress defines what constitutes piracy and felony on the high seas, and the punishment of the same.

A1.S8.C11:To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water;

Congress has the power to declare war, to issue a letter of marque and reprisal (which is, to officially empower a person or persons to go beyond the boundaries of the nation to retrieve or destroy the assets of a hostile person or organization in roughly the amount that said hostile person or organization had done within this country. See the Wikipedia entry for more.), and to create rules pertaining to persons and property captured during military action.

A1.S8.C12:To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years;

Congress can raise and support the army of the United States, but cannot designate money for the military more than two years in advance. In other words, congress has to oversee the funding of the military on a fairly constant basis.

A1.S8.C13:To provide and maintain a navy;

In addition to the army, congress is also to create and maintain a naval force.

A1.S8.C14:To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces;

Also, congress is to make rules for the governing and regulation of the army and navy.

A1.S8.C15:To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions;

Congress is to provide for a means to call out the state militias for the purposes of enforcing the laws of the union, suppressing insurrections, and repelling invasions. In common current terms, this generally refers to the National Guard.

A1.S8.C16:To provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

In addition to the above, congress is also to provide organization, armament, and disciplinary measures for the militia, as well as for oversight for any of them who may be employed as part of the national military. However, the states are responsible for the appointment of officers and for the training of their militias.

A1.S8.C17:To exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the Legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings;--and,

Congress has the power to oversee and legislate in regards to the seat of government (now known as Washington, D.C.), as well as over other government installations such as, but not limited to, forts, magazines, arsenals, docks, and "other needful buildings".

A1.S8.C18:To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States,or in any department or officer thereof.

Finally, congress has the power to make any law necessary to execute the powers granted to it in the constitution.

Brushing Up On The Constitution (part 3)

Up today, we have procedure, and rules regarding holding office (also known as Article One, Sections Five and Six). Previous entries in the Brushing Up On The Constitution series can be found here (part one) and here (part two). As usual, the text of the Constitution can be found on the Library of Congress site here, or on Wikipedia here. That said, let's move right along, shall we?

Sect. 5. Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualification, of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties, as each House may provide.

Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two thirds, expel a member.

Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require secresy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either House on any question shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, be entered on the journal.

Neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

A1.S5.P1 - Each house are supposed to pay attention to whether or not the people who have been elected to serve in them are actually qualified to do so (in other words, that they meet the requirements set forth in sections two and three of article one). Also, a majority of members of either the House or Senate is required for them to go about their business (note that not all members are required, just 50% plus one), but fewer than that 50% plus one are required to end business for the day, or to summon members not attending. Now, I'm not certain, but my best guess is that the majority of that 50% plus one would be required to end business for the day. (In other words, with a minimum majority attending, 51 members in the Senate, 26 would be required to adjourn. Like I said, best guess.)

A1.S5.P2 - Very straight-forward. The House and Senate get to decide their rules of operation (further restrictions placed upon themselves beyond what is mentioned in the Constitution), and punish their own members for breaking any of those rules. Also, the House or Senate can expel members upon the agreement of two-thirds of their members.

A1.S5.P3 - Both the House and Senate must keep a record of their proceedings, and these records must occasionally be published and made available to the public. However, they can choose to seal any records that they feel should be kept secret out of necessity. Also, if at least 20% of members request it, the votes of all members in attendance must be entered into the record.

A1.S5.P4 - Neither the House nor the Senate can choose not to meet for more than three consecutive days without the agreement of the other. (If the Senate wants four days off, the House has to agree to it, and vice versa.) The same rule also applies if either body wants to meet somewhere other than their primary meeting place.

Sect. 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other place.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been encreased, during such time; and no person holding any officer under the United States shall be a member of either House, during his continuance in office.

A1.S6.P1 - The members of the Senate and the House will be paid for their work from the U.S. Treasury. Unless they commit specific crimes (as listed, treason, felony, or a breach of the peace - this last seems to be open to a rather wide interpretation), they cannot be arrested during a session, or on their way to or from a session. Also, they cannot be brought into an court on charges relating to their speeches in the House. (This ties into the concept in section five that the House and Senate can place additional strictures on themselves and punish their own members.)

A1.S6.P2 - No member of the House or Senate may be appointed to a newly created position, or one including an increase in pay, during their span in office. Also, no one serving in another office is eligible to become a member of either body while they hold that prior office.

Next up are Bills, and then it ought to get interesting with the section on the Powers of Congress.

Brushing Up On The Constitution (part 2)

Welcome back to the Constitution. We're going to deal with the Senate this time, primarily, as well as the rules regarding how often congress must meet.

Sect. 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote.

Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year; so that one third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen, by resignation or otherwise, during the recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies.

No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, ae an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President pro tempore, in a the absence of the Vice-President, or
when he shall exercise the office of President of the United States.

The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall by on oath or affirmation. When the President of the United State is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside; and no person shall be convicted without the concurence of two thirds of the members present.

Judgement, in cases of impeachment, shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honour, trust or profit, under the United States; but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgement and punishment, according to law.

A1.S3.C1 - Senators get to serve six years and are elected by the legislators of the state they represent. Each state gets two senators, regardless of size.

A1.S3.C2 - The senators terms will be split up so that approximately a third of the total number of senators is up for reelection every two years. If there is a vacancy in a state's senate representation, and that state's legislature is not in session, the state's governor can appoint a temporary replacement.

A1.S3.C3 - To be a senator, you must be at least 30 years old, a citizen of the United States for nine years, and live in the state which you would be representing.

A1.S3.C4 - The Vice President of the United States will be considered the president of the senate. He has no vote except in the case of a tie. If he is currently fulfilling the duties of the President of the United States, or otherwise absent, the role of president of the senate will be filled by the president pro-tempore of the senate, who is chosen by the senators.

A1.S3.C5 - The senate, like the house, will also choose their other officers as they desire.

A1.S3.C6 - As the house calls impeachment proceedings, the senate tries them. The matter of sitting "by oath or affirmation" is as opposed to, as Wiki has it, "unlike the (house of) lords who voted upon their honor." If the senate is trying the impeachment of the President, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court will preside instead of the Vice President. (But, what happens if they're impeaching the VP?)

A1.S3.C7 - The punishments that the senate may inflict for a party being impeached cannot exceed removal from office, and a further ban against holding another office. However, this does not mean that the person in question cannot then be tried in a conventional court under other charges related to their impeachment.

Sect. 4. The times, places and manner, of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time, by law, make or alter such regulations, except as to the place of choosing Senators. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.

A1.S4 - Each state can choose when, where, and how they go about electing their senators and representatives, but congress has the power to alter all of those possibilities except where senators are chosen. Congress must meet once a year at a minimum, on the first Monday of December, unless they pass a law changing the date. (Oh, if only they'd only meet one day a year outside of emergencies now...)

Next time, we'll be looking into procedure, and the proscriptions regarding holding public office.

Brushing Up On The Constitution (part 1)

(Welcome to those linking in from RadioPatriots.)

When it comes to Constitutional scholarship, I'll be the first to admit that I had a very poor childhood. So, in an attempt to brush up on that knowledge, I'm going to do a post or few on the Constitution. If I do it right, it ought to be informative and insightful... and if I do it wrong, you're all welcome to laugh at me in the comments section. (Please remember that I have dictatorial control over that section, however. This is not the Republic of Please Make It Clear.)

The text of the Constitution can be found on the Library of Congress website, amongst other places. If you don't like that version, the one at Wikipedia is more reader-friendly. And if you don't like that one either, Google is always your friend. Anyway, let's start with Article One, Section One, shall we?

Article One, Section One:
ALL legislative powers, herein grated, shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Sounds simple enough. The document is going to contain specific powers to be given to the House and Senate. The powers in question, then, had to belong to someone or something else before this. In other words, the states, in agreeing to this section, agreed to give up some of their powers to the federal government, while maintaining others themselves.

Moving right along, then...

Article One, Section Two:
The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second year by all the people of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous branch of the State Legislature.

No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

Representatives and direct taxes shall be appointed among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to the respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxes, three fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New-Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantation one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New-Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North-Carolina five, South-Carolina five, and Georgia three.

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment.

The members of the House will be elected by the people of the state which they represent. The second part of that sentence is tricky, though. What it's essentially saying is that any elector allowed by the law of their state to vote for officers for that state's largest legislative body may also vote for their representatives in the House of Representatives. In other words, the qualifications are left up to the states. (Well, by and large. There are a few amendments on down the line that modify those qualifications on a federal level.)

The second portion (clause) of A1.S2 is clear enough, setting limits on who may be considered for election to the House. Basically, that they be of a certain age (25 years), have a certain length of citizenship (7 years), and be a resident of the state for which they would serve in the House.

A1.S2.C3 deals with the number of representatives per state, as well as a means of direct taxation of the states based on the number of people in each state (rather than by any measure of income or production of the state). To quote from the Wikipedia entry, "Under Section Two, the amount of direct taxes that may be collected from any state was tied directly to its share of representatives. On the basis of this requirement, the income tax was found unconstitutional in 1895, as it was not apportioned among the states." The third clause also designated numbers of representatives for each state before a census could be made, and gives a minimum number of people per one representative, but surprisingly (to me, anyway), no maximum value.

A1.S2.C4 makes a straightforward allowance for the state to go about filling vacancies in its representative body. In other words, since these people are there to do the work of the states, it is the job of the states to see that their representative positions are filled.

A1.S2.C5 is another plain statement of the House of Representatives' powers, being that they choose their own officers, and that they hold the power to call impeachment proceedings. About the only curiosity here is that the power to choose their officers and the power to call impeachment aren't included as separate clauses, since I can't see any particular reason to tie them together.

Next time will be the Senate, and Elections. I can tell already that this is going to take quite some time.