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Check and balances: Emancipation proclomation

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Check and balances: Emancipation proclomation

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The emancipation proclamation was an executive order made by Abraham Lincoln in 1863. He made this executive order during the Civil war to ban slavery and to try to get the states in the Confederacy to surrender. Lincoln waited to give the proclamation until after a Union war victory, and while proclamation was partially used as a tactic in war, it was a very important executive order that freed many slaves. The proclamation stated that all the slaves in the Confederate states were free, so it made a huge push for the effort to end slavery, and took a big resource away from the Confederacy in terms of war. This executive order and executive orders in general show that large actions can be made with only one branch of government involved.

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In the end of the 19th century/beginning of the 20th century, abortion was illegal nationwide. However some states were starting to ease up on abortion laws. Roe however, wanted an abortion and lived in a state prohibiting abortion, and didn't have enough money to travel to a state where she could get an abortion. The case went to the supreme court, and Roe argued an abortion was her right to privacy. Eventually Roe won in a 7-2 ruling, and the supreme court set nationwide abortion laws that depends on which trimester you're in. This shows dynamism because the federal government overrode state laws and set a national law.

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All the way since Washington, there was no rule saying you can't be president for more than two terms. George Washington just set a heavy precedent of being able to only serve two terms. This all changed with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who served two terms through the great depression, and because of WWII, he ran again. He served a full third term and started his fourth but died soon after it started from health conditions. This caused people to want a limit on presidential terms set, and in 1951 the 22nd amendment was passed. This officially placed a two-term limit on an individual being president, meaning it was no longer just a precedent and now a law. This gave our government a new power, which was controlling how long a president serves.

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In the 1960s, we were in the middle of the Vietnam War. From all of the 18-21 year olds being enlisted, a new voting rights movement was started. This movement was to lower the voting age to the same as the draft age, saying that if you're old enough to fight, you're old enough to vote. President Eisenhower was the first president to support this movement. Many bills and other resolutions were suggested to get the voting age lowered through Congress, but it never happened. In the 1970s, the supreme court made the 26th amendment to lower the voting age to 18 in all elections in the as a result of the Oregon v. Mitchell case. This shows that our Constitution adapted to let more people be able to vote.

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This side explains how our Constitution allows the government to changes on some occasions.

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Checks and balances: Robert Bork Nomination

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Checks and balances: Robert Bork Nomination

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In 1987, Lewis Powell (a supreme court justice) said he was retiring. This was during Ronald Reagan's presidency. During Nixon's time in office, he promised a man named Robert Bork the next justice seat, but he resigned before Bork had a chance. Bork was a very disliked man, with him being described as "A conservative extremist". Reagan decided to go through with keeping Nixon's promise and appointed Bork, but the Senate very quickly decided to have a vote to stop this. In a 42-58 vote, Bork was kept from becoming a justice. This is an example of the Legislative branch executing a check/balance over the executive branch, showing our Constitution is stable enough to keep on branch from doing whatever they want.

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In 1809, there was two people (Gibbons and Ogden) who were competing for ownership of some waters that they sailed through to trade. They were previously partners, but that collapsed after 3 years and this case started when Gibbons starting operating on a boat in Ogden's waters. Ogden was licensed by the state of New York, but Gibbons was licensed for the same waters by Congress. Ogden tried to argue that states should have the power to declare these licenses, but after it was appealed to the supreme court, Gibbons won. This gave Congress the only power to give out these licenses and locked the states actions.

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Limited Government: United States v. Alvarez

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Limited Government: United States v. Alvarez

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Xavier Alvarez made a speech in 2007, and at one point he claimed he was a retired marine after 25 years of service and that he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. However both of these were lies, and according to The Stolen Valor Act of 2005, this made claiming a false military past illegal. Alvarez debated that this violated his first amendment rights and that the government shouldn't have this power. The case started in the Central District of California, was appealed to the U.S Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, then was given to the supreme court. In a 6-3 ruling, The Stolen Valor Act was repealed, saying that while the claims were false, they had no threat on anyone. This not only limited but completely took away a power the government had to limit our freedom of speech.

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This was a proposed amendment between 1935 and 1940. This would cause (except when the U.S was attacked first) for a national referendum to be held for Congress to decide on a declaration of war. This amendment would also have all those who voted "yes" to the war, be drafted into the war. This would have taken a power that belonged to Congress and turned it into a national vote. Support for this amendment was originally high, being approved by 2/3 of Congress and peaking at 75% approval rate from american citizens in 1935. However before this could become a full amendment, its popularity greatly declined very rapidly when World War II started, dropping to 51% in 1939. Ultimately, this amendment was rejected and Congress still has the power of declaration of war today.

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This first half shows changes that were attempted but how the Constitution keeps some changes from happening.