CHAPTER IV

ESSENTIALS OF AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL

GOVERNMENT

19. Individual rights under the Federal Constitution 1

tion that the Consti

tution did

not adequately protect in

dividual

rights.

Having been ratified by the requisite number of states, the Federal The objecConstitution was set to work on April 30, 1789, with George Washington as first President of the United States. The Constitution as submitted to the people in 1787 contained several specific guarantees of personal liberty, but many people objected that these did not adequately protect the rights of the individual against governmental oppression. In some states members of the legislature voted for the new Constitution with the understanding that additional guarantees of personal liberty would at once be appended to the Constitution. This was done in 1791, when a number of amendments were adopted in a body. At the present time the following are the chief guarantees of personal rights which are contained in the Federal Constitution and the amendments thereto:

and immunities.

Art. IV. Sect. II. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to Privileges all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states. Art. I. Sect. IX. . . . 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. Amendment I. 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 II. 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.

1 From the Constitution of the United States.

Habeas corpus, etc.

Freedom of religion, speech, and the press.

Right to keep and

bear arms.

The quartering of soldiers.

The regulation of

search and

seizure.

The protection of life, liberty, and property.

Protection in criminal prosecutions.

Suits at

common law.

Bail and punishments.

Rights re

tained by the people.

Amendment III. 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 IV. 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 V. 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 VI. 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 defense.

Amendment VII. 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 reëxamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII.

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. Amendment IX. The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

States' rights the

source of

debate in the Consti

of 1787.

20. States' rights under the Federal Constitution 1 Some of the bitterest and most protracted debates in the Constitutional Convention of 1787 hinged upon the status of the states in the proposed union. Realizing that a chief weakness of the old extended Confederation government had been the inadequacy of the powers granted to the Congress, many delegates insisted that the powers tutional Convention of the national government be markedly increased. Fearing that a marked increase in the powers of the national government would endanger the position of the individual states, other delegates insisted that the constitution under debate allow the states to retain most essential powers. The result was a compromise: a strong national government was created, but states' rights were safeguarded. The following are the chief constitutional provisions which safeguard states' rights, either by imposing limitations upon the Federal government, or by the Federal guarantee of certain rights to the states, or by the Federal regulation of interstate relations: Art. I. Sect. IX. . . . No capitation or other direct tax shall be Powers laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken.2

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.

...

denied to

the Federal government.

Art. IV. Sect. I. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state Interstate to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other relations. 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.

1 From the Constitution of the United States.

? The Sixteenth Amendment exempts the Federal income tax from the operation of this provision.

Federal guarantees to the

states.

Residual

powers of the states.

The Constitution likewise in

sures a strong Federal government.

Powers denied to the states.

Art. IV. Sect. "I. 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 labor 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 labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due.

Art. IV. Sect. IV. 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.

Amendment X. 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.

21. The powers of the Federal government 1

But though the Federal Constitution contains numerous provisions designed to safeguard the rights of the states, that document also provides for a strong national government. Two types of constitutional provisions operate to give the Federal government adequate powers: first, those provisions which limit the action of the states in behalf of the national government; and second, those provisions which grant express powers to the Federal authorities. The following are the constitutional clauses which constitute these bases of Federal authority:

Art. I. Sect. X. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law,

1 From the Constitution of the United States.

or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.

No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws: and the 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.

granted to Congress.

Art. I. Sect. VIII. The Congress shall have power to lay and col- Powers lect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense 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;