United States Constititution
The Importance of the United States Constitution Source: whitehouse.gov
T he need for the Constitution grew out of problems with the an older agree- ment, the Articles of Confederation, which established a “firm league of friendship” between the States, and vested most power in a Congress of the Confederation. This power was, however, extremely limited. Each State sent a delegation of between two and seven members to the Congress, and they voted with each State getting one vote. But any de- cision of consequence required a unanimous vote, which led to a government that was ineffectual. A chief aim of the Constitution as drafted by the Convention was to create a government with enough power to act on a national level, but without so much power that fundamental rights would be at risk. One way that this was accomplished was to separate the power of government into three branches, and then to include checks and balances on those powers to assure that no one branch of government gained supremacy.
States are required to give “full faith and credit” to the laws, records, contracts, and judicial proceedings.
The founders also took pains to establish the relationship between the States. States are required to give “full faith and credit” to the laws, records, contracts, and judicial proceed- ings of the other States. The founders also specified a process by which the Constitution may be amended, and since its ratification, the Constitution has been amended 27 times. In order to prevent unnecessary changes, the process for making amendments must be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress, then be verified by three-fourths of the State legislatures, or three-fourths of conventions called in each State for ratification, all within a several year period.
The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to speak openly and candidly on the subject of race, and to apply the Constitution with eyes open to the unfortunate effects of centuries of racial discrimination. Sonia Sotomayor Sonia Maria Sotomayor is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated and appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009. She is the third woman, first woman of color, the first Hispanic, and first Latina to serve on the Supreme Court.
42 | United States Constitution
Students Pocket Guide for Civic Engagement
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