Strengths and Weaknesses of the United States Constitution
Answer questions of 1,2,3a,3b,3c,and4 on the Strengths and Weaknesses of the United States Constitution files. I. Strengths: (question 1,2) Issues Resolved by the United States Constitution Please reflect on the documentary,”To Create A Constitution” that you watched and Slavery By Another Name” , then answer the questions below.
Question 1. Select and rank the top 3 major issue resolved by the United States Constitution that has been the most beneficial to the nation.
Question 2. Which resolution in your view is the most important? Why? Rank Issue Resolution Reduce likelihood of accumulation of power by any government institution Instituted checks and balances and separation of powers to disperse power among the branches of government Avoid rule by an uneducated majority Institute mechanisms and bodies to ensure the people did not directly participate in govt. The Electoral College and the representative system were created to ensure democracy led by political elites.
Create a central government not to weak that it is ineffective and not to strong that it becomes authoritarian A power-sharing arrangement between the national government and state governments called federalism was incorporated. Resolve dispute -less populous states and more populous states are in conflict over political power and representation in the national government The issue of distributing representation and political power to large, small states, and slave states was resolved by the creation of a bicameral [two house] Congress • House of Representative (proportional rep) • Senate -equal representation for each state Protect individual liberties from the national government The Bill of Rights was added to the constitution Make the constitution adaptable A formal amendment process was incorporated Strengths and Weakness of the United States Constitution Weakness: The United States Constitution and Slavery ,Slavery has been characterized as “the great sin”.
The institution of slavery was permitted by the United States Constitution. Please read Slavery, the Constitution, and a Lasting Legacy. Then, watch Slavery by Another Name. Read the passage below and respond to questions 3 a,b,& c It is interesting to consider why the framers would protect the institution of slavery but be unwilling to use the word. The omission of the word “slavery” from the United States Constitution might imply shame or ambivalence about slavery. Nonetheless, the United States Constitution enacted provisions that protected the institution of slavery.
For example, the Fugitive Slave Clause is one of the constitutional protections for slave owners. Since the end of slavery, there has been no constitutional amendment proposed to reject the pro slavery language in the constitution. In fact, the 13th amendment which is commonly understood to abolish slavery contains an exclusion that allows slavery to be practiced in prisons. questions (3a,3b,3c,4) 3a. Do you think the slave articles should be removed from the United States Constitution?
3b. What are your thoughts about the exclusion in the 13th amendment that allows slavery to persist? 3c. Would it make sense if an amendment expressly declared that “the United States formally rejects and repudiates all provisions of the Constitution that protected slavery?” Why? Question For Reflection Legal Scholar Derek Bell has coined the term constitutional contradiction to describe the issue of slavery and the United States Constitution.
The constitutional contradiction as a concept is the idea that the United States Constitution preserves individual rights and liberties while simultaneously sanctioning a group of individuals to chattel slavery, is contradictory. 4.What do you think of the notion of the constitutional contradiction? How does one reconcile relegating a group people to slavery while at the same time pronouncing that freedom is a central value in the constitution?
