This has been on my mind a lot lately. I fully support changes to make getting an abortion a more thoughtful process. Seriously, people... you can't just go to the doctor and say I want my lips and face done, and BAM there ya go! So why should anyone be able to do that with an abortion?
Do you ever feel misjudged, misunderstood, or out of place? Unlike popstar Katy Perry, I don't feel "like a plastic bag drifting in the wind" (terrible lyrics!). I feel very grounded and at the same time as if I am aflight with the birds frantically searching for twigs to build my nest, to keep it safe. I feel the world is in such chaos, yet it is still so wonderful and lovely and I cannot wish to leave it. But some days my sorrows bring me to realize I will gladly leave when taken. I know where I am going.
Sometimes I feel as if I am being pulled by two ropes. One tied to the side of my heart, the other to my brain. Abortion. Legal? Illegal? Right? Sometimes Right, sometimes wrong? Or just plain wrong? and by whose standards are these judgements to be made? Sigh. I cannot even begin to bring all the articles, arguments, and feelings of this topic to this one simple post. I do, however have some opinions of my own to share.
I am not by nature a factual/logical/practical person. I hate math, am no good at science, and I am usually very trusting and unrealistic when it comes to people. If I may do so, I will call this last trait FAITH. I have a lot of faith in people. I strongly believe people can change and will change if given the chance. I also believe people deserve a chance. I have been through a lot in the last few years. Not much compared to many, but I know my experiences have helped shed some light on the subject of abortion.
First off I became pregnant at 19. I was not married. I am very fortunate that the father is the man I love and will always love. I know this isn't always the case in teen pregancies, yet... I cannot help but think of my life without my precious twin girls born 9 months later. How can I not value life when I have seen where it comes from, what it does to people, and how much these little "insignificant" cells can grow to be. Now 4, my girls are a complete joy. As newborns they were crazy. Life was crazy. My life was sort of in chaos for a while. I remember calling my mom one day crying, "I haven't slept in 4 days!" and that isn't even an exaggeration.
Some may argue that teens are not ready for this full-time mommy duty that comes with a newborn (and never actually ends til you die). I agree fully. But, really who IS ready for this? No one can possibly imagine or fully realize what it feels like until they have done it. Sacrifice, service, unselfishness. These are things I have been taught and have experienced all my life. They really do make me happy. I have learned more in the past 4 years about myself and about life than I have ever learned in Church, College, or all the years of my life before then.
Not long ago I got a call from a good friend. I love this girl with all my heart! She had pretty much been "talked into" an abortion by a partner(that is all i can bring myself to call this guy). "If you do this we can be together" he said. "Nobody will want you once you are pregnant and fat. Or once you have a kid attached to you all the time." And she believed him. Some states are putting more waiting period and counseling session requirements into effect in order to have an abortion. Oh how I wished for these requirements in a certain state when I heard my friend whisper to me over the phone, "I have never felt like this. I wish I never did this. I have never felt this low. Like a piece of s***. I am a piece. of. s***."
I always hear the jokes and teases about women and their emotions while being pregnant and afterward. Nobody in my life and certainly nobody in authority ever told me about the emotional consequences that come from having an abortion. The self-hate, the feeling of unworthiness, the confusion about relationships, or the sorrow. Women are women and we have a natural instinct to love and nuture. (Some more than others, please forgive my mistakes dear children!) A woman KNOWS the feeling of loss that comes after an abortion, comes because there was really life in her. A live human being that was hers. Once made, her decision cannot be taken back.
Although many may say they don't regret their abortions and never felt that loss, I dare anyone to look me in the eye and truthfully tell me that to my face.
Last July we lost a baby. My poor little baby died in my belly and my body would not let her go. I had to have a D and C to clean my uterus out. (This procedure is sometimes used in abortions, although now they have easier ways like a pill you can take to discharge the fetus.) Thankfully they put me out for this because I was a mess. I woke up on the bed, nurses all around me. Bawling. "It's okay to cry," said one nurse, "this is a sad thing." I cried all day, could not stop and even now I am crying as a write this. I wrote a dear friend about my experience and she said, "You should know better than anyone that everything happens for a reason. and just so you know, you are not the only one that has felt that loss." She has had an abortion. I know she can understand my loss. BUT everyday I thank God and the Heavens that I did not CHOOSE to feel this way, to have this happen to me. I cannot fully understand the pain that can accompany the loss of a child by choice. No, and I never hope to.
To me this is not about rights. This is about avoiding consequences.
WOMEN: SEX MAY CAUSE PREGNANCY! (hello? is this news to anyone?)
Perhaps the real decisions should be made BEFORE. and the questions asked should be:
1) hmmm, should I have sex this young?
2) should I have sex with this person?
3) what will happen if i get pregnant? what is my plan?
You have the right to have sex, yet you do not have a right to avoid the consequences that come from doing so. This is not a casual issue. and cannot be taken lightly. It certainly cannot be based on promiscuity and selfishness.
All the excuses:
I am not ready
I want to go to college
I don't love/know the father of this child
I didn't choose this
This will ruin my life
I don't want this
It will be too hard to give the baby up for adoption
I just wanna satisfy my urges, I don't want a baby
I, I, I.
Cut it out and be real.
Do what is best for everyone involved.
No matter how hard.
One day you will be grateful.
*find out more about states' laws on abortion and changes
www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/25/states-looking-change-definition-late-term-abortion/
www.sfexaminer.com/entertainment/health/2011/03/utah-pushes-stricter-abortion-laws#
www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=14401
law.findlaw.com/state-laws/abortion/
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Discrimination……Who is discriminating?
Safoorah Khan had taught middle school math for only nine months in this tiny Chicago suburb when she made an unusual request. She wanted three weeks off for a pilgrimage to Mecca.
The school district, faced with losing its only math lab instructor during the critical end-of-semester marking period, said no. Khan, a devout Muslim, resigned and made the trip anyway.
Justice Department lawyers examined the same set of facts and reached a different conclusion: that the school district’s decision amounted to outright discrimination against Khan. They filed an unusual lawsuit, accusing the district of violating her civil rights by forcing her to choose between her job and her faith.
Read More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/justice-department-sues-on-behalf-of-muslim-teacher-triggering-debate/2010/07/28/ABfSPtEB_story.html
My husband is a very devout member of our faith and he has requested several times at his job to have Sundays off so he can attend church. However, he has repeatedly been scheduled to work on Sundays. According to the Justice Department this is discrimination against my husband and he is being forced to chose between his job and faith. I’m sure that there are a millions of others in this country, of many different faiths, who have often had to work on their Sabbath day, Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter, or something like a baptism of christening of a family member, etc. (I am not a world religion expert so I am just listing the religious holidays and events that I am familiar with). So why is this specific case worth spending tax-payer dollars on? And if the Justice Department doesn’t look into the case of my husbands employer being discriminatory I am going to assume the Justice Department is discriminating against my husband, or else why do they not consider his situation as serious as they do Ms. Khans?
The school district, faced with losing its only math lab instructor during the critical end-of-semester marking period, said no. Khan, a devout Muslim, resigned and made the trip anyway.
Justice Department lawyers examined the same set of facts and reached a different conclusion: that the school district’s decision amounted to outright discrimination against Khan. They filed an unusual lawsuit, accusing the district of violating her civil rights by forcing her to choose between her job and her faith.
Read More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/justice-department-sues-on-behalf-of-muslim-teacher-triggering-debate/2010/07/28/ABfSPtEB_story.html
My husband is a very devout member of our faith and he has requested several times at his job to have Sundays off so he can attend church. However, he has repeatedly been scheduled to work on Sundays. According to the Justice Department this is discrimination against my husband and he is being forced to chose between his job and faith. I’m sure that there are a millions of others in this country, of many different faiths, who have often had to work on their Sabbath day, Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter, or something like a baptism of christening of a family member, etc. (I am not a world religion expert so I am just listing the religious holidays and events that I am familiar with). So why is this specific case worth spending tax-payer dollars on? And if the Justice Department doesn’t look into the case of my husbands employer being discriminatory I am going to assume the Justice Department is discriminating against my husband, or else why do they not consider his situation as serious as they do Ms. Khans?
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Scary….
I think it is scary that President Barrack Hussein Obama has the following relationships, considering what is going on in Libya.
Here is the basic rundown. Muammar Gaddafi, the crazy Libyan dictator that has hired mercenaries to “protect” him and kill his people or anyone in the country who opposes him, is super good friends with Louis Farrakhan. In fact Farrakhan says that Gaddafi has always been a friend and he [Farrakhan] won’t distance himself from him him. Read More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/28/louis-farrakhan-libyas-ga_n_829024.html).
Well I bet you can’t guess who is buddies with President Obama? Who goes to visit the White House as found in the Visitor Access Records? Answer: Louis Farrakhan. Where did President Obama celebrate his 2010 Memorial Day?? At Farrkhans BBQ. (http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2010/05/obama_secret_service_agents_in.html) The awesomest thing about the article is that it is worried about the squabble that the Secret Service got into with Farrakhans guards, completely ignoring the fact that the President Obama hangs out with the Louis Farrakhan.
As scary as that is, the scariest thing is how both Gaddafi and Farrakhan address President Obama. In this article Gaddafi is reported calling President Obama “our son.” In general the term son implies being a male offspring. However, when there are not genetic relations it is a term of address for a boy or man from a familiar older person, it can describe one closely connected to a certain environment, and/or describe a product or result of particular forces and influences. Same with the term brother, when not genetically related it is used to describes kinship, association, religious commonality, etc. I think you get the point. Well, Farrakhan addresses President Obama as brother in this clip.
Not only that but he also advises President Obama, his “dear brother” by saying, “Don’t let these wicked demons move you in a direction that will absolutely ruin your future with your people in Africa and throughout the world. They don’t like the way you handled (former Egyptian President Hosni) Mubarak! They don‘t like the way you’re handling the situation in the Arab world! So I would advise you to be careful-and move with wisdom and skill.” Call me crazy but I thought that we the Americans, citizens of the United States, were his people, he being the President of the United States and all. If it matters to President Obama at all who doesn’t like how he is handing the situation shouldn’t it be what Americans think. Why would he even consider what “his people” in Africa and the entire world care? That is unless his future consists of a new world order.
Here is the basic rundown. Muammar Gaddafi, the crazy Libyan dictator that has hired mercenaries to “protect” him and kill his people or anyone in the country who opposes him, is super good friends with Louis Farrakhan. In fact Farrakhan says that Gaddafi has always been a friend and he [Farrakhan] won’t distance himself from him him. Read More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/28/louis-farrakhan-libyas-ga_n_829024.html).
Well I bet you can’t guess who is buddies with President Obama? Who goes to visit the White House as found in the Visitor Access Records? Answer: Louis Farrakhan. Where did President Obama celebrate his 2010 Memorial Day?? At Farrkhans BBQ. (http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2010/05/obama_secret_service_agents_in.html) The awesomest thing about the article is that it is worried about the squabble that the Secret Service got into with Farrakhans guards, completely ignoring the fact that the President Obama hangs out with the Louis Farrakhan.
As scary as that is, the scariest thing is how both Gaddafi and Farrakhan address President Obama. In this article Gaddafi is reported calling President Obama “our son.” In general the term son implies being a male offspring. However, when there are not genetic relations it is a term of address for a boy or man from a familiar older person, it can describe one closely connected to a certain environment, and/or describe a product or result of particular forces and influences. Same with the term brother, when not genetically related it is used to describes kinship, association, religious commonality, etc. I think you get the point. Well, Farrakhan addresses President Obama as brother in this clip.
Good for her!
When a burly ex-convict forced his way into a posh Florida home last week, he had no idea what awaited him -- a 25-year-old beauty queen with a pink .38-caliber handgun.
She chose not to be a victim.
Gratitude and Unselfishness….
From what I understand the NFL players went on strike because their labor union wanted to add 2 more games to their season but not pay them more for it. Arguably football is a dangerous. The players think they need to be compensated for the danger of injury in those extra games. I have 2 things to say about that. First of all, do they not love what they are doing? Didn’t they dream as kids to get to grow up and all they would have to do is play football? Second it’s not like they aren’t making tons of money to begin with (and I’m just considering their actual salary, not including all their other endorsements). This is all over 2 extra games, really?? If you ask me playing 14 football games a year isn’t that bad of a deal when it comes to jobs. I think 90% of the male population would trade careers with these football stars in a second. So I guess this is all led to a lockout and if it continues there will be no NFL season.
Don’t misunderstand the purpose of this post. I am not bothered that there will be no NFL season, I don’t watch football. Luckily for me my husband won’t even be phased by it either (although he would be one of those guys who would trade careers). The point is the ungratefulness and selfishness in this whole scenario. I don’t believe that every football player is is ungrateful and selfish. However, obviously enough that it has come to this.
Gratitude and unselfishness are values I am trying to distill in my children on a daily, hourly, minutely basis. I would be so disgusted with my kid if he grew up and became a professional athlete, was getting paid in the millions per year, but went on strike because they asked him to play 2 more games of the sport that he supposedly loves.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6121861
Don’t misunderstand the purpose of this post. I am not bothered that there will be no NFL season, I don’t watch football. Luckily for me my husband won’t even be phased by it either (although he would be one of those guys who would trade careers). The point is the ungratefulness and selfishness in this whole scenario. I don’t believe that every football player is is ungrateful and selfish. However, obviously enough that it has come to this.
Gratitude and unselfishness are values I am trying to distill in my children on a daily, hourly, minutely basis. I would be so disgusted with my kid if he grew up and became a professional athlete, was getting paid in the millions per year, but went on strike because they asked him to play 2 more games of the sport that he supposedly loves.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6121861
Friday, March 18, 2011
The Government trying to parent again.
Education Department officials are threatening school principals with lawsuits if they fail to monitor and curb students’ lunchtime chat and evening Facebook time…
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/03/16/fed-instructs-teachers-to-facebook-creep-students/#ixzz1GvIOrfvq
And this is just a tidbit of extra information as taken from the DOE website. http://www2.ed.gov/about/what-we-do.html)The mission of the Department of Education is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.
I’m not entirely sure what enforcing Facebook monitoring has to do with fostering educational excellence. However, I think the mission of the DOE might be similar to that of the principals they are threatening with lawsuits. Dear DOE lets not spend time and taxpayer money suing a principal for not doing a job that isn’t his or yours.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/03/16/fed-instructs-teachers-to-facebook-creep-students/#ixzz1GvIOrfvq
And this is just a tidbit of extra information as taken from the DOE website. http://www2.ed.gov/about/what-we-do.html)The mission of the Department of Education is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.
I’m not entirely sure what enforcing Facebook monitoring has to do with fostering educational excellence. However, I think the mission of the DOE might be similar to that of the principals they are threatening with lawsuits. Dear DOE lets not spend time and taxpayer money suing a principal for not doing a job that isn’t his or yours.
Irony
How fitting that a school named after our profligate, post-achievement president is shutting down thanks to fiscal mismanagement and non-achievement.
Read more: http://michellemalkin.com/2011/03/17/mmm-mmm-mmm-nj-shuts-down-barack-obama-elementary-school/
Read more: http://michellemalkin.com/2011/03/17/mmm-mmm-mmm-nj-shuts-down-barack-obama-elementary-school/
Contributers and Writers
Julianna Myers-Blog Creator
Julianna was born and raised a small town girl. After high school she went to Brigham Young University where she met her husband Perry Myers in the spring of 2006 and married him late summer of that same year. They both finished their senior years together as newly weds. Julianna graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science and Perry graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science. It was through her husband that Julianna exprerienced her first real taste of politics and social science. Shortly after graduation from BYU they had their first baby and she is now expecting her forth. Julianna loves everything about being a wife, mother, and homemaker. She wants nothing more than to be a successful mother by raising her children to be good and moral people of society, and she created this blog in the hopes that she can inspire and be inspired in this quest.
McKell Myers-Writer
McKell graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. She currently serves as the Chair of the Utah Federation of College Republicans and previously served as the state’s Executive Director for the organization. This past election year McKell was a field Representative for the College Republican National Committee and was deployed to Las Vegas, Nevada where she recruited and organized the young conservative efforts. During her sophomore year McKell was also a writer for theREBUTTAL.com, a political site wherein she made quite a few enemies, and even a few friends. Born in Valencia, California, she eventually would spend the majority of her youth and teenage years in San Antonio, Texas, loving the southern living and culture. In her spare time McKell loves being outdoors or spending time with family and friends. Miss Myers currently resides in Provo, Utah and works at a Treatment Ranch for troubled teens.
Kaysie Proa-Writer
Julianna was born and raised a small town girl. After high school she went to Brigham Young University where she met her husband Perry Myers in the spring of 2006 and married him late summer of that same year. They both finished their senior years together as newly weds. Julianna graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science and Perry graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science. It was through her husband that Julianna exprerienced her first real taste of politics and social science. Shortly after graduation from BYU they had their first baby and she is now expecting her forth. Julianna loves everything about being a wife, mother, and homemaker. She wants nothing more than to be a successful mother by raising her children to be good and moral people of society, and she created this blog in the hopes that she can inspire and be inspired in this quest.
McKell Myers-Writer
McKell graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. She currently serves as the Chair of the Utah Federation of College Republicans and previously served as the state’s Executive Director for the organization. This past election year McKell was a field Representative for the College Republican National Committee and was deployed to Las Vegas, Nevada where she recruited and organized the young conservative efforts. During her sophomore year McKell was also a writer for theREBUTTAL.com, a political site wherein she made quite a few enemies, and even a few friends. Born in Valencia, California, she eventually would spend the majority of her youth and teenage years in San Antonio, Texas, loving the southern living and culture. In her spare time McKell loves being outdoors or spending time with family and friends. Miss Myers currently resides in Provo, Utah and works at a Treatment Ranch for troubled teens.
Kaysie Proa-Writer
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Warring for Peace
BY MCKELL MYERS
CAPSTONE
POLITICAL SCIENCE 400
Imagine there’s no heaven-It’s easy if you try. No hell below us, Above us only sky. Imagine all the people Living for today. Imagine there’s no countries-It isn’t hard to do Nothing to kill and die for, And no religion too. Imagine all the people Living life in peace. John Lennon, ‘Imagine’
“To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven, a time to be born and a time to die…a time to kill and a time to heal…a time to weep and a time laugh… a time to keep silence and a time to speak…a time of war, and a time of peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.
The cry for peace has been heard in every land and age. It is the constant yearning for rest, the belief in an Eden, and the longing to be there. We talk of peace. We sing of peace. We sketch it in our pictures and we promise it in our politics. Occasionally, we even fight for peace on fault lines of difference and die for it on fields of disease. But what makes peace so desirable? What gives it noble character and inherent appeal? As the history of men unfolds, there are principles upon which all men glean their existence. The principle of opposition specifically, allows men the ability to choose, to exercise their consciousness and experience the bitter along with the sweet. This principle of opposition is the reality in which peace finds its very definition. Peace; therefore, never stands alone, but rather it is completely dependent upon its counterpart. In experiencing the lack of peace, we come to value it. In defining what peace isn’t we come to know exactly what it is. Therefore; while one pays homage to dear ole’ Peace one must not forget he owes its antonymic companion a fair space in history’s tale: War.
It is the vital season of war that grants this essay purpose. War’s nobility and necessity has, for too long, been dismissed, ignored, and mistaken. We’ve idolized a false peace, and in the process demonized the wrong kinds of war. Opposition certainly must play a role in how we understand the world. To define peace as anything void of pain leaves all sacrifice and all repellence of evil abandoned for a lesser perspective and a more shallow human experience. Therefore; the intent of this essay is not to glorify in physical violence or in the tension between God’s children, but rather its intent is to simply keep God in the picture at all. To protect those very things that society would forfeit for a lesser peace. To protect those human qualities that makes us who we are, and define who we will be. Furthermore in the process of defining war, true war, one can fully define peace… true peace, and true peace is the ultimate goal for all human beings. For in the condition of true peace men are able to fully pursue the happiness they seek.
True violence, true war, has nothing to do with the penetrating of flesh. We only assume it does. Blood’s deep scarlet is certainly hard to ignore, but there are deeper and more permanent stains to consider. True violence has everything to do with penetrating the line of humanity. Humanity is the quality or condition of being human. Therefore; our ability to act, to think, to feel, to live, to love are all part of this human experience. When one penetrates the line of humanity one endangers himself and others from pursuing these human activities. This is true violence. War can certainly be physical violence performed by the formal soldier, but often this is the outward byproduct of some true breach of humanity; some inner war against the very founding of our nature. It is this attack on humanity, this kind of war that man must fear and even repel, even if it means (ironically enough) war in the process.
When one looks at war this way, War is not so much the offender of men, but rather its defender…the defender of opposition, of choice, of freedom. War must exist for the nobility of peace to be preserved. If one reduced peace to the simple lack of violence, society runs a grave risk of losing all value of existence. “Let us assume that in the realm of morality the final distinctions are between good and evil.” In order for society to remain moral therefore; good must exist against evil. War, just war, or moral wars, is a fight for the maintaining of good and sustaining its separation from evil.
The Merciful War
The problem of men calling good things evil, and evil things good, is ever so present in reference to war. If one categorizes all war as wrong and all peace as good than history has been written in vain. Society has missed the meaning of life, the honor that accompanies our human heritage. We’ve seen this with the liberal definition society has granted war and peace. In the human cry for peace we’ve taken short cuts. We’ve mistaken peace for the mere absence of traditional war. Somehow all things that hold traditional war at bay have become good and desired. Could peace then perhaps ever be evil? In attempts to be civilized and merciful could we be running a graver course? Mercy is indeed human, civilized, and good. But so is justice. Are we, in the name of good, making room for evil? Are we in the name of mercy making an enemy of justice?
Many times the actual breach on humanity is near impossible to detect. The passivity resonated in John Lennon’s “imagine” for example, teaches society false pretenses about the reality of war. While much of the ideals expressed in his lyrics leave one yearning for unity and world serenity, it comes at a cost no political realist or idealist would be willing to pay. Furthermore, people of the world understand that opposition is the reality, and in that opposition also comes the nobility of the peace they seek. Peace is much more than the settling dust of once riotess streets, or the cooling of gun barrels. It is personal, perhaps even spiritual, and this inner peace is only acquired in the free expressions of the human heart, in the celebrations of individuality, in the existence of national identity, religion, heaven, and even hell…all concepts in which Lennon’s world is void of. In finding purposes worth living for, purposes worth dying for, humanity and history are explained. And perhaps the truest peace is found within the conscience of an individual finding a purpose beyond merely existing, a purpose not only in which they may die to preserve something bigger than self, but a purpose in which they are able to truly live.
In an attempt to not make a robber of mercy, one must recognize the need to fight or set right a wrong. In other words, one must recognize the true definition of peace. Inherently opposition will exist between good and evil, but friction is healthy and needed to secure the good. Therefore, traditional war could be an ally for good. It could be the byproduct of fighting that true violence against humanity. Mercy is more than the lack of physical violence. For in maintaining justice, in maintaining the rights of people, one shows a greater sense of mercy, and the benefactors of this mercy are those who rightfully have claim to it. War allows justice a voice. War allows balance. War grants good and evil to earn their place in society. Will the right always prevail? Perhaps not. But war grants the condition for right to have the chance of victory. And this chance, granted us by war, is far more ennobling than society’s forfeiting definition of peace.
Society has made a mess of mercy. It has made a mess of peace. Society wants forgiveness to replace accountability when no man has the right or power to deny evil of its consequences. Wrong must be challenged, otherwise it prevails, or worse it is mistaken for right. Sometimes challenging wrong requires physical violence. But this physical violence never supersedes the assault that first caused men to take up their swords. It can’t, for it has found justification. It won’t, for it wishes to be moral, and in its moral drive it finds moral bounds. This type of physical violence (often displayed as traditional war) is not only justified or moral, but it is necessary. If wrong is not challenged, evil runs its course leaving nothing but devastation in its wake. Certainly when men allow evil to reign there is little disputation and confrontation but there is also little of anything else. “Where they make a desert they call it peace” (Elshtain 126, 2003).
Defining Just War and the Just Soldier
Once we’ve established the vital need for war another debate consequently ensues. Just when is it justified? What are its boundaries? There are hundreds of philosophers and politicians alike that claim to have the answers. Many have valid points. Many do not. The wise are backed with moral reasoning. The cunning regrettably also appeal to some strand of morality making it near impossible to detect the sincere from the greedy. Yet the opinions of those found safely within the walls of parliament or of a classroom don’t really matter. In all actuality they are not the ones who start and end wars. Declarations are only declarations until someone draws his sword. Therefore, the closest we can get to discovering motives lies within the heart and mind of the soldier. This is the only level that really matters. They are wars real participants. Without them there is no war and with them the boundaries of battle are naturally defined.
In the fallen world in which we live, men are oft times willing to die for much less than an Eden, and the ethical wonder whether that makes their sacrifice more or less noble. Surely men shouldn’t die for just any cause. And yes there have been plenty of petty wars within history’s time. But who defines the petty from the pertinent? Even with moral grounds no man can declare war right or wrong safely from the sidelines. It is certainly easy from the fence to make judgments, but only one in the heat of battle can truly know whether the cause is worth fighting.
To protect the sanctity of life modern political theorist would argue that it is immoral to endanger lives when victory cannot be secured. Therefore the rules of engagement might state that unless one can win the battle, one has no business entering the war. But whose business is it really? Just as the tyrant has no business telling their men what their lives are worth, we shouldn’t attempt to tell men what their lives are not. Yet we do. When a battle suggests defeat, spectators esteem it an unethical pursuit. But in this, they make a grave mistake. Regardless of their good intent, they have assumed that victory was the warrior’s end and only pursuit. Or that victory is simply defined as surviving the battle. But for the moral soldier, there is a larger picture- religious, ethical, or otherwise. They see victory in the principles they die to protect. And they become victorious the instant the loss of those principles becomes their most trembling fear. If the principles are justifiable for a war of sound success, then those same principles would still be just and true in cases of defeat. Perhaps even more true with the shedding and sacrifice of innocent blood. Therefore; even in our ethical attempts to protect the line of humanity, we rescind it.
We minimalize the purposes of war if victory is justifications only ally. The story of Melos confirms that our ends cannot always explain our means. Melos was destined for defeat against Athens. And still, they fought. Let’s not dishonor their bravery by suggesting they thought victory possible. Their numbers were relatively few compared to the thousands of Athenian soldiers. The momentum of Athens alone would have given a less determined people cause to fold. But they didn’t. Surely the people of Melos knew their hours were numbered and it is likely their lives could have been spared if they bowed to Athenian rule. So were they immoral when they stood in front of their homes refusing to consent?
The same question could be asked thousands of years later. Were men of the Alamo immoral to stand against Santa Anna’s innumerable army? They had just received word that no reinforcements were coming. They still had time to escape. And yet there in the Texas sun, William B. Travis drew a line in the sand and asked who of the approximately 200 men would stay to meet the 1500 Mexican Soldiers. It would have been easy to run and maybe some would even argue moral. But instead they stayed. Instead they fought. Instead they died. And many would later cry, “Remember the Alamo.”
In the case of Melos and in the case of the Alamo modern political theory, cannot explain these tragic yet triumphant tales. Were these men blood thirsty? Were they looking to pick a fight? Or again, were there principles at play? Surely it would be the latter and surely American’s in particular can understand this concept. Yet much of modern American Sentiments are hostile towards war. They root their validation in the Weinberger Doctrine that clearly states; “U.S. troops should only be committed wholeheartedly and with the clear intention of winning. Otherwise, troops should not be committed”. Sadly the mentality of winning and winning without cost has become the American way (Schulzinger 273, 2008).
The Powell Doctrine makes progress on the Weinberger Doctrine. Instead of directly assuming victory, a more general question is asks; “Do we have a clear and attainable objective?” This petition seems more reasonable. It leaves room for potential objectives that have nothing to do with conquest and more to do with principle. Sadly public opinion sees no difference in the two and we are left desensitized to a base understanding of war. However, even when policy can’t make the distinction, the soldier can. And even when all else is against the situation, he alone can make any fight noble.
It was principles that caused Patrick Henry to invite death at the cost of liberty. It was principles that made Davy Crockett stand by the Alamo, or the Spartans to hold the Mountain Pass. Convenience was not the path traveled by history’s heroes, although it certainly was an option. And perhaps that is the reason History recalls their efforts and marks their place in time. These men had a truer perspective. They knew there was more to lose in retreat and they feared what would die if they weren’t willing to give their lives.
We must acknowledge those vital times of battle, and the heroic sacrifice of conflict’s participants. While the thirst of a soldier for blood should never be celebrated, there is something to be said about the willing. For “in whom should there be more love of peace than in him who alone can be harmed by war? (Machiavelli 1519, 4)” The soldier, before anyone, understands the risk of war, and yet so often they are the first to step forward when a breech in humanity has been made. The principles that govern, and motivate the moral soldier are inherent and not programmed by society. On the contrary, society is creating a self-serving man. One who is entitled to luxury and who strays far from inconvenience.
Politics and Religion: Allies of Peace
While men may be willing to sacrifice for much less than an Eden, others will continue to wonder the nobility of their fight. Let it be clear, that it is indeed noble and necessary. In a world lost to the passive, obsessed with safety, and devoid of duty, a selfishness ensues much more haunting than the realness of blood and the honesty of death. Acclaimed peace lovers don’t love peace, for in their passive attempts to produce it they eliminate all of its inherent appeal. The song Imagine has falsely diagnosed the absence of peace and made an enemy of countries, religion, heaven, and hell.
In his book “the Concept of the Political,” Carl Schmitt admits that the word Political has been regrettably misused. It has come to encompass too much of what it isn’t: namely; economics, ethics, science, and religion, and has yet to be seen as a legitimate human activity of its own. “Let us assume that in the realm of morality the final distinctions are between good and evil, in aesthetics beauty and ugly, in economics profitable and unprofitable.” Therefore, “the specific political distinction to which political actions and motives can be reduced is that between friend and enemy” (Schmitt 1996, 26). For Schmitt, the political enemy doesn’t have to be inherently evil, nor ugly and because this is so, politics must have a distinct realm separate from ethics or aesthetics. If we define politics in this way, as a unique and separate sphere of human activity, politics has some claim on what it means to be human. And the elimination of countries and government, as suggested by Lennon, is the elimination of some part of humanity (Schmitt 1996, Forward xv).
For Schmitt, politics is a system that rests on compromise. It is susceptible to change. Its unpredictability could be seen by pacifist as risky, and unnerving. But human nature too, is prone to change. Schmitt’s friend enemy distinction isn’t so much concerned about ‘who is on my side’, but claims that only by means of this distinction does the question of our willingness to take responsibility for our own lives arise. Each participant is [placed] in a position to judge whether the adversary intends to negate his opponent’s way of life and therefore must be repulsed or fought in order to preserve one’s own form of existence” (Schmitt 1996, xvi). The opposition that accompanies the friend enemy distinction of the political leads men to choices, and the very act of choosing leads humans to being.
The political allows for us to make distinctions separate from ethics or religion. The designating of an adversary, the repulsion, and even fighting Schmitt suggests allows for opposition to survive yet the political simultaneously exists to protect those very other spheres of human activity in which we engage. Without the political, anarchy reigns supreme, and while one might not have enemies, one also has no friends. Likewise, the ugly and beautiful, the good and evil are also there to be distinguished and the political stands as its defense against a numb neutrality. Lennon, in his plea for equality, couldn’t tell a weed from a flower. And in an attempt to rid the potential dangers of the thorn, he would forgo the entirety of the rose.
While government is far from perfect, why was the political established if not to persuade men to moral action and procure harmony? But that too is problematic for Lennon because morality does not exist in his sphere either. The preservation of religion, or at least a metaphoric heaven and hell is also important in maintaining a moral society. Not only does heaven and hell legitimize opposition but for the religious, it legitimizes their purpose in existence. Religion is how many come to understand happiness. It is another part of this human experience that cannot be replaced or forgotten with sky. There are ideals that extend beyond ones mortal frame. The belief in a heaven for example gives men reasons to live, and live well. And oft times if one cannot live well, one may find reasons to die well. For the goal is to secure a life worth living whether here or in the hereafter and ideally in both. This is not uncommon knowledge. Religion has been a part of history and a reason for war since the beginning of time. But somehow we’ve made an enemy of it. Somewhere along the line we’ve come to think its failed us, because blood has been spilled to protect it. We’ve claimed it hypocritical in its doctrine because to proclaim peace the religious have, at times, taken up their swords. We forget Cain and Abel in the beginning of the Bible and all the wars that follow thereafter. We’ve twisted the doctrine, the opposition found within the book’s pages, to give society a diluted form of religion- a more convenient religious experience. Sainthood is now a road traveled by many with very few bumps along the way.
Friction scares us. Rather than embrace the differences, and see religion in its true and intended state, it becomes easier for us to eliminate it, and anything else for that matter that causes a difference of opinion. It may be easy for Lennon, but it is hard to imagine a world without countries or religion. While boundaries and boarders whether physical or spiritual are prone to war, they are better than the alternative. And not just the lesser of two Evil’s but potentially they are the only source of good found within a fallen world. They have been established to protect those very fundamental beliefs, those God given human qualities. Religion particularly is one of our only attempts of escaping the evil and raising our vision. Nations too are the alternative to anarchy-a recipe for war. Religion and National borders are indeed some of the most controversial issues, and yet it is almost that very controversy that justifies they’re needed existence. The wind blows hardest at the tallest peaks.
Furthermore, Lennon has miss read the desires of man. For men’s action speak for what they desire and if one willingly walks into bloody rivers the reasons that compel him are more than “just sky” (Lennon, 1971). We must resist that which would make us numb to the beauty of sacrifice or make us beggars of meaning. We must recognize the purposes of war and the limiting necessity politics grants battle. The distinct spheres of good and evil makes violence an inevitable reality, therefore war is not only needful, but also noble in its attempts to designate the good from the evil and procure a true and lasting peace of soul and state.
The Art and Virtue of Sacrifice
There are worse things than war, if this wasn’t so history wouldn’t be stained with the blood of its writers. But can war ever be good? From the title of his book, Michael Ignatieff suggests that war is “The Lesser Evil,” but still implies war possessing an inherently evil character. Is this so? Is war only the least ugly amid wicked choices? While one must acknowledge the complications associated with the particulars of battle, violence in all its forms has been seen as the ultimate attack on humanity. The spilling of blood and the bruises of body are no doubt offensive to the eye, but do they always, in all its forms betray the heart?
The line of humanity can be breached in a number of ways, unnecessary bloodshed included, but the line is usually forfeited long before the first fallen. Government was designed as a means to protect all things civilized, a way to harness the capabilities of humans and distinguish us from that of other animals. But even government can run the risk of corruption…and a far grosser corruption at that. For in the very halls where men claim to know the will of God on matters of fairness and justice, are other men who seek to use such divinely inspired legislation for their own uses, their own desire for power. This attack on humanity, this definition of true war is often more subtle than the obvious hue of blood. But we must not be deceived. The civilized, while capable of rising above that of animal instinct, has also harbored the advancement of evil. Therefore violence, that true violence that penetrates the line of humanity, can now be tidily typed or elegantly expressed and be eerily mistaken for good.
Walzer claims, “War strips away our civilized adornments and reveals our nakedness.” But Machiavelli would say otherwise, “For all the arts that are ordered in a city for the sake of the common good of men, all the orders made there for living in fear of the law and of God would be in vain if their defenses were not prepared. When these defenses are well ordered, they maintain the arts and orders… [but] good orders without military help are disordered no differently than the rooms of a proud and regal palace when, by being uncovered they have nothing that might defend them against the rain even though they are ornamented with gems and gold” (The Art of War 1519, p. 4). Therefore; according to Machiavelli it is not war that strips us of the civilized adornments, but rather mans inability (or lack of desire) to defend them. No matter what gems and gold are found within a society, without the proper protection such adornments are stripped of their shine and left to tarnish.
The pacifist would make the realist develop justification for the atrocities associated with war’s use. But what excuses can and should be made for the atrocities that first caused men to take up their swords? For surely men wouldn’t choose the inhumane associated with battle if something hadn’t first proved even more base, even more atrocious. The taking away of that which makes us human, is not life itself. Surely men have the unalienable right to life, but they have much more than that. Trees’s live and breathe, dogs too, so there must be something else that makes us Earth’s dominant species. It is that something that we must preserve. Pacifists might say it is battle that makes us like animals. But it is in the heat of battle that men rise from animal instincts of survival and put on that human instinct of sacrifice. Our ability to love, to care more about a less tangible cause is that very something that separates us from all other creatures. No, dying is not our greatest fear.
If it wasn’t so, Hitler would have seen no need to change legislation against the Jew or establish the concentration camp. Before he killed the approximately 6 million innocent, he first robbed them of their valuables, their freedoms, and their dignity. He took everything from them that would establish any form of identity or grant them any status of human. All Jews were Sarah’s or Isaacs, and the “rat problem” once associated with the vermin metamorphosed into the Jew. Additionally, many of the prisoners considered dying the escape. The “lucky ones” were those who had been executed at camps initial arrival. A luxury that had been granted the original vermin seemed too good for the Jew. “Exposed -- legally, morally, and psychologically – the Jewish ‘perpetrators’ faced as a community their expulsion combined with demands for the repayment of affronted enjoyments, as well as demands for compensation for supposed injuries. Nazi leaders called upon citizens to take ‘defensive action’ against Jews, ‘the guilty ones’ who ‘live in our midst and day after day misuse the right to hospitality, which the German Volk has granted them.’ Past enjoyments by the Jewish community amounted to more than shelter by the larger community, the punishment more than exile” (Gilchrist 45, 20**).For the Jew, at the time of the Holocaust, the “striping away of civilized adornments,” the “nakedness,” Walzer refers to was a result of the lack of traditional war. Germany was in need of an intervention. If the United States had stepped in earlier much could have been done to prevent the genocide that occurred.
The death and violence associated with war seems far less crippling in comparison to those tidy, subtle acts of legislation like the Nuremberg laws. Inter arma enim silent leges is a Latin phrase meaning "For among [times of] arms, the laws fall mute," but perhaps the laws fell mute long before the first cry of a soldier. The Nuremberg laws at the time of Nazi Germany or the Hutu documents during the Rwanda genocide were not the obvious gore and guts a public sees with war. Rather such inhumanity was neatly typed and printed, eloquently addressed and daringly promoted all in the name of national hygiene. In the case of Germany, being a Jew was considered “unclean.” And sanitation was the policy. For the Rwandan, those that married or employed a Tutsi woman were considered “traitors”. This change in language, and eventually change in law, involved no drops of blood and yet fell far below any grave. While the goal is for men to arise above mortalities portion, we also become capable of sinking way below its intended sphere.
In the name of efficiency society has corrupted language and public opinion, limiting the meaning of war and making it only a synonym for evil. But the poet knows better. For the poet; war is the dance of opposition, the crashing of juxtaposed waves, the very designator of good and evil. The famous General Clausewitz has coined war as “the continuation of politics by other means” (Clausewitz, 1873). If politics maintains its original purpose: to establish peace, to persuade men to the proper, the moral, war is no longer the atrocious animalistic practice modern context has esteemed it, but rather it’s the logical human attempt of survival. Survival not as the animals would define it, but the survival of what it means to be human, the perpetuation of not only a population but of a purpose.
Those who claim the believers of war to lack reverence for humanity have failed in their accusation. In reality those willing to wage war can be among the best believers in humanity. War is only animalistic if physical survival is the goal. In actuality it is those that fear death, and death itself who are the real animals, for their instincts are far from selfless and their reasoning farther from truth. The warrior that can see war as the “art” and “virtú” Machiavelli defines it to be is not concerned with the physical survival of their fleshy frame but the continuance of the civilized (The Prince 1513, p. 41). They fight for continuity of compassion, love, respect, freedom, and belief. “People thought Cesare Borgia was cruel, but that cruelty of his reorganized Romagna, united it, and established it in peace and loyalty. Anyone who views the matter realistically will see that this prince was much more merciful than the people of Florence, who to avoid the reputation of cruelty, allowed Pistoia to be destroyed” (The Prince 1513, p.45).
Not only are men willing to sacrifice their physical selves for war and die for peace but like Cesar Borgia, some men are willing to live for it. No doubt he was hated and his actions questioned, but he sacrificed his reputation for the preservation of his people, the very people that would abuse him and his methods. War therefore doesn’t build character, but it reveals it. The art and virtue of man is discovered in times of battle. Either man rises to the occasion as a leader, soldier or spectator or fails to see the art and virtue in war’s purposes. Some shrink at battles presence others bask in its glory but the wise make the necessary sacrifices and think themselves no more than that of a human being, doing what human beings ought to do.
Warring For Heaven
And thus we see war finds its validation in the gross crimes of evil men. It finds its necessity in the protection of the line of humanity, and it finds its art and virtue in man’s willingness to sacrifice. It is not in the winning that man finds his success, but in his right and willingness to stand for principles. The very warring against evil procures victory. Evil is a reality in this mortal existence, and because of that reality war finds its place. War is not a lesser evil, but is a noble attempt to rise beyond evil, to refute its ever lingering presence. When one is willing to confront evil, to name it as such, and repel its infiltration one has succeeded in his attempts to find meaning, to find purpose, and to find peace.
It is our human nature to desire our own personal Eden’s and while pacifist dream of worlds of just sky, there is something innate in us that yearns for identity and meaning that can only come in the preservation of the political. Religion will continue to be a cause for war, but only because men see its importance above life. And who is to question the necessity of religion if one places it above food and air. Society would do without the friction that accompanies Heaven and Hell, but that friction is our only way to know peace. True peace, the kind found within hearts and minds. Many in today’s world “would bleed just to know [their] alive,” but such a line suggests they were dead long before any loss of blood (Goo Goo Dolls 1998). It is this loss of meaning that threatens our society. This type of violence, this delusional definition of peace is the risk we are taking with the ridding of war.
War is the pulse of the right and the good. It proves good still exists, that we refuse evil’s rein. It proves that men will be missed if they die and will have even more to live for. When we come to understand the hellish experience of war, we come to know a heavenly state of peace. And our willingness to go through hell and back tells us what we think of our heaven. If we wish to find our own individual Eden’s- not just filled with sky, but blooming with purpose and possibilities we must be willing to acknowledge the reality of our mortal state. The opposition of mortality is real. We must be ready for the friction that will inevitable ensue. But even in our friction we will have a peace more real than any piercing of flesh. Therefore; God be thanked for hell if it grants me heaven and God solicit war if provides me peace.
Annotated Bibliography
Machiavelli, Niccolo. 1513. The Prince. Edited and translated by Robert M. Adams. 1992. W.W. Norton and Company Inc.: New York.
The Prince shares the same basic argument that war is moral. The welfare of the whole is secured in the sometimes perceived cruel actions of the few. This is the basic argument of my paper. The realist is moral, and perhaps even more moral and selfless because their reputation as well as their very lives are at stake. I specifically cite Machaivelli’s example of Cesare Borgia, and how his ‘cruel” actions lead to a peaceful existence, while the people of Florence, in their self righteous peace allowed Pistoia to be destroyed. Machiavelli is my main source for this paper.
Machiavelli, Niccolo. 1519. The Art of War. Translated and Edited by Christopher Lynch. 2003. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago.
This work of Machiavelli’s is a lot more specific to war itself. It shows not only the justification for war but also wars necessity. I use Machiavelli’s metaphor of the palace without a roof to show the security that comes from the capabilities of war. It’s title The Art of War also alludes to the beauty of strategy, and sparked my argument for the poet’s understanding of war. Regardless about RMA (revolutions in military affairs) Machiavelli and I both believe “it is not impossible to bring the military back to its original modes and give it some form of virtue.” p. 4 This is one of my closing arguments.
Clausewitz, Carl Von. 1873. On War. Translated by Colonel J. J. Graham. N. Trubner: London.
I use his famous quote, “War is the continuation of politics by other means.” While my paper focuses little on this specific piece of literature, the general ideas and principles are applied.
Walzer, Michael. 2006. Just and Unjust Wars. Basic Books: New York.
This book was one of the primary inspirations for my paper. I argue what Walzer says about the brutality of war, but the questions he poses about what is just and unjust are intriguing. I use his same thought provoking style in a general way and tried to look at war from a new perspective. He briefly addresses examples like the Nuremberg Laws of Germany and the incident in Rwanda, which I use in my paper. Most of my conceptions about these incidents; however, were for the most part already formed.
Elshtain, Jean Bethke. 2003. Just War Against Terror. Basic Book: New York.
Elshtain was able to give me a female perspective to why war is just. She addresses the uncertainty religion specifically grants security, but she does nothing to suggest its elimination. This gave me hope and allowed me to solidify my argument that Lennon’s suggested “religion free” world was out of the question. She also distinguishes between the Conqueror, Just Warrior, and Pacifist. While she defines the motives and procedures of each, she does little to argue for a specific type of citizen. However; the flaws defined in the conqueror and pacifist, allowed me to make some conclusions that neither type is preferred. I argue they are both morally wrong from inherently different sides of the spectrum. I use her classification, to argue for the Just Warrior, and further my own argument, that pacifism is just as evil as the conqueror. Furthermore; I allude to Hitler being a conqueror type and Lennon being the pacifist.
Ignatieff, Michael. 2004. The Lesser Evil. Penguin Group: Canada.
The title of this book sparked my question if war was always, even in mild forms evil. What he had to say about war’s escalation always leading to nihilism was also an argument I debated. I also looked at Nihilism in depth: its first definition states: “the total rejection of established laws and institutions.” Which in reality is Lennon’s idea of peace (the elimination of politics). In actuality, I turned Ignatieff’s argument around in favor of war.
Gilchrist, Brent. (year). Myth, Magic, and Murder. Unpulished Manuscript: Brigham Young University n.d.
I used this manuscript to site the methods Hitler used against the Jews. This was part of my argument that death is not dehumanizing and that it is rather the law that failed and procured the brutal, unjust results of Nazi Germany. War, in hindsight would have been the saving grace for the Jews.
Schmitt, Carl. 1996. The Concept of the Political. University of Chicago Press: Chicago
This was insightful in regards to defining “politics” and the friend- enemy distinction. The morality of politics is largely based on how politics are initially perceived, and enemy’s don’t have to be inherently evil to be enemies. This I will use to address additional counter arguments. While the book is interesting, it is based on an idea of relativism. I do like; however that one can argue the realist point with the liberal argument. I’m not sure exactly how I will use this book yet, but many of the concepts are related to my theme.
Jarecki, Eugene. Why We Fight (Sundance Film Festival: Sony Pictures, 2005).
This I don’t use specifically as a source. But its general concepts and idea are applied.
CAPSTONE
POLITICAL SCIENCE 400
Imagine there’s no heaven-It’s easy if you try. No hell below us, Above us only sky. Imagine all the people Living for today. Imagine there’s no countries-It isn’t hard to do Nothing to kill and die for, And no religion too. Imagine all the people Living life in peace. John Lennon, ‘Imagine’
“To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven, a time to be born and a time to die…a time to kill and a time to heal…a time to weep and a time laugh… a time to keep silence and a time to speak…a time of war, and a time of peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.
The cry for peace has been heard in every land and age. It is the constant yearning for rest, the belief in an Eden, and the longing to be there. We talk of peace. We sing of peace. We sketch it in our pictures and we promise it in our politics. Occasionally, we even fight for peace on fault lines of difference and die for it on fields of disease. But what makes peace so desirable? What gives it noble character and inherent appeal? As the history of men unfolds, there are principles upon which all men glean their existence. The principle of opposition specifically, allows men the ability to choose, to exercise their consciousness and experience the bitter along with the sweet. This principle of opposition is the reality in which peace finds its very definition. Peace; therefore, never stands alone, but rather it is completely dependent upon its counterpart. In experiencing the lack of peace, we come to value it. In defining what peace isn’t we come to know exactly what it is. Therefore; while one pays homage to dear ole’ Peace one must not forget he owes its antonymic companion a fair space in history’s tale: War.
It is the vital season of war that grants this essay purpose. War’s nobility and necessity has, for too long, been dismissed, ignored, and mistaken. We’ve idolized a false peace, and in the process demonized the wrong kinds of war. Opposition certainly must play a role in how we understand the world. To define peace as anything void of pain leaves all sacrifice and all repellence of evil abandoned for a lesser perspective and a more shallow human experience. Therefore; the intent of this essay is not to glorify in physical violence or in the tension between God’s children, but rather its intent is to simply keep God in the picture at all. To protect those very things that society would forfeit for a lesser peace. To protect those human qualities that makes us who we are, and define who we will be. Furthermore in the process of defining war, true war, one can fully define peace… true peace, and true peace is the ultimate goal for all human beings. For in the condition of true peace men are able to fully pursue the happiness they seek.
True violence, true war, has nothing to do with the penetrating of flesh. We only assume it does. Blood’s deep scarlet is certainly hard to ignore, but there are deeper and more permanent stains to consider. True violence has everything to do with penetrating the line of humanity. Humanity is the quality or condition of being human. Therefore; our ability to act, to think, to feel, to live, to love are all part of this human experience. When one penetrates the line of humanity one endangers himself and others from pursuing these human activities. This is true violence. War can certainly be physical violence performed by the formal soldier, but often this is the outward byproduct of some true breach of humanity; some inner war against the very founding of our nature. It is this attack on humanity, this kind of war that man must fear and even repel, even if it means (ironically enough) war in the process.
When one looks at war this way, War is not so much the offender of men, but rather its defender…the defender of opposition, of choice, of freedom. War must exist for the nobility of peace to be preserved. If one reduced peace to the simple lack of violence, society runs a grave risk of losing all value of existence. “Let us assume that in the realm of morality the final distinctions are between good and evil.” In order for society to remain moral therefore; good must exist against evil. War, just war, or moral wars, is a fight for the maintaining of good and sustaining its separation from evil.
The Merciful War
The problem of men calling good things evil, and evil things good, is ever so present in reference to war. If one categorizes all war as wrong and all peace as good than history has been written in vain. Society has missed the meaning of life, the honor that accompanies our human heritage. We’ve seen this with the liberal definition society has granted war and peace. In the human cry for peace we’ve taken short cuts. We’ve mistaken peace for the mere absence of traditional war. Somehow all things that hold traditional war at bay have become good and desired. Could peace then perhaps ever be evil? In attempts to be civilized and merciful could we be running a graver course? Mercy is indeed human, civilized, and good. But so is justice. Are we, in the name of good, making room for evil? Are we in the name of mercy making an enemy of justice?
Many times the actual breach on humanity is near impossible to detect. The passivity resonated in John Lennon’s “imagine” for example, teaches society false pretenses about the reality of war. While much of the ideals expressed in his lyrics leave one yearning for unity and world serenity, it comes at a cost no political realist or idealist would be willing to pay. Furthermore, people of the world understand that opposition is the reality, and in that opposition also comes the nobility of the peace they seek. Peace is much more than the settling dust of once riotess streets, or the cooling of gun barrels. It is personal, perhaps even spiritual, and this inner peace is only acquired in the free expressions of the human heart, in the celebrations of individuality, in the existence of national identity, religion, heaven, and even hell…all concepts in which Lennon’s world is void of. In finding purposes worth living for, purposes worth dying for, humanity and history are explained. And perhaps the truest peace is found within the conscience of an individual finding a purpose beyond merely existing, a purpose not only in which they may die to preserve something bigger than self, but a purpose in which they are able to truly live.
In an attempt to not make a robber of mercy, one must recognize the need to fight or set right a wrong. In other words, one must recognize the true definition of peace. Inherently opposition will exist between good and evil, but friction is healthy and needed to secure the good. Therefore, traditional war could be an ally for good. It could be the byproduct of fighting that true violence against humanity. Mercy is more than the lack of physical violence. For in maintaining justice, in maintaining the rights of people, one shows a greater sense of mercy, and the benefactors of this mercy are those who rightfully have claim to it. War allows justice a voice. War allows balance. War grants good and evil to earn their place in society. Will the right always prevail? Perhaps not. But war grants the condition for right to have the chance of victory. And this chance, granted us by war, is far more ennobling than society’s forfeiting definition of peace.
Society has made a mess of mercy. It has made a mess of peace. Society wants forgiveness to replace accountability when no man has the right or power to deny evil of its consequences. Wrong must be challenged, otherwise it prevails, or worse it is mistaken for right. Sometimes challenging wrong requires physical violence. But this physical violence never supersedes the assault that first caused men to take up their swords. It can’t, for it has found justification. It won’t, for it wishes to be moral, and in its moral drive it finds moral bounds. This type of physical violence (often displayed as traditional war) is not only justified or moral, but it is necessary. If wrong is not challenged, evil runs its course leaving nothing but devastation in its wake. Certainly when men allow evil to reign there is little disputation and confrontation but there is also little of anything else. “Where they make a desert they call it peace” (Elshtain 126, 2003).
Defining Just War and the Just Soldier
Once we’ve established the vital need for war another debate consequently ensues. Just when is it justified? What are its boundaries? There are hundreds of philosophers and politicians alike that claim to have the answers. Many have valid points. Many do not. The wise are backed with moral reasoning. The cunning regrettably also appeal to some strand of morality making it near impossible to detect the sincere from the greedy. Yet the opinions of those found safely within the walls of parliament or of a classroom don’t really matter. In all actuality they are not the ones who start and end wars. Declarations are only declarations until someone draws his sword. Therefore, the closest we can get to discovering motives lies within the heart and mind of the soldier. This is the only level that really matters. They are wars real participants. Without them there is no war and with them the boundaries of battle are naturally defined.
In the fallen world in which we live, men are oft times willing to die for much less than an Eden, and the ethical wonder whether that makes their sacrifice more or less noble. Surely men shouldn’t die for just any cause. And yes there have been plenty of petty wars within history’s time. But who defines the petty from the pertinent? Even with moral grounds no man can declare war right or wrong safely from the sidelines. It is certainly easy from the fence to make judgments, but only one in the heat of battle can truly know whether the cause is worth fighting.
To protect the sanctity of life modern political theorist would argue that it is immoral to endanger lives when victory cannot be secured. Therefore the rules of engagement might state that unless one can win the battle, one has no business entering the war. But whose business is it really? Just as the tyrant has no business telling their men what their lives are worth, we shouldn’t attempt to tell men what their lives are not. Yet we do. When a battle suggests defeat, spectators esteem it an unethical pursuit. But in this, they make a grave mistake. Regardless of their good intent, they have assumed that victory was the warrior’s end and only pursuit. Or that victory is simply defined as surviving the battle. But for the moral soldier, there is a larger picture- religious, ethical, or otherwise. They see victory in the principles they die to protect. And they become victorious the instant the loss of those principles becomes their most trembling fear. If the principles are justifiable for a war of sound success, then those same principles would still be just and true in cases of defeat. Perhaps even more true with the shedding and sacrifice of innocent blood. Therefore; even in our ethical attempts to protect the line of humanity, we rescind it.
We minimalize the purposes of war if victory is justifications only ally. The story of Melos confirms that our ends cannot always explain our means. Melos was destined for defeat against Athens. And still, they fought. Let’s not dishonor their bravery by suggesting they thought victory possible. Their numbers were relatively few compared to the thousands of Athenian soldiers. The momentum of Athens alone would have given a less determined people cause to fold. But they didn’t. Surely the people of Melos knew their hours were numbered and it is likely their lives could have been spared if they bowed to Athenian rule. So were they immoral when they stood in front of their homes refusing to consent?
The same question could be asked thousands of years later. Were men of the Alamo immoral to stand against Santa Anna’s innumerable army? They had just received word that no reinforcements were coming. They still had time to escape. And yet there in the Texas sun, William B. Travis drew a line in the sand and asked who of the approximately 200 men would stay to meet the 1500 Mexican Soldiers. It would have been easy to run and maybe some would even argue moral. But instead they stayed. Instead they fought. Instead they died. And many would later cry, “Remember the Alamo.”
In the case of Melos and in the case of the Alamo modern political theory, cannot explain these tragic yet triumphant tales. Were these men blood thirsty? Were they looking to pick a fight? Or again, were there principles at play? Surely it would be the latter and surely American’s in particular can understand this concept. Yet much of modern American Sentiments are hostile towards war. They root their validation in the Weinberger Doctrine that clearly states; “U.S. troops should only be committed wholeheartedly and with the clear intention of winning. Otherwise, troops should not be committed”. Sadly the mentality of winning and winning without cost has become the American way (Schulzinger 273, 2008).
The Powell Doctrine makes progress on the Weinberger Doctrine. Instead of directly assuming victory, a more general question is asks; “Do we have a clear and attainable objective?” This petition seems more reasonable. It leaves room for potential objectives that have nothing to do with conquest and more to do with principle. Sadly public opinion sees no difference in the two and we are left desensitized to a base understanding of war. However, even when policy can’t make the distinction, the soldier can. And even when all else is against the situation, he alone can make any fight noble.
It was principles that caused Patrick Henry to invite death at the cost of liberty. It was principles that made Davy Crockett stand by the Alamo, or the Spartans to hold the Mountain Pass. Convenience was not the path traveled by history’s heroes, although it certainly was an option. And perhaps that is the reason History recalls their efforts and marks their place in time. These men had a truer perspective. They knew there was more to lose in retreat and they feared what would die if they weren’t willing to give their lives.
We must acknowledge those vital times of battle, and the heroic sacrifice of conflict’s participants. While the thirst of a soldier for blood should never be celebrated, there is something to be said about the willing. For “in whom should there be more love of peace than in him who alone can be harmed by war? (Machiavelli 1519, 4)” The soldier, before anyone, understands the risk of war, and yet so often they are the first to step forward when a breech in humanity has been made. The principles that govern, and motivate the moral soldier are inherent and not programmed by society. On the contrary, society is creating a self-serving man. One who is entitled to luxury and who strays far from inconvenience.
Politics and Religion: Allies of Peace
While men may be willing to sacrifice for much less than an Eden, others will continue to wonder the nobility of their fight. Let it be clear, that it is indeed noble and necessary. In a world lost to the passive, obsessed with safety, and devoid of duty, a selfishness ensues much more haunting than the realness of blood and the honesty of death. Acclaimed peace lovers don’t love peace, for in their passive attempts to produce it they eliminate all of its inherent appeal. The song Imagine has falsely diagnosed the absence of peace and made an enemy of countries, religion, heaven, and hell.
In his book “the Concept of the Political,” Carl Schmitt admits that the word Political has been regrettably misused. It has come to encompass too much of what it isn’t: namely; economics, ethics, science, and religion, and has yet to be seen as a legitimate human activity of its own. “Let us assume that in the realm of morality the final distinctions are between good and evil, in aesthetics beauty and ugly, in economics profitable and unprofitable.” Therefore, “the specific political distinction to which political actions and motives can be reduced is that between friend and enemy” (Schmitt 1996, 26). For Schmitt, the political enemy doesn’t have to be inherently evil, nor ugly and because this is so, politics must have a distinct realm separate from ethics or aesthetics. If we define politics in this way, as a unique and separate sphere of human activity, politics has some claim on what it means to be human. And the elimination of countries and government, as suggested by Lennon, is the elimination of some part of humanity (Schmitt 1996, Forward xv).
For Schmitt, politics is a system that rests on compromise. It is susceptible to change. Its unpredictability could be seen by pacifist as risky, and unnerving. But human nature too, is prone to change. Schmitt’s friend enemy distinction isn’t so much concerned about ‘who is on my side’, but claims that only by means of this distinction does the question of our willingness to take responsibility for our own lives arise. Each participant is [placed] in a position to judge whether the adversary intends to negate his opponent’s way of life and therefore must be repulsed or fought in order to preserve one’s own form of existence” (Schmitt 1996, xvi). The opposition that accompanies the friend enemy distinction of the political leads men to choices, and the very act of choosing leads humans to being.
The political allows for us to make distinctions separate from ethics or religion. The designating of an adversary, the repulsion, and even fighting Schmitt suggests allows for opposition to survive yet the political simultaneously exists to protect those very other spheres of human activity in which we engage. Without the political, anarchy reigns supreme, and while one might not have enemies, one also has no friends. Likewise, the ugly and beautiful, the good and evil are also there to be distinguished and the political stands as its defense against a numb neutrality. Lennon, in his plea for equality, couldn’t tell a weed from a flower. And in an attempt to rid the potential dangers of the thorn, he would forgo the entirety of the rose.
While government is far from perfect, why was the political established if not to persuade men to moral action and procure harmony? But that too is problematic for Lennon because morality does not exist in his sphere either. The preservation of religion, or at least a metaphoric heaven and hell is also important in maintaining a moral society. Not only does heaven and hell legitimize opposition but for the religious, it legitimizes their purpose in existence. Religion is how many come to understand happiness. It is another part of this human experience that cannot be replaced or forgotten with sky. There are ideals that extend beyond ones mortal frame. The belief in a heaven for example gives men reasons to live, and live well. And oft times if one cannot live well, one may find reasons to die well. For the goal is to secure a life worth living whether here or in the hereafter and ideally in both. This is not uncommon knowledge. Religion has been a part of history and a reason for war since the beginning of time. But somehow we’ve made an enemy of it. Somewhere along the line we’ve come to think its failed us, because blood has been spilled to protect it. We’ve claimed it hypocritical in its doctrine because to proclaim peace the religious have, at times, taken up their swords. We forget Cain and Abel in the beginning of the Bible and all the wars that follow thereafter. We’ve twisted the doctrine, the opposition found within the book’s pages, to give society a diluted form of religion- a more convenient religious experience. Sainthood is now a road traveled by many with very few bumps along the way.
Friction scares us. Rather than embrace the differences, and see religion in its true and intended state, it becomes easier for us to eliminate it, and anything else for that matter that causes a difference of opinion. It may be easy for Lennon, but it is hard to imagine a world without countries or religion. While boundaries and boarders whether physical or spiritual are prone to war, they are better than the alternative. And not just the lesser of two Evil’s but potentially they are the only source of good found within a fallen world. They have been established to protect those very fundamental beliefs, those God given human qualities. Religion particularly is one of our only attempts of escaping the evil and raising our vision. Nations too are the alternative to anarchy-a recipe for war. Religion and National borders are indeed some of the most controversial issues, and yet it is almost that very controversy that justifies they’re needed existence. The wind blows hardest at the tallest peaks.
Furthermore, Lennon has miss read the desires of man. For men’s action speak for what they desire and if one willingly walks into bloody rivers the reasons that compel him are more than “just sky” (Lennon, 1971). We must resist that which would make us numb to the beauty of sacrifice or make us beggars of meaning. We must recognize the purposes of war and the limiting necessity politics grants battle. The distinct spheres of good and evil makes violence an inevitable reality, therefore war is not only needful, but also noble in its attempts to designate the good from the evil and procure a true and lasting peace of soul and state.
The Art and Virtue of Sacrifice
There are worse things than war, if this wasn’t so history wouldn’t be stained with the blood of its writers. But can war ever be good? From the title of his book, Michael Ignatieff suggests that war is “The Lesser Evil,” but still implies war possessing an inherently evil character. Is this so? Is war only the least ugly amid wicked choices? While one must acknowledge the complications associated with the particulars of battle, violence in all its forms has been seen as the ultimate attack on humanity. The spilling of blood and the bruises of body are no doubt offensive to the eye, but do they always, in all its forms betray the heart?
The line of humanity can be breached in a number of ways, unnecessary bloodshed included, but the line is usually forfeited long before the first fallen. Government was designed as a means to protect all things civilized, a way to harness the capabilities of humans and distinguish us from that of other animals. But even government can run the risk of corruption…and a far grosser corruption at that. For in the very halls where men claim to know the will of God on matters of fairness and justice, are other men who seek to use such divinely inspired legislation for their own uses, their own desire for power. This attack on humanity, this definition of true war is often more subtle than the obvious hue of blood. But we must not be deceived. The civilized, while capable of rising above that of animal instinct, has also harbored the advancement of evil. Therefore violence, that true violence that penetrates the line of humanity, can now be tidily typed or elegantly expressed and be eerily mistaken for good.
Walzer claims, “War strips away our civilized adornments and reveals our nakedness.” But Machiavelli would say otherwise, “For all the arts that are ordered in a city for the sake of the common good of men, all the orders made there for living in fear of the law and of God would be in vain if their defenses were not prepared. When these defenses are well ordered, they maintain the arts and orders… [but] good orders without military help are disordered no differently than the rooms of a proud and regal palace when, by being uncovered they have nothing that might defend them against the rain even though they are ornamented with gems and gold” (The Art of War 1519, p. 4). Therefore; according to Machiavelli it is not war that strips us of the civilized adornments, but rather mans inability (or lack of desire) to defend them. No matter what gems and gold are found within a society, without the proper protection such adornments are stripped of their shine and left to tarnish.
The pacifist would make the realist develop justification for the atrocities associated with war’s use. But what excuses can and should be made for the atrocities that first caused men to take up their swords? For surely men wouldn’t choose the inhumane associated with battle if something hadn’t first proved even more base, even more atrocious. The taking away of that which makes us human, is not life itself. Surely men have the unalienable right to life, but they have much more than that. Trees’s live and breathe, dogs too, so there must be something else that makes us Earth’s dominant species. It is that something that we must preserve. Pacifists might say it is battle that makes us like animals. But it is in the heat of battle that men rise from animal instincts of survival and put on that human instinct of sacrifice. Our ability to love, to care more about a less tangible cause is that very something that separates us from all other creatures. No, dying is not our greatest fear.
If it wasn’t so, Hitler would have seen no need to change legislation against the Jew or establish the concentration camp. Before he killed the approximately 6 million innocent, he first robbed them of their valuables, their freedoms, and their dignity. He took everything from them that would establish any form of identity or grant them any status of human. All Jews were Sarah’s or Isaacs, and the “rat problem” once associated with the vermin metamorphosed into the Jew. Additionally, many of the prisoners considered dying the escape. The “lucky ones” were those who had been executed at camps initial arrival. A luxury that had been granted the original vermin seemed too good for the Jew. “Exposed -- legally, morally, and psychologically – the Jewish ‘perpetrators’ faced as a community their expulsion combined with demands for the repayment of affronted enjoyments, as well as demands for compensation for supposed injuries. Nazi leaders called upon citizens to take ‘defensive action’ against Jews, ‘the guilty ones’ who ‘live in our midst and day after day misuse the right to hospitality, which the German Volk has granted them.’ Past enjoyments by the Jewish community amounted to more than shelter by the larger community, the punishment more than exile” (Gilchrist 45, 20**).For the Jew, at the time of the Holocaust, the “striping away of civilized adornments,” the “nakedness,” Walzer refers to was a result of the lack of traditional war. Germany was in need of an intervention. If the United States had stepped in earlier much could have been done to prevent the genocide that occurred.
The death and violence associated with war seems far less crippling in comparison to those tidy, subtle acts of legislation like the Nuremberg laws. Inter arma enim silent leges is a Latin phrase meaning "For among [times of] arms, the laws fall mute," but perhaps the laws fell mute long before the first cry of a soldier. The Nuremberg laws at the time of Nazi Germany or the Hutu documents during the Rwanda genocide were not the obvious gore and guts a public sees with war. Rather such inhumanity was neatly typed and printed, eloquently addressed and daringly promoted all in the name of national hygiene. In the case of Germany, being a Jew was considered “unclean.” And sanitation was the policy. For the Rwandan, those that married or employed a Tutsi woman were considered “traitors”. This change in language, and eventually change in law, involved no drops of blood and yet fell far below any grave. While the goal is for men to arise above mortalities portion, we also become capable of sinking way below its intended sphere.
In the name of efficiency society has corrupted language and public opinion, limiting the meaning of war and making it only a synonym for evil. But the poet knows better. For the poet; war is the dance of opposition, the crashing of juxtaposed waves, the very designator of good and evil. The famous General Clausewitz has coined war as “the continuation of politics by other means” (Clausewitz, 1873). If politics maintains its original purpose: to establish peace, to persuade men to the proper, the moral, war is no longer the atrocious animalistic practice modern context has esteemed it, but rather it’s the logical human attempt of survival. Survival not as the animals would define it, but the survival of what it means to be human, the perpetuation of not only a population but of a purpose.
Those who claim the believers of war to lack reverence for humanity have failed in their accusation. In reality those willing to wage war can be among the best believers in humanity. War is only animalistic if physical survival is the goal. In actuality it is those that fear death, and death itself who are the real animals, for their instincts are far from selfless and their reasoning farther from truth. The warrior that can see war as the “art” and “virtú” Machiavelli defines it to be is not concerned with the physical survival of their fleshy frame but the continuance of the civilized (The Prince 1513, p. 41). They fight for continuity of compassion, love, respect, freedom, and belief. “People thought Cesare Borgia was cruel, but that cruelty of his reorganized Romagna, united it, and established it in peace and loyalty. Anyone who views the matter realistically will see that this prince was much more merciful than the people of Florence, who to avoid the reputation of cruelty, allowed Pistoia to be destroyed” (The Prince 1513, p.45).
Not only are men willing to sacrifice their physical selves for war and die for peace but like Cesar Borgia, some men are willing to live for it. No doubt he was hated and his actions questioned, but he sacrificed his reputation for the preservation of his people, the very people that would abuse him and his methods. War therefore doesn’t build character, but it reveals it. The art and virtue of man is discovered in times of battle. Either man rises to the occasion as a leader, soldier or spectator or fails to see the art and virtue in war’s purposes. Some shrink at battles presence others bask in its glory but the wise make the necessary sacrifices and think themselves no more than that of a human being, doing what human beings ought to do.
Warring For Heaven
And thus we see war finds its validation in the gross crimes of evil men. It finds its necessity in the protection of the line of humanity, and it finds its art and virtue in man’s willingness to sacrifice. It is not in the winning that man finds his success, but in his right and willingness to stand for principles. The very warring against evil procures victory. Evil is a reality in this mortal existence, and because of that reality war finds its place. War is not a lesser evil, but is a noble attempt to rise beyond evil, to refute its ever lingering presence. When one is willing to confront evil, to name it as such, and repel its infiltration one has succeeded in his attempts to find meaning, to find purpose, and to find peace.
It is our human nature to desire our own personal Eden’s and while pacifist dream of worlds of just sky, there is something innate in us that yearns for identity and meaning that can only come in the preservation of the political. Religion will continue to be a cause for war, but only because men see its importance above life. And who is to question the necessity of religion if one places it above food and air. Society would do without the friction that accompanies Heaven and Hell, but that friction is our only way to know peace. True peace, the kind found within hearts and minds. Many in today’s world “would bleed just to know [their] alive,” but such a line suggests they were dead long before any loss of blood (Goo Goo Dolls 1998). It is this loss of meaning that threatens our society. This type of violence, this delusional definition of peace is the risk we are taking with the ridding of war.
War is the pulse of the right and the good. It proves good still exists, that we refuse evil’s rein. It proves that men will be missed if they die and will have even more to live for. When we come to understand the hellish experience of war, we come to know a heavenly state of peace. And our willingness to go through hell and back tells us what we think of our heaven. If we wish to find our own individual Eden’s- not just filled with sky, but blooming with purpose and possibilities we must be willing to acknowledge the reality of our mortal state. The opposition of mortality is real. We must be ready for the friction that will inevitable ensue. But even in our friction we will have a peace more real than any piercing of flesh. Therefore; God be thanked for hell if it grants me heaven and God solicit war if provides me peace.
Annotated Bibliography
Machiavelli, Niccolo. 1513. The Prince. Edited and translated by Robert M. Adams. 1992. W.W. Norton and Company Inc.: New York.
The Prince shares the same basic argument that war is moral. The welfare of the whole is secured in the sometimes perceived cruel actions of the few. This is the basic argument of my paper. The realist is moral, and perhaps even more moral and selfless because their reputation as well as their very lives are at stake. I specifically cite Machaivelli’s example of Cesare Borgia, and how his ‘cruel” actions lead to a peaceful existence, while the people of Florence, in their self righteous peace allowed Pistoia to be destroyed. Machiavelli is my main source for this paper.
Machiavelli, Niccolo. 1519. The Art of War. Translated and Edited by Christopher Lynch. 2003. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago.
This work of Machiavelli’s is a lot more specific to war itself. It shows not only the justification for war but also wars necessity. I use Machiavelli’s metaphor of the palace without a roof to show the security that comes from the capabilities of war. It’s title The Art of War also alludes to the beauty of strategy, and sparked my argument for the poet’s understanding of war. Regardless about RMA (revolutions in military affairs) Machiavelli and I both believe “it is not impossible to bring the military back to its original modes and give it some form of virtue.” p. 4 This is one of my closing arguments.
Clausewitz, Carl Von. 1873. On War. Translated by Colonel J. J. Graham. N. Trubner: London.
I use his famous quote, “War is the continuation of politics by other means.” While my paper focuses little on this specific piece of literature, the general ideas and principles are applied.
Walzer, Michael. 2006. Just and Unjust Wars. Basic Books: New York.
This book was one of the primary inspirations for my paper. I argue what Walzer says about the brutality of war, but the questions he poses about what is just and unjust are intriguing. I use his same thought provoking style in a general way and tried to look at war from a new perspective. He briefly addresses examples like the Nuremberg Laws of Germany and the incident in Rwanda, which I use in my paper. Most of my conceptions about these incidents; however, were for the most part already formed.
Elshtain, Jean Bethke. 2003. Just War Against Terror. Basic Book: New York.
Elshtain was able to give me a female perspective to why war is just. She addresses the uncertainty religion specifically grants security, but she does nothing to suggest its elimination. This gave me hope and allowed me to solidify my argument that Lennon’s suggested “religion free” world was out of the question. She also distinguishes between the Conqueror, Just Warrior, and Pacifist. While she defines the motives and procedures of each, she does little to argue for a specific type of citizen. However; the flaws defined in the conqueror and pacifist, allowed me to make some conclusions that neither type is preferred. I argue they are both morally wrong from inherently different sides of the spectrum. I use her classification, to argue for the Just Warrior, and further my own argument, that pacifism is just as evil as the conqueror. Furthermore; I allude to Hitler being a conqueror type and Lennon being the pacifist.
Ignatieff, Michael. 2004. The Lesser Evil. Penguin Group: Canada.
The title of this book sparked my question if war was always, even in mild forms evil. What he had to say about war’s escalation always leading to nihilism was also an argument I debated. I also looked at Nihilism in depth: its first definition states: “the total rejection of established laws and institutions.” Which in reality is Lennon’s idea of peace (the elimination of politics). In actuality, I turned Ignatieff’s argument around in favor of war.
Gilchrist, Brent. (year). Myth, Magic, and Murder. Unpulished Manuscript: Brigham Young University n.d.
I used this manuscript to site the methods Hitler used against the Jews. This was part of my argument that death is not dehumanizing and that it is rather the law that failed and procured the brutal, unjust results of Nazi Germany. War, in hindsight would have been the saving grace for the Jews.
Schmitt, Carl. 1996. The Concept of the Political. University of Chicago Press: Chicago
This was insightful in regards to defining “politics” and the friend- enemy distinction. The morality of politics is largely based on how politics are initially perceived, and enemy’s don’t have to be inherently evil to be enemies. This I will use to address additional counter arguments. While the book is interesting, it is based on an idea of relativism. I do like; however that one can argue the realist point with the liberal argument. I’m not sure exactly how I will use this book yet, but many of the concepts are related to my theme.
Jarecki, Eugene. Why We Fight (Sundance Film Festival: Sony Pictures, 2005).
This I don’t use specifically as a source. But its general concepts and idea are applied.
The Traitors of our Hearts
By: McKell Myers
This morning I woke up. I got dressed and looked in the mirror. I wish I could say that I had liked what I had seen, but instead of the glamour…the beauty…the look of “unstoppable” written on a thin vibrant face, I saw me. The me that was there yesterday and that will no doubt be there tomorrow. The me that I regularly fought with and cried with. The me that had looked in that mirror on several occasions and had thought the words: ugly, fat, scared, dumb, unwanted. In that moment, I realized the enemy of my gender, the enemy of my soul, my happiness and success, was that same face looking back at me in the mirror. I was the villain and the victim, and my life would always foster that irony if I continued to let it.
Might I make a suggestion? Before we blame the kings and principalities, the tyrants and terrors of the world for the invisibility of God’s daughters, might we first consider the girl looking in the mirror? The girl allowing doubt and the frustrations of her time to weigh on her countenance and potential. The girl thinking that a choice had to be made between her dreams and goals. The girl knowing “her place” and feeling guilty for being unhappy with the cards her female heritage had dealt her. In essence, the girl that had forgotten who she was.
As I have pondered my own great destiny I have been conflicted with this idea of “choosing”; choosing between my life’s goal of creating and making a difference in society by way of some profession or another, and my eternal goals of having a family, of being a wife and mother. This struggle has weighed heavily on my mind, and beaten on my heart for several years now. In light of humbling events, personal prayer, and the words of a dear teacher I have come to some realizations. First, it wasn’t Mormon culture that made me want to be a mother. That desire was the most natural of instincts and most undisputable of decisions I have ever made. It was something that had been decided in me long before “beehives” and “miamaids”. Second, my desires to create and give the world some form of joy or truth by way of a profession wasn’t the influence of societal feminism but rather, also instinctive… dare I say, even God given.
For so long I thought these choices were waging war on one another; that I had one foot in God’s kingdom and one still in Babylon. Somewhere along the line I had forgotten that both desires had room in my heart and plan. One life pursuit wasn’t authored by the Church, and another authored by the world. Rather they were both written for me by a loving Heavenly Father who through a righteous Patriarch had made them known. The Holy Ghost was also my friend in confirming the goodness of these desires, and distilling the peace necessary to see the harmony of my future public and private life. These desires are both of eternal significance and are a part of my plan…the plan the Lord has specifically designed for me.
When daughters of God solely wish to do the Lord’s bidding there is no balancing act. There is no choosing, picking sides, or inner conflict. All her desires are good, and perhaps in performing one, she will be able to better fulfill the other. There is no room for apology, or justification. The Lord has spoken and that is enough. We will always be invisible to the rest of the world, if we first don’t wish to see ourselves. If we don’t let the guilt procured by our culture go, and fear the heavier guilt and Godly sorry that comes from living below our potential. How dare I wish for the girl in the mirror to disappear, to even consider getting back in bed and taking the easy road of life? How dare I believe that my Father in Heaven would instill in me desires and goals of which were conflicting in means and divulging in ends? Why would He give me personal commandments if He was not to aid my efforts and make it possible for me to accomplish them?
If our intent is to further the Lords work and prove ourselves, not to the world, not to men, but to Him…women have every reason to participate in the professional realm. If our desires are His, and our ambitions of a worthy cause, we have the right to look in the mirror and say as Moses did: “Get thee hence, Satan, deceive me not; for God said unto me; Thou art made after the similitude of mine Only begotten. And he also gave me commandments when he called unto me,” and I have every intention of delivering his people out of bondage. (Moses 1:16-17).
The freedom of a nation was contingent on Moses realizing who he was. In modern times we have dictators just as evil as the pharos of Egypt. Additionally, injustices against women specifically include Human Trafficking, Child Brides and young pregnancy, Female Genital Mutilation, the killing of new born daughters, and the educational oppression and torture of women. The children corresponding to such issues are also in need of deliverance. I recognize that this oppression and fallen patriarchy is oft times sickening and dark. Yet to do nothing would be to betray our sisters across the globe that do not have the luxury of turning from these realities and sharing in our ignorance.
LDS women are among the most qualified to see the needs of these damaged spirits. In light of the restored gospel not only do we spread the message of peace and goodwill through the raising of our children, but in the public spheres we qualify ourselves to enter. While culture may say: stay home, the title of Relief Society alone contradicts that message. The purity associated with women does not exist on account of pretending such realities don’t exist, but rather such purity is based in our knowledge and application of the Atonement… in our ability to see ourselves in the similitude of the Savior; to be His hands and voice for the hungry, naked, and afflicted (Matt 25:35-40). By turning our backs and covering the eyes of our children we betray them and the lessons we’ve tried to teach them. Hypocrisy clouds our divinely female heirship and covenants we made to bear one another’s burdens are broken (Mosiah 18: 8-10).
As I mentioned in my initial paper; women ought to interfere in political matters if only to make themselves visible to the governments of which they belong to. How? By taking their female instincts and looking outward. In this perspective, resume building has never been so selfless. Getting an education also becomes vital. How are we to help in matters of grave importance if we can’t recognize a wound or diagnose the damsel? However, it doesn’t end with a degree; for “intelligence without ambition is like a bird without wings” (Burton, 2009). Therefore, women ought to participate in the public and professional world. While spheres of influence will be specific for each woman, and the degree of involvement between them and the Lord, city councils, national governments, ambassadors, teachers, and doctors need to consist of both men and women, their needs as well as contributions will forever remain invisible if they don’t take their place alongside men in these pursuits.
The injustices that have for so long plagued Egypt and the world at large are dependent on God’s chosen to be who they were meant to be. The Lord prepared Moses before He withdrew, and I believe the Lord did the same with us. He reminded us again and again who we were before we came to earth. While Satan would have us forget, or distract us from our real mission, we must remember and echo the Lord’s loving voice to His other children. The fallen patriarchy the world has known, the pride, vanity, and degradation of women is simply the voice of Satan. He is belittling God’s daughters by making God’s sons after his own unglorified image, and having them speak the same fallen admonition of “worship me”(Moses 1:12). “Indeed, what Satan substitutes is a patriarchy based on fallen values of power and control and pride” (Hudson 2004, 165).
The cultural traditions that twist eternal truths and prohibit women from fulfilling their personal admonitions from the Lord are authored by the Father of Lies. “Therefore; wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion! Wo be unto him that crieth: all is well! (2 Nephi 28: 24-25). The perversions of which we witness aren’t from the patriarchal blessing we receive from the hands and voices of the Lords anointed, but rather from the wolves in sheep’s clothing that have intentionally or unintentionally adopted Satan’s role in the story found in Moses 1. While the priesthood will be held accountable for any practices of Fallen Patriarchy, women of the Church will also answer before the Lord for the “discharge of their obligations” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World).
Talents and abilities are unique in each woman, because each woman has a part to play in God’s plan. The bearing and raising of children is the most noble and rewarding role we may fulfill but our stewardship and contributions do not end there. They are the stepping stones for which we are able to nurture and care for all of God’s children. This covenant we also made and must keep for Exaltation. As I have pondered on the abilities the Lord has given me, I have been tempted at times to silence the voice in my head that says: “this is good, but there is more to be done.” How easy it is to hide behind cultural traditions and claim them as gospel principles; to wish for only a marriage out of my BYU experience rather than a degree and potentially demanding profession. However, the more I learn of my Savior and the more I become like Him, the more I want to help carry His heavy load. Becoming aware of the bondage my gender specifically experiences awakens me to action.
I will have a profession. Not for temporal gains, or recognition from the men in my life that said I couldn’t, but because the Lord has asked me to. I’m at peace with this because the Lord and I both know I want to be a mother above all else. I think He knows that He can trust me with other pursuits because I will never be deterred from my most fundamental female desire.
I looked in the mirror this morning, and had my doubts and disappointments, but then I got dressed, I got in the car and headed to Salt Lake for a conference meeting, a meeting consisting of all men with the exception of myself. This was a meeting for an organization in which I serve as the Executive Director of the Utah Federation of College Republicans. Not only did I identify my feminine qualities with needs the organization lacked, but I made notes as to how my gender would best support and aid in future political involvement. More importantly, the girl in the mirror realized that mirrors were overrated.
I am uncertain as to the specific profession the Lord has in store for me. But I am no longer afraid to consider the possibilities and desires found within my heart. Perhaps we can have everything, did not God promise us all that He has? I’m pretty sure that includes children as well as opportunities to create, lead, inspire, and be known to the world. The visibility of women begins in the mirror. It begins in the hearts of women who sustain the Lord’s Patriarchal Order and accepts the reflection of the Savior found in their countenances. As we are educated and exposed to the cruelties of a fallen world we will better be able to succor the needs of God’s children and fight against the injustices.
The value of each woman goes beyond the bearing and raising of children. If my mother’s primary mission was to help me in developing, I have to believe that the meaning of my life and the meaning of my mother’s efforts were for a grandeur purpose than the simple perpetuation of a population. Motherhood is the perpetuating of all things human, beautiful, and good. We know the Lord loves us, not just because He grants us air to breath and food to eat, but because He also planted flowers and painted sunsets. In Him becoming all that He is, we have the opportunity to do likewise. Mothers pack those Cheerio snacks and tuck your children into bed, for our souls are saved in these very acts. But when your children dream, and they will, let it be because they had mothers who showed them how.
William Shakespeare once said: “our doubts make us traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” The Lord wants us arriving at His judgment bar with worn hands and bloody knees, minds full of wisdom and experiences, and hearts overflowing with love and compassion. In order for the homemaker to understand her potential as a maker of worlds she must no doubt step from the safety of her kitchen, garden, or sewing room and walk among her brothers as an equal and a contributor. Women of faith aren’t fearful in attempting greatness or doing great things, in fact they seek such opportunities…but only to glory in their God.
While the realities of oppression are all around us and the world will no doubt have to answer for such crimes, women must become their own best advocates. Hatred against women is too often harbored in the female heart. The limitations and weakness the world associates with femininity tempts us to despise and betray those very qualities within us that would set us free. Through education, resume building, and preparing for professions, we make ourselves accessible to the Lord for his work and glory. While much of the qualifications and hoops we jump through are of a mortal making, doing so will demand the attention necessary to be influential as a representative of our gender. We must forgo the cookie cutter mother syndrome. We must trade in the perfectly manicured nails and trips to the mall for some heavy lifting and demanding work. Mothers who are at ease in Zion may hide behind the crafts or pot luck dinners but women of faith hear the cries of all God’s children. In their fearless attempts to dry the eyes of nations, to perpetuate love not just life, they become the kind of mothers the Lord intended them to be.
REFERENCES
Burton, David H.2009.These are the Times. Devotional given on December 1 at Brigham Young University.
Hudson, Valerie, and Alma Don Sorensen. 2004. Women in eternity women of Zion. Cedar Fort Inc.
The Family: a Proclamation to the World. 1995. The First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Moses 1
Matthew 25: 35-40
Mosiah 18: 8-10
2 Nephi 28: 24-25
This morning I woke up. I got dressed and looked in the mirror. I wish I could say that I had liked what I had seen, but instead of the glamour…the beauty…the look of “unstoppable” written on a thin vibrant face, I saw me. The me that was there yesterday and that will no doubt be there tomorrow. The me that I regularly fought with and cried with. The me that had looked in that mirror on several occasions and had thought the words: ugly, fat, scared, dumb, unwanted. In that moment, I realized the enemy of my gender, the enemy of my soul, my happiness and success, was that same face looking back at me in the mirror. I was the villain and the victim, and my life would always foster that irony if I continued to let it.
Might I make a suggestion? Before we blame the kings and principalities, the tyrants and terrors of the world for the invisibility of God’s daughters, might we first consider the girl looking in the mirror? The girl allowing doubt and the frustrations of her time to weigh on her countenance and potential. The girl thinking that a choice had to be made between her dreams and goals. The girl knowing “her place” and feeling guilty for being unhappy with the cards her female heritage had dealt her. In essence, the girl that had forgotten who she was.
As I have pondered my own great destiny I have been conflicted with this idea of “choosing”; choosing between my life’s goal of creating and making a difference in society by way of some profession or another, and my eternal goals of having a family, of being a wife and mother. This struggle has weighed heavily on my mind, and beaten on my heart for several years now. In light of humbling events, personal prayer, and the words of a dear teacher I have come to some realizations. First, it wasn’t Mormon culture that made me want to be a mother. That desire was the most natural of instincts and most undisputable of decisions I have ever made. It was something that had been decided in me long before “beehives” and “miamaids”. Second, my desires to create and give the world some form of joy or truth by way of a profession wasn’t the influence of societal feminism but rather, also instinctive… dare I say, even God given.
For so long I thought these choices were waging war on one another; that I had one foot in God’s kingdom and one still in Babylon. Somewhere along the line I had forgotten that both desires had room in my heart and plan. One life pursuit wasn’t authored by the Church, and another authored by the world. Rather they were both written for me by a loving Heavenly Father who through a righteous Patriarch had made them known. The Holy Ghost was also my friend in confirming the goodness of these desires, and distilling the peace necessary to see the harmony of my future public and private life. These desires are both of eternal significance and are a part of my plan…the plan the Lord has specifically designed for me.
When daughters of God solely wish to do the Lord’s bidding there is no balancing act. There is no choosing, picking sides, or inner conflict. All her desires are good, and perhaps in performing one, she will be able to better fulfill the other. There is no room for apology, or justification. The Lord has spoken and that is enough. We will always be invisible to the rest of the world, if we first don’t wish to see ourselves. If we don’t let the guilt procured by our culture go, and fear the heavier guilt and Godly sorry that comes from living below our potential. How dare I wish for the girl in the mirror to disappear, to even consider getting back in bed and taking the easy road of life? How dare I believe that my Father in Heaven would instill in me desires and goals of which were conflicting in means and divulging in ends? Why would He give me personal commandments if He was not to aid my efforts and make it possible for me to accomplish them?
If our intent is to further the Lords work and prove ourselves, not to the world, not to men, but to Him…women have every reason to participate in the professional realm. If our desires are His, and our ambitions of a worthy cause, we have the right to look in the mirror and say as Moses did: “Get thee hence, Satan, deceive me not; for God said unto me; Thou art made after the similitude of mine Only begotten. And he also gave me commandments when he called unto me,” and I have every intention of delivering his people out of bondage. (Moses 1:16-17).
The freedom of a nation was contingent on Moses realizing who he was. In modern times we have dictators just as evil as the pharos of Egypt. Additionally, injustices against women specifically include Human Trafficking, Child Brides and young pregnancy, Female Genital Mutilation, the killing of new born daughters, and the educational oppression and torture of women. The children corresponding to such issues are also in need of deliverance. I recognize that this oppression and fallen patriarchy is oft times sickening and dark. Yet to do nothing would be to betray our sisters across the globe that do not have the luxury of turning from these realities and sharing in our ignorance.
LDS women are among the most qualified to see the needs of these damaged spirits. In light of the restored gospel not only do we spread the message of peace and goodwill through the raising of our children, but in the public spheres we qualify ourselves to enter. While culture may say: stay home, the title of Relief Society alone contradicts that message. The purity associated with women does not exist on account of pretending such realities don’t exist, but rather such purity is based in our knowledge and application of the Atonement… in our ability to see ourselves in the similitude of the Savior; to be His hands and voice for the hungry, naked, and afflicted (Matt 25:35-40). By turning our backs and covering the eyes of our children we betray them and the lessons we’ve tried to teach them. Hypocrisy clouds our divinely female heirship and covenants we made to bear one another’s burdens are broken (Mosiah 18: 8-10).
As I mentioned in my initial paper; women ought to interfere in political matters if only to make themselves visible to the governments of which they belong to. How? By taking their female instincts and looking outward. In this perspective, resume building has never been so selfless. Getting an education also becomes vital. How are we to help in matters of grave importance if we can’t recognize a wound or diagnose the damsel? However, it doesn’t end with a degree; for “intelligence without ambition is like a bird without wings” (Burton, 2009). Therefore, women ought to participate in the public and professional world. While spheres of influence will be specific for each woman, and the degree of involvement between them and the Lord, city councils, national governments, ambassadors, teachers, and doctors need to consist of both men and women, their needs as well as contributions will forever remain invisible if they don’t take their place alongside men in these pursuits.
The injustices that have for so long plagued Egypt and the world at large are dependent on God’s chosen to be who they were meant to be. The Lord prepared Moses before He withdrew, and I believe the Lord did the same with us. He reminded us again and again who we were before we came to earth. While Satan would have us forget, or distract us from our real mission, we must remember and echo the Lord’s loving voice to His other children. The fallen patriarchy the world has known, the pride, vanity, and degradation of women is simply the voice of Satan. He is belittling God’s daughters by making God’s sons after his own unglorified image, and having them speak the same fallen admonition of “worship me”(Moses 1:12). “Indeed, what Satan substitutes is a patriarchy based on fallen values of power and control and pride” (Hudson 2004, 165).
The cultural traditions that twist eternal truths and prohibit women from fulfilling their personal admonitions from the Lord are authored by the Father of Lies. “Therefore; wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion! Wo be unto him that crieth: all is well! (2 Nephi 28: 24-25). The perversions of which we witness aren’t from the patriarchal blessing we receive from the hands and voices of the Lords anointed, but rather from the wolves in sheep’s clothing that have intentionally or unintentionally adopted Satan’s role in the story found in Moses 1. While the priesthood will be held accountable for any practices of Fallen Patriarchy, women of the Church will also answer before the Lord for the “discharge of their obligations” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World).
Talents and abilities are unique in each woman, because each woman has a part to play in God’s plan. The bearing and raising of children is the most noble and rewarding role we may fulfill but our stewardship and contributions do not end there. They are the stepping stones for which we are able to nurture and care for all of God’s children. This covenant we also made and must keep for Exaltation. As I have pondered on the abilities the Lord has given me, I have been tempted at times to silence the voice in my head that says: “this is good, but there is more to be done.” How easy it is to hide behind cultural traditions and claim them as gospel principles; to wish for only a marriage out of my BYU experience rather than a degree and potentially demanding profession. However, the more I learn of my Savior and the more I become like Him, the more I want to help carry His heavy load. Becoming aware of the bondage my gender specifically experiences awakens me to action.
I will have a profession. Not for temporal gains, or recognition from the men in my life that said I couldn’t, but because the Lord has asked me to. I’m at peace with this because the Lord and I both know I want to be a mother above all else. I think He knows that He can trust me with other pursuits because I will never be deterred from my most fundamental female desire.
I looked in the mirror this morning, and had my doubts and disappointments, but then I got dressed, I got in the car and headed to Salt Lake for a conference meeting, a meeting consisting of all men with the exception of myself. This was a meeting for an organization in which I serve as the Executive Director of the Utah Federation of College Republicans. Not only did I identify my feminine qualities with needs the organization lacked, but I made notes as to how my gender would best support and aid in future political involvement. More importantly, the girl in the mirror realized that mirrors were overrated.
I am uncertain as to the specific profession the Lord has in store for me. But I am no longer afraid to consider the possibilities and desires found within my heart. Perhaps we can have everything, did not God promise us all that He has? I’m pretty sure that includes children as well as opportunities to create, lead, inspire, and be known to the world. The visibility of women begins in the mirror. It begins in the hearts of women who sustain the Lord’s Patriarchal Order and accepts the reflection of the Savior found in their countenances. As we are educated and exposed to the cruelties of a fallen world we will better be able to succor the needs of God’s children and fight against the injustices.
The value of each woman goes beyond the bearing and raising of children. If my mother’s primary mission was to help me in developing, I have to believe that the meaning of my life and the meaning of my mother’s efforts were for a grandeur purpose than the simple perpetuation of a population. Motherhood is the perpetuating of all things human, beautiful, and good. We know the Lord loves us, not just because He grants us air to breath and food to eat, but because He also planted flowers and painted sunsets. In Him becoming all that He is, we have the opportunity to do likewise. Mothers pack those Cheerio snacks and tuck your children into bed, for our souls are saved in these very acts. But when your children dream, and they will, let it be because they had mothers who showed them how.
William Shakespeare once said: “our doubts make us traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” The Lord wants us arriving at His judgment bar with worn hands and bloody knees, minds full of wisdom and experiences, and hearts overflowing with love and compassion. In order for the homemaker to understand her potential as a maker of worlds she must no doubt step from the safety of her kitchen, garden, or sewing room and walk among her brothers as an equal and a contributor. Women of faith aren’t fearful in attempting greatness or doing great things, in fact they seek such opportunities…but only to glory in their God.
While the realities of oppression are all around us and the world will no doubt have to answer for such crimes, women must become their own best advocates. Hatred against women is too often harbored in the female heart. The limitations and weakness the world associates with femininity tempts us to despise and betray those very qualities within us that would set us free. Through education, resume building, and preparing for professions, we make ourselves accessible to the Lord for his work and glory. While much of the qualifications and hoops we jump through are of a mortal making, doing so will demand the attention necessary to be influential as a representative of our gender. We must forgo the cookie cutter mother syndrome. We must trade in the perfectly manicured nails and trips to the mall for some heavy lifting and demanding work. Mothers who are at ease in Zion may hide behind the crafts or pot luck dinners but women of faith hear the cries of all God’s children. In their fearless attempts to dry the eyes of nations, to perpetuate love not just life, they become the kind of mothers the Lord intended them to be.
REFERENCES
Burton, David H.2009.These are the Times. Devotional given on December 1 at Brigham Young University.
Hudson, Valerie, and Alma Don Sorensen. 2004. Women in eternity women of Zion. Cedar Fort Inc.
The Family: a Proclamation to the World. 1995. The First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Moses 1
Matthew 25: 35-40
Mosiah 18: 8-10
2 Nephi 28: 24-25
Declaration of Independence
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
Constitution
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.
Article 1.
Section 1
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the
United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
Section 2
The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second
Year by 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 apportioned among the several States
which may be included within this Union, according to their 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
taxed, 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 Plantations 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.
Section 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, be 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 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 be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the
United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be
convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.
Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from
Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or
Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be
liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to
Law.
Section 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.
Section 5
Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications 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
Secrecy; 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.
Section 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 the
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 increased
during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States,
shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.
Section 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.
Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate,
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.
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 repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according
to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.
Section 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;
To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and
with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject
of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the
Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin
of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;
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;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and
Offenses against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning
Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be
for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union,
suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
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;
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
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.
Section 9
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.
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.
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
No capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the
Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.
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.
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.
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, of any kind
whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State.
Section 10
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.
No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties
on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing
its inspection Laws: and the net 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 Control
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.
Article 2.
Section 1
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of
America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together
with the Vice-President chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct,
a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives
to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or
Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United
States, shall be appointed an Elector.
The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two
persons, of whom one at least shall not lie an Inhabitant of the same State
with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and
of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and
transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to
the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence
of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the
Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes
shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of
Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and
have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall
immediately choose by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a
Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like
Manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the Votes shall be
taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; a quorum
for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two-thirds of the
States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In
every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest
Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there
should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall choose from
them by Ballot the Vice-President.
The Congress may determine the Time of choosing the Electors, and the Day on
which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the
United States.
No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at
the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office
of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not
have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a
Resident within the United States.
In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death,
Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said
Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by
Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of
the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as
President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be
removed, or a President shall be elected.
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation,
which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he
shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other
Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following
Oath or Affirmation:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of
President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve,
protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Section 2
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United
States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual
Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the
principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any subject
relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to
Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in
Cases of Impeachment.
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make
Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall
nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint
Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court,
and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein
otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress
may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think
proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of
Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during
the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End
of their next Session.
Section 3
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the
Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge
necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both
Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with
Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he
shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he
shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all
the Officers of the United States.
Section 4
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States,
shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason,
Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Article 3.
Section 1
The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court,
and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and
establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold
their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for
their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their
Continuance in Office.
Section 2
The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under
this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which
shall be made, under their Authority; to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other
public Ministers and Consuls; to all Cases of admiralty and maritime
Jurisdiction; to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party; to
Controversies between two or more States; between a State and Citizens of
another State; between Citizens of different States; between Citizens of the
same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a
State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.
In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and
those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original
Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall
have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and
under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.
The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and
such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been
committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such
Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.
Section 3
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against
them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person
shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the
same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no
Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except
during the Life of the Person attainted.
Article 4.
Section 1
Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records,
and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general
Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be
proved, and the Effect thereof.
Section 2
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities
of Citizens in the several States.
A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall
flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on demand of the
executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be
removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.
No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof,
escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein,
be discharged from such Service or Labour, But shall be delivered up on Claim
of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.
Section 3
New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new States
shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any
State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or parts of States,
without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of
the Congress.
The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and
Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United
States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice
any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.
Section 4
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican
Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on
Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature
cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.
Article 5.
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall
propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the
Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for
proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and
Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of
three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths
thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the
Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One
thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and
fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State,
without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
Article 6.
All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this
Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this
Constitution, as under the Confederation.
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in
Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the
Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the
Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or
Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the
several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of
the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or
Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be
required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United
States.
Article 7.
The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the
Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.
Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the
Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred
and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the
Twelfth. In Witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names.
George Washington – President and deputy from Virginia
New Hampshire – John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman
Massachusetts – Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King
Connecticut – William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman
New York – Alexander Hamilton
New Jersey – William Livingston, David Brearley, William Paterson, Jonathan
Dayton
Pennsylvania – Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George Clymer,
Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouvernour Morris
Delaware – George Read, Gunning Bedford Jr., John Dickinson, Richard Bassett,
Jacob Broom
Maryland – James McHenry, Daniel of St Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll
Virginia – John Blair, James Madison Jr.
North Carolina – William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson
South Carolina – John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney,
Pierce Butler
Georgia – William Few, Abraham Baldwin
Attest: William Jackson, Secretary
Amendment 1
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.
Amendment 2
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the
right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment 3
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the
consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by
law.
Amendment 4
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.
Amendment 5
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime,
unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising
in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time
of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense
to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any
criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be
taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment 6
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and
public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime
shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously
ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the
accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory
process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of
Counsel for his defence.
Amendment 7
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty
dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a
jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than
according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment 8
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel
and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment 9
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed
to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment 10
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to
the people.
Amendment 11
The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any
suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States
by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.
Amendment 12
The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for
President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant
of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person
voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as
Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as
President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President and of the number of
votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to
the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of
the Senate;
The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of
Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;
The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the
President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors
appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having
the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as
President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot,
the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by
states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this
purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and
a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House
of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice
shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then
the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other
constitutional disability of the President.
The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the
Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors
appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers
on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the
purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a
majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person
constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to
that of Vice-President of the United States.
Amendment 13
1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime
whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United
States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Amendment 14
1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State
wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge
the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any
State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of
law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the
laws.
2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to
their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State,
excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the
choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States,
Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or
the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male
inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the
United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion,
or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the
proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole
number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of
President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the
United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a
member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of
any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to
support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in
insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the
enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove
such disability.
4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law,
including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in
suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the
United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred
in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for
the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and
claims shall be held illegal and void.
5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the
provisions of this article.
Amendment 15
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or
previous condition of servitude.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Amendment 16
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from
whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and
without regard to any census or enumeration.
Amendment 17
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each
State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall
have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications
requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the
executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such
vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the
executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the
vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of
any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.
Amendment 18
1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale,
or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into,
or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to
the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce
this article by appropriate legislation.
3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an
amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as
provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the
submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
Amendment 19
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 20
1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th
day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d
day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this
article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then
begin.
2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting
shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint
a different day.
3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the
President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become
President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for
the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to
qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President
shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein
neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified,
declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to
act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President
or Vice President shall have qualified.
4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the
persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever
the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the
death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President
whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.
5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the
ratification of this article.
6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an
amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the
several States within seven years from the date of its submission.
Amendment 21
1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States
is hereby repealed.
2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession
of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in
violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.
3. The article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an
amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided
in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof
to the States by the Congress.
Amendment 22
1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,
and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for
more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President
shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this
Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President, when this
Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may
be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term
within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of
President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.
2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an
amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the
several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States
by the Congress.
Amendment 23
1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall
appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct: A number of electors of
President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and
Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were
a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in
addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for
the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors
appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such
duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Amendment 24
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other
election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or
Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to
pay any poll tax or other tax.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Amendment 25
1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or
resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the
President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon
confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he
is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he
transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties
shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers
of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law
provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of
the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is
unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President
shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting
President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the
Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration
that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office
unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of
the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide,
transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the
President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon
Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty eight hours for that
purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty one days after
receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session,
within twenty one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by
two thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the
powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge
the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers
and duties of his office.
Amendment 26
1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or
older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any
State on account of age.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Amendment 27
No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and
Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall
have intervened.
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.
Article 1.
Section 1
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the
United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
Section 2
The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second
Year by 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 apportioned among the several States
which may be included within this Union, according to their 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
taxed, 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 Plantations 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.
Section 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, be 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 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 be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the
United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be
convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.
Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from
Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or
Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be
liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to
Law.
Section 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.
Section 5
Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications 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
Secrecy; 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.
Section 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 the
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 increased
during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States,
shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.
Section 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.
Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate,
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.
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 repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according
to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.
Section 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;
To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and
with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject
of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the
Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin
of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;
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;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and
Offenses against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning
Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be
for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union,
suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
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;
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
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.
Section 9
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.
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.
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
No capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the
Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.
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.
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.
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, of any kind
whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State.
Section 10
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.
No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties
on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing
its inspection Laws: and the net 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 Control
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.
Article 2.
Section 1
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of
America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together
with the Vice-President chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct,
a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives
to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or
Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United
States, shall be appointed an Elector.
The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two
persons, of whom one at least shall not lie an Inhabitant of the same State
with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and
of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and
transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to
the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence
of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the
Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes
shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of
Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and
have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall
immediately choose by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a
Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like
Manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the Votes shall be
taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; a quorum
for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two-thirds of the
States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In
every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest
Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there
should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall choose from
them by Ballot the Vice-President.
The Congress may determine the Time of choosing the Electors, and the Day on
which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the
United States.
No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at
the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office
of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not
have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a
Resident within the United States.
In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death,
Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said
Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by
Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of
the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as
President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be
removed, or a President shall be elected.
The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation,
which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he
shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other
Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following
Oath or Affirmation:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of
President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve,
protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Section 2
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United
States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual
Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the
principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any subject
relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to
Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in
Cases of Impeachment.
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make
Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall
nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint
Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court,
and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein
otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress
may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think
proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of
Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during
the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End
of their next Session.
Section 3
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the
Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge
necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both
Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with
Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he
shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he
shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all
the Officers of the United States.
Section 4
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States,
shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason,
Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Article 3.
Section 1
The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court,
and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and
establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold
their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for
their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their
Continuance in Office.
Section 2
The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under
this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which
shall be made, under their Authority; to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other
public Ministers and Consuls; to all Cases of admiralty and maritime
Jurisdiction; to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party; to
Controversies between two or more States; between a State and Citizens of
another State; between Citizens of different States; between Citizens of the
same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a
State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.
In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and
those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original
Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall
have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and
under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.
The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and
such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been
committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such
Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.
Section 3
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against
them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person
shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the
same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no
Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except
during the Life of the Person attainted.
Article 4.
Section 1
Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records,
and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general
Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be
proved, and the Effect thereof.
Section 2
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities
of Citizens in the several States.
A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall
flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on demand of the
executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be
removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.
No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof,
escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein,
be discharged from such Service or Labour, But shall be delivered up on Claim
of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.
Section 3
New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new States
shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any
State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or parts of States,
without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of
the Congress.
The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and
Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United
States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice
any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.
Section 4
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican
Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on
Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature
cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.
Article 5.
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall
propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the
Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for
proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and
Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of
three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths
thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the
Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One
thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and
fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State,
without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
Article 6.
All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this
Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this
Constitution, as under the Confederation.
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in
Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the
Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the
Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or
Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the
several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of
the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or
Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be
required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United
States.
Article 7.
The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the
Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.
Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the
Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred
and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the
Twelfth. In Witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names.
George Washington – President and deputy from Virginia
New Hampshire – John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman
Massachusetts – Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King
Connecticut – William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman
New York – Alexander Hamilton
New Jersey – William Livingston, David Brearley, William Paterson, Jonathan
Dayton
Pennsylvania – Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George Clymer,
Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouvernour Morris
Delaware – George Read, Gunning Bedford Jr., John Dickinson, Richard Bassett,
Jacob Broom
Maryland – James McHenry, Daniel of St Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll
Virginia – John Blair, James Madison Jr.
North Carolina – William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson
South Carolina – John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinckney,
Pierce Butler
Georgia – William Few, Abraham Baldwin
Attest: William Jackson, Secretary
Amendment 1
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.
Amendment 2
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the
right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment 3
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the
consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by
law.
Amendment 4
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.
Amendment 5
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime,
unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising
in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time
of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense
to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any
criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be
taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment 6
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and
public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime
shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously
ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the
accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory
process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of
Counsel for his defence.
Amendment 7
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty
dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a
jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than
according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment 8
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel
and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment 9
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed
to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment 10
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to
the people.
Amendment 11
The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any
suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States
by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.
Amendment 12
The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for
President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant
of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person
voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as
Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as
President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President and of the number of
votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to
the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of
the Senate;
The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of
Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;
The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the
President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors
appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having
the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as
President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot,
the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by
states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this
purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and
a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House
of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice
shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then
the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other
constitutional disability of the President.
The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the
Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors
appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers
on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the
purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a
majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person
constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to
that of Vice-President of the United States.
Amendment 13
1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime
whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United
States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Amendment 14
1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State
wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge
the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any
State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of
law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the
laws.
2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to
their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State,
excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the
choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States,
Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or
the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male
inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the
United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion,
or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the
proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole
number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of
President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the
United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a
member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of
any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to
support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in
insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the
enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove
such disability.
4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law,
including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in
suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the
United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred
in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for
the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and
claims shall be held illegal and void.
5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the
provisions of this article.
Amendment 15
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or
previous condition of servitude.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Amendment 16
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from
whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and
without regard to any census or enumeration.
Amendment 17
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each
State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall
have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications
requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the
executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such
vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the
executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the
vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of
any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.
Amendment 18
1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale,
or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into,
or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to
the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce
this article by appropriate legislation.
3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an
amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as
provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the
submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
Amendment 19
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 20
1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th
day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d
day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this
article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then
begin.
2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting
shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint
a different day.
3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the
President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become
President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for
the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to
qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President
shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein
neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified,
declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to
act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President
or Vice President shall have qualified.
4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the
persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever
the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the
death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President
whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.
5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October following the
ratification of this article.
6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an
amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the
several States within seven years from the date of its submission.
Amendment 21
1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States
is hereby repealed.
2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession
of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in
violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.
3. The article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an
amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided
in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof
to the States by the Congress.
Amendment 22
1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,
and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for
more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President
shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this
Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President, when this
Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may
be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term
within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of
President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.
2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an
amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the
several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States
by the Congress.
Amendment 23
1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall
appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct: A number of electors of
President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and
Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were
a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in
addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for
the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors
appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such
duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Amendment 24
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other
election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or
Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to
pay any poll tax or other tax.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Amendment 25
1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or
resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the
President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon
confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he
is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he
transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties
shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers
of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law
provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of
the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is
unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President
shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting
President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the
Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration
that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office
unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of
the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide,
transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the
President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon
Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty eight hours for that
purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty one days after
receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session,
within twenty one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by
two thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the
powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge
the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers
and duties of his office.
Amendment 26
1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or
older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any
State on account of age.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
Amendment 27
No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and
Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall
have intervened.
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