Personal Guaranties Grouped Under The Title "The Short Constitution"

We now take up the subject of the Constitution of the United States. It is important because it is the foundation of the rights and liberties of all Americans. It relates to the rights and liberties of everyone in this room. It is our great charter.

Gladstone, the great English statesman, once said, “It is the greatest work ever struck off at any one time by the mind and purpose of man.”35 It is quite a long document. I want every one of us to read it carefully and study it thoroughly.

The larger part of the Constitution consists of provisions telling of the qualifications and manner of election of the President, Senators, and congressmen, the powers and duties of the various parts of our government, procedure of government, and the relations of the Nation and the States. These are important.

But more important still are the ways in which the Constitution guarantees the rights, liberties, and privileges of all men, women, and children who live under the American flag. These guaranties are numerous, but they are briefly stated. Any of us can understand them if we but read them carefully and catch their meaning. It ought not to be difficult to cause a person to study the things which relate to himself, to the most important things in his own life. Liberty we prize most dearly. Everyone of these guaranties in the Constitution is intended to guard and protect the freedom and liberty which you and I enjoy.36

To make our task more simple, I have selected from the [pg 056] Constitution those sections which deal with our privileges as American citizens. You can see them in the copy of the Constitution which you have. (See page 217.) I have grouped these together and for convenience I shall call it “The Short Constitution”. As you can see, there is nothing in it that is not in the original Constitution. It is just as if I had taken a pair of shears, cut out these phrases from the Constitution, and pasted them together. It makes it more convenient for us.

Take this “Short Constitution” home with you. Bring it with you when you come to school. Talk with your father and mother about it. It may be that sometime a knowledge of these rights that every American citizen now has may save to you your home, your freedom, or your life.

Now I am going to read this:

THE SHORT CONSTITUTION

Article I (Amendment I.)

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.37

Article II (Amendment II.)

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Article III (Amendment III.)

No Soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

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Article IV (Amendment IV.)

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Article V (Amendment V.)

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Article VI (Amendment VI.)

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Article VII (Amendment VII.)

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by [pg 058] jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Article VIII (Amendment VIII.)

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Article IX (Amendment IX.)

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Article X (Amendment X.)

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.38

Article XI (Amendment XIII, Sec. 1.)

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Article XII (Amendment XIV, Sec. 1.)

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

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Article XIII (Amendment XV, Sec. 1.)

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Article XIV (Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 2.)

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion, the public Safety may require it.

Article XV (Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 3.)

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.

Article XVI (Art. I, Sec. 9, Cl. 8.)

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office or Title of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

Article XVII (Art. III, Sec. 2, Cl. 3.)

The trial of all Crimes except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury, and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.

Article XVIII (Art. III, Sec. 3, Cl. 1.)

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their [pg 060] Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two witnesses to the same overt Act or on Confession in open Court.

The Congress shall have power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.

Article XIX (Art. IV, Sec. 2, Cl. 1.)

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.

Article XX (Art. VI, Cl. 3.)

No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

Now that is not long, is it? Yet in this brief part of the Constitution are contained provisions the most important for the common people ever written by the hand of man in all the history of the world. In some countries of the world people have some of the rights and privileges guaranteed by our Constitution, but in no other country in the world do the people have a written guaranty of all the rights, privileges, and liberties set forth in these short extracts from the Constitution of the United States.

I want you all to get fixed in your minds the date of the adoption of the original Constitution by the convention—1787.39 That was more than a century and a quarter ago.

I want every child to understand just why the Constitution was made, how it was made, something of the men that made it, and how the people of the States approved of the Constitution before it became binding.

I also want you to understand something of the [pg 061] changes and additions made by the people since the Constitution was first adopted. I want you to understand that it is the Constitution of the people, the whole people, and I want you to know that the people can change the Constitution or make additions to it whenever they want to.40

So at our next meeting I am going to tell you something of the making of the Constitution.

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ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS

1. Compare “The Short Constitution” on pages 56-60 with the complete Constitution found at the back of the book.

2. Why were these parts selected from the entire Constitution? Is there any similarity in the various parts selected?

3. What are the most important provisions of the Constitution of the United States?

4. Do the guaranties of the Constitution protect the rights of all people living in America, or do they apply only to a few favored classes?

5. What was the date of the adoption of the original Constitution?

ADVANCED QUESTIONS

A. Why are we interested in our rights?

B. What are the dangers of talking too much about our rights?

C. Make a list of a duty to correspond with each right selected.

D. Write a paper on the following:

The Officials Provided by the Constitution

The American Bill of Rights

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