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"The founding fathers did agree to write a list of prinicples for keeping people free......"

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Schoolhouse Rock: Constitution Preamble Lyrics

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The modest proposal I selected to explain and discuss is the “Telecommute, Congress!” issue. I believe the intent of the idea is good but and fair but I believe it is and will be ineffective. I personally am not a fan of this whole technological push. Members of congress vote on pressing and sensitive issues that are relevant to the future of the United States. In this last election we have dealt with hacking. If congress were to telecommute, their communication could be hacked thus causing another security issue. I think the idea of telecommuting is genuine

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There are a mere 27 amendments and while all of which are important, there are two that stuck out to me were the 15th and the the 19th amendments.
The 15th amendment directly prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on rase, color or previous servitude. This amendment gave African American men the right to vote by declaring them citizens of the United States. Making it illegal to deny them this right based on their color. Although this amendment was ratified in 1870 it took more than a century to remove barriers against African American men. This battle is still a battle that we are facing today. States often used poll taxes, literacy test, and other things to prevent African American men the right to vote.
The ratification of the 15th amendment just further proves the agenda that Americans are sexist before they are racist. Women of all colors did not receive the right to vote until 1920.
The 19th amendment which prohibited the denial of the right to vote based on sex. The ratification of this amendment was a significant movement in the realm of equality. It is mind-blowing to think that less than 100 years ago women did not have basic and simple right to vote. The road towards equality for women is one that is still being paved.
The amendment process can be found in the constitution in article 5.

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The system of checks and balances was created so that no one branch of the government could or would become too powerful. Each branch is restrained by the other two in a multitude of ways.
-For example, the president (executive branch) may veto a law passed by congress.
-Congress (legislative branch) can override that veto with a two-thirds vote of both houses.
-The Judicial branch or the Supreme Court can check congress (legislative branch)  by declaring a law unconstitutional.
-These powers are balanced by the fact that member of the Supreme Court (judicial branch) are appointed by the president (executive branch). Those appointments are approved by congress (legislative).

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The executive branch includes the President and the Vice President, the cabinet, the executive departments.
The president is the head of the executive branch. It is the president who makes laws official. The president is elected by the entire country. The president approves and carries our laws passed by the legislative branch. The president holds the power to appoint or remove cabinet members and officials. The president negotiates treaties and acts as head off state and commander in chief of the armed forces.
If the President is unable to serve, the Vice President becomes president. Vice Presidents are able to serve an unlimited amount of four year terms.
The cabinet members serve as the presidents advisors. The cabinet includes the Vice President and the heads of the executive departments.
Cabinet members are nominated by president and approved by the senate with 51 votes.
There are 15 executive departments
* U.S. Department of Agriculture
* U.S. Department of Commerce
* U.S. Department of Defense
* U.S. Department of Education
* U.S. Department of Energy
* U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
* U.S. Department of Homeland Security
* U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
* U.S. Department of Justice
* U.S. Department of Labor
* U.S. Department of State
* U.S. Department of the Interior
* U.S. Department of the Treasury
* U.S. Department of Transportation
* U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

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The legislative branch is ansi called congress.
There are two parts that make up congress. The two parts are called houses.
The house of representative and the senate. The senate is comprised of 100 senators (each state has two). Senators are elected by members of their state and serve six year terms.
The legislative branch writes and votes on laws. Laws are also called legislation.
The Vice President of the United States in considered to be the head of the senate however, he does not vote in the senate unless there is a tie.
The senate approves nominations made by the president to the cabinet, the supreme courts, and other post. The senate has to ratify treaties by a two thirds votes.

There are 435 representative in the house of representatives. The number of representatives per state is determined by the population of the state. If the census reports the data of each state and the data has drastically changed the number of representatives per state changes as well.
Representatives are elected by their states and they serve a two year term.

Both parties in the senate and the house of representatives elect leaders. The leader of the party that controls the house is called the majority leader. The other party leader is called the minority leader.

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The judicial branch oversees the court systems of the United States through court cases. The judicial branch explains the meaning of the constitution and laws passed by congress.
The Supreme Court rules whether something is constitutional and unconstitutional (whether it is permitted or not under the constitution). On the Supreme Court there are:
nine justices/judges
Eight associate justices
One Chief Justice.
Judges are nominated by the president and approved by the senate. Judges/justices have no term limits. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. The supreme courts decisions are final and no other court can overrule those decisions. Supreme Court rulings set precedents — new ways of interpreting the law.
After research there are 9 Supreme Court cases that are said to be significant:
* 1803 Marbury v. Madison— was the first time a law passed by Congress was declared unconstitutional
* 1857 Dred Scott v. Sanford—Declared that a slave was not a citizen, and that Congress could not outlaw slavery in U.S. territories
* 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson—Said that racial segregation was legal
* 1954 Brown v. Board of Education—Made racial segregation in schools illegal
* 1966 Miranda v. Arizona —stated that criminal suspects must be informed of their rights before being questioned by the police.
* 1973 Roe v. Wade—Made abortion legal
* 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger—Ruled that colleges can, under certain conditions, consider race and ethnicity in admissions.
* 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission The Supreme Court ruled, 4, that the government cannot restrict the spending of corporations on political campaigns, maintaining that it's their First Amendment right to support candidates as they choose.
* 2013 Shelby County v. Holder The Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, which established a formula for Congress to use when determining if a state or voting jurisdiction requires prior approval before changing its voting laws.