The Rights Of The United States Constitution - 1288 Words

The United States Constitution was designed to enfranchise the white men who, in 1787, were the only citizens included in John Locke’s conception of the social contract (outlined in his Second Treatise of Government). At this time in history, women were not invited to be free and equal, in relation to their husbands and fathers or as citizens in the founding fathers’ new republic. Therefore, the Constitution never addresses abortion, contraception, or marriage. Arguments made in laws and court cases on these topics, specifically reproductive rights, have therefore traditionally rested on a right to privacy the court has interpreted as being found in the first, fourth, fifth, and fourteenth amendments to the Constitution, rather than a right to freedom from sex-based discrimination found in the nineteenth amendment. The landmark supreme court cases Griswold v. Connecticut and Roe v. Wade were both won on these grounds, both setting a precedent for the expansion of the ri ght to privacy. This protection has also been affected by the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban and the Hyde Amendment. First off, in 1965 the supreme court ruled 7-2 in the Griswold v. Connecticut case that the state of Connecticut’s ban on contraception was unconstitutional, because it denied a married couple’s right to privacy (a right extended to unmarried individuals under the Griswold precedent in the 1972 Eisenstadt v. Baird supreme court case). This expansion of privacy in Griswold later informed Roe v.Show MoreRelatedThe United States Constitution And The Rights Of The Constitution1781 Words   |  8 PagesThe United States Constitution is a document that embodies the fundamental laws and principles by which the United States is governed, sets limits on what the government can and cannot do, as well as defines the natural rights, liberties, and freedoms of American citizens. It is arguably, the most important document ever crafted in American history and the one document that affects every single citizen within the United States every single day. It is thanks to this document t hat the United StatesRead MoreThe Rights Of The United States Constitution1481 Words   |  6 PagesCourt jurisprudence, the right to petition, along with the right to peaceable assembly have been almost completely collapsed into Freedom of Speech.† (www.heritage.com). The U.S. Constitution was written as a new set of rules for the nation in place of the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution consists of three parts known as the Preamble, the 7 articles, and the 27 amendments. Of these amendments, the first ten are referred to as the Bill of Rights. â€Å"The Bill of Rights sets limitations on theRead MoreThe Bill Of Rights Of The United States Constitution914 Words   |  4 Pagesis a bill of rights? What is an amendment? How are the different? A bill of rights is a formality such as the Declaration of Independence and it is the outline of what the citizens feel their born rights are as people of a union. An amendment is the changing or altering of a legal or civil do cument. Specifically amendments in the United States Constitution include the changing or detailing of what the people need. These two phrases differ in what their purposes are. The bill of rights was set as aRead MoreThe Bill Of Rights Of The United States Constitution Essay1359 Words   |  6 PagesThe Bill of Rights contains the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These first ten amendments were ratified on December 15, 1791. The Bill of Rights define and interpret constitutional rights and protections that are guaranteed under the US Constitution. The following text is a transcription of the first ten amendments to the Constitution in their original form. â€Å"Amendment I Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exerciseRead MoreThe Bill Of Rights Of The United States Constitution1501 Words   |  7 Pages Introduction. The Bill of Rights is a historical documents that has the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution. The purpose of the Bill of Rights is for greater constitutional protection for our own individual liberties. It has a list of specific prohibitions on government power. There were only 12 amendments originally for the state legislatures and only picked 10 for all the states and those are known as the Bill of Rights, but there are 27 amendments in total. AmendmentsRead MoreThe Bill Of Rights Of The United States Constitution Essay1866 Words   |  8 PagesThe bill of rights is the ten amendments to the United States Constitution, approved on December 15, 1791, and written by James Madison as a response to calls from several States for greater constitutional protection for Individual freedoms, such as freedom of Speech. It creates many legal principles that have had a crucial effect on law and society. The bill of right was added to the Constitution of the United States to assurance the protection of the people from the government. It was served toRead MorePrivacy Rights And The United States Constitution3179 Words   |  13 Pages Privacy Rights and The United States Constitution POL303: The American Constitution Instructor: Samra Nasser April 12, 2015 The founding fathers of the United States of America fought hard to achieve an independent nation. An independent nation containing freedoms and rights for citizens that only the constitution can guarantee. One of the crucial rights guaranteed to U.S citizens today is the right to privacy, or the right to be left alone according to Brandeis and Warren. TheRead MoreThe Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution Essay753 Words   |  4 PagesThe Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution has ten amendments in the first part. The 2nd amendment in the Bill of Rights is The Right to Keep and Bear Arms. The 2nd amendment The Right to Keep and Bear Arms states that â€Å"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† (USConstitution). The 2nd second amendment allows any United States citizen to own any type of arm. It allows you to be armedRead MoreMaking American Samo ans Citizens : A Constitutional Right That Is Protected By The United States Constitution1572 Words   |  7 Pages Make American Samoans Citizens American citizenship is a constitutional right that is protected by the United States Constitution. Citizenship applies to people in all of the 50 states, along with the inhabited territories of the U.S., except for one. American Samoa, a small group of islands located in the Southern Hemisphere about 7,000 miles from Washington, does not allow locals to have U.S. citizenship automatically. This issue, which affects the 55,000 people who live on these islands, hasRead MoreU.S. Constitution vs. Jamaican Constitution1444 Words   |  6 Pagesconsideration, one would presume that the United States Constitution and the Constitution of Jamaica would not be similar at all. After all, the United States Constitution was ratified in 1787, whereas the Jamaican Constitution was not ratified until 1962, the year Jamaica gained its independence. At first glance, Jamaicas constitution appears to be most similar to that of England, because they both establish a parliament and share the same chi ef of state (Queen Elizabeth II). These similarities