OurCivicDuty.com: The Constitution

This page, though it is also the page of this website that deals with the constitution, is also a page started at the beginning of the semester for my class in Webpage Design. Because of this, many elements that it contains are superfluous and will eventually be removed after this project is completed.

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The Constitution

There is no document more important to the people of the United States than the constitution. It establishes the structure and functions of our government and meaningfully restricts its actions so that they do not conflict with the interests of a free people. An understanding of the constitution is essential for any citizen that wishes to contribute to this country in any meaningful way, but few posses this understanding or perceive its importance. Though this document is still acknowledged in our culture as important, the principles that it outlines are either ignored or warped far beyond their original intent. In almost every applicable venue and way, the Constitution simply does not receive the respect and attention that it deserves, and this directly contributes to many of the problems that our nation currently faces. This section of OurCivicDuty.com intends to change that by providing information about this revolutionary document.

The Constitution for the United States of America Go to Document...

"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests."

- Patrick Henry.

Legally speaking, the Constitution for the United States of America is a trust indenture because it establishes a trust known as the government of the United States of America. The deputies who signed the document were the trustees, and the people were the beneficiaries. Though we often hold the notion that the Constitution was effective when it was signed September 17, 1787 at Independence Hall (formerly the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia), it was relatively meaningless until it was accepted by the states. And at this point, the states were still sovereign and accepting the Constitution as it was (without the Bill of Rights) would have forced them to give up this sovereignty while not contractually obligating officers of the government to restrict their actions. This was to be the function of the Bill of Rights.

Where's the title? Though the title of the Constitution does not appear as the heading of the document, it does conatin a title. Within the Preamble, we see the following:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

As it was, however, the Constitution could not guarantee the people those things mentioned within the Preamble without further refining the government created by the trust.

"Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters."

- Daniel Webster.

The Bill of Rights Go to Document...

With the passage of the Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791 (attached to the Constitution for the United States of America), the states accepted the Constitution of the United States of America. The states reluctantly gave up their sovereignty because they could now be ensured that the government would be restricted and remain "of, by, and for the people." The Bill of Rights does not give the people any rights (we already had them), but it does restrict the actions of the officers of government. These officers take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America. This oath is a contract between government officials (trustees) and the people (beneficiaries) that, when broken, leaves the officer of the government liable. This liability is what was eventually to be avoided after the creation of a corporation that would carry out the business needs of the original jurisdiction government.

Other pages in this section:

The Constitution for... - Transcript of the original document complete with high-resolution pictures. The Bill of Rights - Transcript and picture of the first ten amendments. The Second Amendment - A close look at the Second Amendment. Amendments 11-27 - Transcript and pictures.