JOHNSTOWN — Many view July 4, 1776, as the date this country was born. That was indeed an important date, when the great Declaration of Independence publicly severed our ties with England.
The Revolutionary War that ensued was our payment for this independence, a price well worth it. But even when we finally defeated England years later, we were merely a collection of states, rife with differences that could have – some say would have – torn us apart. The Civil War proved this.
This country, the United States of America, wasn’t really born until 1789, when the U.S. Constitution was debated in Philadelphia, and in pubs throughout the newly freed colonies, and eventually ratified by the states.
This document, which is the foundation of our Republic, endures today.
Officeholders swear by it, literally, and promise to uphold it. And yet, few really understand it, let alone live by it.
So The Tribune-Democrat, over the course of the next few Sundays, will publish the U.S. Constitution, unedited and in all its glory, for all to read, and hopefully take to heart.
We believe this public service will help you once again renew your understanding of this great document, and if you have never read it, this will give you a great opportunity to do so.
For just as the inscription on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia reads, “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land, and unto all the inhabitants there of,” we believe we cannot preserve liberty without understanding its roots.
Those roots are planted in the Constitution.
We The People
February 17, 2006
The words we live by
- We The People
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Amends. XI-XXVII
Amends. XI-XXVII:
Odds and ends
Editor’s note: This is the fifth consecutive Sunday in which The Tribune-Demo-crat publishes, unedited, portions of the U.S. Constitution. With today’s installment, we have published the document in its entirety. -
‘Reconstruction Amendments’
‘Reconstruction Amendments’
Foundation laid for civil rights
Constitutional amendments XI through XXVII are important, but for the most part they don’t hold the individual importance of the first 10, the Bill of Rights. - A more perfect union "Bill" assures rights of states, individuals The U.S. Constitution is the most important document that Americans possess, and the Bill of Rights - the first 10 amendments - is the most vital part of it to individual citizens.
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The Bill of Rihts
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.
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Article II & III - The President
Article II: The president
Section 1
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.
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Article IV: States, citizens
Editor’s note: This is the third consecutive Sunday in which The Tribune-Democrat publishes, unedited, portions of the U.S. Constitution. We will continue over the next few Sundays until we have published the document in its entirety.
Article IV
Section 1 -
Breaking down state boundaries
Equal rights, privileges, protections
After establishing the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government in the first three articles, the U.S. Constitution’s framers turned to rights of the states and individual citizens in Article IV. - Power-hungry executive branch The U.S. Constitution: It is the law of the land, a document every federal official takes an oath to defend and uphold.
- The words we live by Many view July 4, 1776, as the date this country was born. That was indeed an important date, when the great Declaration of Independence publicly severed our ties with England.
- Article 1: The legislature The basic text of the Constitution was drafted by the Constitutional Convention of 1787.
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Amends. XI-XXVII
Amends. XI-XXVII:
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