Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

The Constitution Bistro: Part 3

Here we are again, moving forward through our conversation about the US Constitution.

If you would like to see where we started here are the first 2 parts:

Preambe & NY Times article

Article 1, Article 2, & Article 3

Let’s move right into the next part of the Constitution.

Article 4 is as follows:

Section. 1.

   Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other 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.

Section. 2.

   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 Labour 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 Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.

Section. 3.

   New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.

   The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.

Section. 4.

   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.

I don’t know if there is much to complain about in Article 4.  

So, here’s Article 5:

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.

Article 5 is definitely where I would like to see some changes.

What do you think?


4 comments

  1. IL JimP

    myself in this series but I’ll hold out on what I’d like to change to see if anyone else has any thoughts first.

  2. IL JimP

    was the 2nd hardest Constitution in the world to amend next to Yugoslavia.

    We know how that worked out.  

  3. IL JimP

    to move an amendment to the states the right way, how about just a simple majority?

    How about the 2/3rds for states to call a convention, again why not a simple majority?

    Keep ratification at 3/4ths but it shouldn’t take a super-majority to just talk.

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