The Constitution of the United States
As Seen By an Average American.
Part 2
Note: The following text in bold is a transcription of the Constitution in its original form.
This part will focus on the Executive and Judicial Branches of the Federal Government.
Article. II. The Executive Branch
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.
This just specifies the number of electors for each State in what is called the Electoral College. This also states that no member of Congress or any other person holding public office for the Federal Government can be appointed as an elector for their State.
The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be 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 chuse 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 chuse the President. But in chusing 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 chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.
This specifies how the President and the Vice-President will be elected. They are to be elected by the Electors of each State, not by popular vote of the People. The State electors will vote for two persons, at least one must be from another State and submit all the names of those voted on and the number of votes for each to the Congress. The President of the Senate will open and count all the votes in the presence of both houses of Congress. The person with the majority of votes will be the President, the person having the next highest number, as long as it is a majority shall be Vice-President. If there is a tie then the House of Representatives will vote on them to determine who will be President. The list from the States could be anywhere from 2 to 10 or more names. No where does it say that the People will elect the President. It also says the Vice-President will be elected in the same manner, not chosen by the person running for President as there running mate. In other words we could, if this method was actually followed, end up with a President and Vice-President of different parties.
The Congress may determine the Time of chusing 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.
If you will remember, to be elected to Congress you did not have to be a natural born citizen, you just had to be a citizen, natural born or naturalized. To be President you must be a natural born citizen, the clause allowing for just a citizen at the time of the adoption of the Constitution is well past, unless you are around 200 years old. It also states that you must have been in the States for 14 years, in other words you can not be legally living abroad and run for the office of President. I have read that this is all because the Framers believed only a natural born American would have a vested interest in the continued success of 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.
All this is saying is that the Vice-President falls under the same requirements as the President for eligibility and that the Vice-President will become President in any case where the President can no longer perform the duties of the office.
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.
This says the President will get paid while in office, nothing about being paid a retirement, or retainer, or what ever you want to call it after leaving office. It also states that they will receive no pay from any other Government entity, Federal or otherwise.
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."
The oath of the Presidency is specific, what is interesting is that it says nothing about preserving, protecting or defending the United States, only the Constitution of the United States.
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 Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
The President will be the ultimate leader of our Armed Forces. This section also alludes to there being executive departments; it does not say what these departments will be. It also gives the President the ability to grant pardons except in the case of impeachments, in other words the President may pardon prisoners.
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 and only the President has the authority to deal with foreign Governments. The President may also, with the advice and consent of Congress appoint Ambassadors, Judges, and other public ministers and officers whose appointments are not established in the Constitution. It also gives the power of vetting these appointments to Congress.
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.
This part allows the President to make appointments to positions normally requiring vetting by Congress while Congress is in recess without having to wait for the vetting process. These appointments are to expire at the end of the next Congressional session, meaning they would have to go through the vetting process to continue in their position.
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.
This section shows how Congress was not always in session, they were only called into session when the President deemed it necessary.
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.
This section is self explanatory. If you look into history and into what the meanings of high crimes and misdemeanors were in the British Parliament, which is where our language of the time was based, violation of the oath of office would be reason for impeachment. Care to count how many Presidents were guilty of that?
At the Constitutional Convention George Washington was the one that for the most part coined the term President. The framers were trying to be free from Monarchy and Tyranny so King, Lord and other such titles of nobility were not fitting for the position as the head of the United States. President comes from a Latin word that basically means to preside over. Our President was to be an elected official for the People and he would preside in their behalf.
Article III. The Judicial Branch
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 Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.
The only requirement for Judges of the Supreme Court shall be good behavior. There will be one Supreme Court but inferior courts may be established as Congress sees fit.
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.
This section simply states that the Supreme Court has the power to rule in cases that are outside the States jurisdiction. This also means that the Supreme Court should not be ruling or even hearing cases that are within a single State, even cases where a citizen of a State is filing suit against that State. That is a State matter and should be handled by the States Courts only.
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.
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.
Old English is an interesting language to read, but you also have to understand how things worked in those days to understand this section. In those days if your Father was convicted of treason you were guilty simply by sharing his blood. Our Constitution prevents that sort of out dated thinking.
The Supreme Court was given no power to legislate, nor was it given the power to interpret the Constitution as it sees fit. Judges, of any court, are supposed to be impartial except to the law. In the case of the Supreme Court they are the ones that we should be able to go to when there is a question about Constitutionality. Unfortunately over the years there are documented cases where the Constitution was interpreted in different ways depending on the political leanings of the Judges that were sitting on the bench. We have gone from rulings based on the Constitution to rulings based on case law, which is an opinion based on a person and their moral, social and political views. Even our law schools are now teaching Case Law as Constitutional Law, which is not the case.
No comments:
Post a Comment