It’s In The Constitution, Right?

[Teallaura]

Let's test your knowledge of the U.S. Constitution. Answer true or false to the questions below:




These things are in the Constitution:

1) The phrase ‘separation of church and state’.

2) The Equal Rights Amendment.

3) The Supreme Court is to be the final arbiter of what is and is not constitutional.

4) States do not have the right to secede from the US.

5) The phrase ‘balance of powers’.

6) Treaties supersede the Constitution.

7) The Bill of Rights applies to the states as well as the federal government.

8) Naturalized citizens can become President.

9) The prohibition against discriminating on the basis of race, sex, age or creed.

10) The Constitution originally prohibited women from voting until the passage of the 19th Amendment.




































































































































































All ten are false.

[Shadow Phoenix]

Ah but Teal, surely we all know the Constitution is a Living Document and there's no doubt that all of these things are the things the founding fathers intended!

[themuzicman]

Well............

The BOR was applied to the states via the 14th amendment.. which was a good idea at the time, but has outlived its usefulness.

Michael

[Teallaura]

Well............

The BOR was applied to the states via the 14th amendment.. ...
MichaelTrue but it is not explicitly spelled out in the 14th Amendment or anywhere else in the Constitution.

[$cirisme]

That wasn't so bad.

[Shadow Phoenix]

That wasn't so bad.

It must be granted also that the Founding Fathers unfortunately, did not have Jack Bauer.

[flaja]

1) The phrase ‘separation of church and state’.

Article VI.
…but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States…”

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof…

Some states did have tax-supported churches and religious tests to hold public office within the state until the Supreme Court began striking them as unconstitutional (1940s – 1960s).

2) The Equal Rights Amendment.

Not in so many words. According to the 14th Amendment state governments cannot discriminate against people by denying them the equal protection of the laws. In the 1870s the Republican-conrolled Congress passed a law that prohibited racial discrimination in business and industry, but the law was never really enforced because the Republicans agreeed to end Reconstruction, withdraw the army and hand the southern states back to the same bigotted Democrats that had lead the Rebellion for the sake of winning the presidential election of 1876. The law was struck by the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson which declared separate and equal accomodations for the public is OK. This law essentially regulated interstate commerce- something that congress clearly has the power to do according to its enumerated powers, but bigots won out anyway. If Reconstruction had lasted another 20 years chances are the U.S. wold have been as racially integrated by 1900 as it is now.

3) The Supreme Court is to be the final arbiter of what is and is not constitutional.

True to the extent that the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction in all federal cases in regards to both the law and the facts pertaining to any federal court case, i.e., the Court decides what the law/Constittution/treaties mean. The only constitutional way to overturn a Supreme Court decision is for the Court to issue a reverse decision in another case or for the Constitution to be amended.

4) States do not have the right to secede from the US.

True.

Article V.
…This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the
several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of
the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or
Affirmation, to support this Constitution;

These provisions would be null and void if a state could place itself beyond federal jurisdiction by nullifying federal law or seceeding from the Union. Nobody who has ever held a public office in any state can constitutionally lead his state in secessoin without violating his oath to support the U.S. Constitution.

5) The phrase ‘balance of powers’.

Inherent in the way the document allows the government to operate.

6) Treaties supersede the Constitution.

Debatable. To my knowledge no treaty has ever been challenged in federal court, so nobody really knows whether or not a treaty can counter the Constitution.

7) The Bill of Rights applies to the states as well as the federal government.

The equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. A state could not establish or otherwise favor one religion without denying equal protection of the law to people who don’t accept that religion. The same goes for laws that would restrict freedom of speech, press, assembly and petition for redress. And surely you do not want a state to have the power to put you on trial without a jury or without legal counsel or to subject you to excessive bail, fines or cruel and unusal punishment, do you?

8) Naturalized citizens can become President.

This depends on how you define naturalized and natural born. To a Democrat natural born means you can be born anywhere in the world and still be president if one of your parents was a U.S. citizen when you were born. If that’s true what about Netanyahu ’12- he was born in Tel Aviv but his mother was a U.S. citizen and he has claimed dual U.S.-Iraeli citizenship.

9) The prohibition against discriminating on the basis of race, sex, age or creed.

14th Amendment, equal protection of the laws.

10) The Constitution originally prohibited women from voting until the passage of the 19th Amendment.

The only federal office that was voted on directly by the People when the Constituion was written is U.S. representative. According to Article I electors for U.S. representatives must have the same qulifications as electors for the largest branch of the state legislature. My understanding is that when the Constituion was written some states allowed both women and free blacks to vote.

[rogue06]

Went right down the list going nope, nope, nope... though I paused at #7 for the reason muz gave.

Growing up outside of Washington DC has its consequences (when we were given sentences to diagram they were from the Declaration of Independence or Constitution - no kidding)

[joel]

Some states did have tax-supported churches and religious tests to hold public office within the state until the Supreme Court began striking them as unconstitutional (1940s – 1960s).

It is notable that Jefferson first fought for the constitutional right of the states to have an official religion/church before he fought to get his home state of Virginia to (voluntarily) get rid of theirs.


14th Amendment, equal protection of the laws.

How does that prohibit private discrimination?