The U.S. Constitution

From the book: The Preamble to the Bill of Rights: “THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.” The Preamble states very clearly that the States, “expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added”. The Bill of Rights was intended to prevent the abuse of the powers being delegated here. Article 5: The US Constitution does not automatically change with the times. Here, article 5 describes the only process that can change it. There are two methods to propose amendments. Either Congress can propose an amendment with two-thirds of both the House and the Senate concurring, or two-thirds of the states’ legislatures can call for a constitutional convention. In order for the amendment to pass, three-quarters of the state legislatures or state constitutional conventions must approve it. Congress itself cannot amend the Constitution, only the states can. Article 6: Clause 2 reiterates that the Constitution, all United States laws passed in accordance with it, and all treaties which are signed under its authority, are the ultimate law of the land. All judges in every state are bound by these laws, and the states’ laws are subordinate to the Constitution. An important point must be emphasized here. It has been argued that the Constitution is really only a set of guidelines for creating legislation; that it should be interpreted according to “original intent”; that there are times when it must be “interpreted”(by the Supreme Court, etc) due to a lack of clarity. But here in Article 6 – which became law when this document was ratified – it states explicitly that this Constitution is the “Supreme Law of the Land”. This statement is very clear and all-encompassing. This Constitution is not simply a set of guidelines. Article 6 covers both federal and state legislation, as well as treaties (they must comply with the Constitution). Judges can not exercise “common sense” or discretion, they must comply with all constitutional legislation(not simply all legislation, but specifically legislation that complies with the Constitution) – regardless of the requirements of state Constitutions or legislation. Upon ratification according to the rules in Article 7, this Constitution is the “Supreme Law of the Land”.