An Overview of Facts About the U.S. Constitution

The U.S. Constitution was written at the Philadelphia Convention, also known as the Constitutional Convention, and signed on September 17, 1787. It was ratified in 1789. The document established our nations fundamental laws and government structures and ensured basic rights for American citizens.   Preamble The preamble to the Constitution alone is one of the most important pieces of writing in American history. It sets up the basic principles of our democracy and introduces the concept of federalism. It reads:   We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Quick Facts The nickname for the U.S. Constitution is Bundle of Compromises.The Chief Draftsmen of the U.S. Constitution is  James Madison and Gouverneur Morris.The ratification of the U.S. Constitution happened in 1789 with the agreement of 9 out of 13 states. Eventually, all 13 would ratify the US Constitution. Overall Structure of the U.S. Constitution There are seven articles followed by 27 amendments.  The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights.The U.S. Constitution is currently considered the shortest governing document of any nation.The U.S. Constitution was organized secretly, behind locked doors that were guarded by sentries. Key Principles Separation of Powers:  An act of vesting the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of government in separate bodies.Checks and Balances: Counterbalancing influences by which an organization or system is regulated, typically those ensuring that political power is not concentrated in the hands of individuals or groups.Federalism:  Federalism is the sharing of power between national and state governments. In America, the states existed first and they had the challenge of creating a national government. Ways to Amend the U.S. Constitution Proposal by convention of states, ratification by state conventions (never used)Proposal by convention of states, ratification by state legislatures (never used)Proposal by Congress, ratification by state conventions (used once)Proposal by Congress, ratification by state legislatures (used all other times) Proposing and Ratifying Amendments To propose an amendment, two-thirds of both houses of Congress vote to propose an amendment. Another way is to have two-thirds  of the state legislatures ask Congress to call a national convention.To ratify an amendment, three-fourths of the state legislatures approve it. The second way is for three-fourths of ratifying conventions in states to approve it. Interesting Constitutional Facts Only 12 of the 13 original states actually took part in writing the US Constitution.Rhode Island did not attend the Constitutional Convention, though they eventually were the last state to ratify the document in the year 1790.Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania was the oldest delegate at the Constitutional Convention at the age of 81-years-old. Jonathon Dayton of New Jersey was the youngest in attendance at just 26-years-old.Over 11,000 amendments have been introduced in Congress. Only 27 have been ratified.  The Constitution contains several misspellings, including the misspelling of Pennsylvania as Pensylvania.

Religious Symbolism in John Steinbecks The Grapes of...

Religious Symbolism in John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath In his novel The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck portrays the movement of a family of migrant workers, the Joads, from Oklahoma to California during the Great Depression. Steinbecks novel, though it is surprisingly lacking in surface-level symbolism, was conceived [on] simultaneous levels of existence, ranging from socio-economic determinism to transcendent spirituality (DeMott, xiii). One of the many levels on which this novel can be read is as a parallel to the stories of Christ and the Exodus (Louis Owens, John Steinbecks Re-Vision of America, quoted in DeMott, xiii). Steinbeck intertwines allegories based on these two stories throughout his novel. Through†¦show more content†¦(Steinbeck, Working Days, 23-24) Here, general refers to the intercalary chapters and particular refers to those chapters specifically telling the story of the Joads. In each of these two settings, Steinbeck introduces an allegory pulled from the Christian tradition. In the story of the Joads, we see the story of Christ, here represented in the figure of Jim Casy. The intercalary chapters, on the other hand, can be interpreted as patterned on the Biblical story of the Exodus. One of the effects of Steinbecks separation of the two stories, for which he obviously strove, is that the religious undercurrents within the two stories are also cleanly separated. This effect helps to distinguish them and makes us, as readers, more likely to notice them. In the novel, Jim Casy serves as a Christ-like figure. First, we can consider the obvious similarities between them. They share the same initials. In both cases, the figure has twelve primary followers. In Christs case, there are the twelve apostles. In Casys case, there are the twelve Joads: Granma, Granpa, Uncle John, Al, Ma, Pa, Tom, Noah, Rose of Sharon, Ruthie, Winfield, and the unborn baby. These two similiarities, though, could be simply coincidence: J. C. are fairly common initials, and twelve is not large enough of a number to really require explanation. More importantly, Casy is the person with the most ties to organized religion that we meet in the novel. He is a formerShow MoreRelatedGrapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck3897 Words   |  16 PagesHave you ever realized that John Steinbeck talked about Religion in his book Grapes of Wrath? Well, if your answer is NO, let me inform you that Steinbeck did talk about Religion in his book. There are many similarities in John Stei nbeck’s Grapes of Wrath and Christ’s story. In The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck presents religion in different ways ranging from Jim Casy’s similarities to Christ, the use of Christian theology, and the symbolism of some characters as pastors. Throughout his book, SteinbeckRead MoreSymbolism in The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck Essay2308 Words   |  10 PagesSymbolism in The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck Through such hardships as the Depression, the Dust Bowl summers, and trying to provide for their own families, which included the search for a safe existence, we find the story of the Joads. The Joads are the main family in John Steinbecks novel The Grapes of Wrath, which he created to give voice to the hundreds of families that found themselves at their absolute rock bottom during the Great Depression of the 20th Century in America. Read More Symbolism in The Grapes of Wrath Essay example1446 Words   |  6 PagesSymbolism in The Grapes of Wrath  Ã‚      John Steinbeck is an author known worldwide for his compelling stories and novels. One such novel is The Grapes of Wrath. This novel was written to expose the plight of those dispossessed from their lands by the Great Depression. Steinbeck uses several literary elements to help relate the story to the reader. In The Grapes of Wrath, as in his other works, Steinbeck relies on the use of symbolism to strengthen and enhance the plot. By far, the mostRead MoreThe Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck1563 Words   |  7 Pages John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, depicts a migrant farming family in the 1930s. During this time, life revolved around the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, making circumstances difficult for almost everyone involved, especially those who had little. This time of drought and despair caused people to lose hope in everything they’ve ever known, even themselves, but those who did not, put their hope in the â€Å"promised land† of California. Here, the grass was thought to be truly greenerRead MoreSymbolism Of The Steinbeck s The Grapes Of Wrath 2259 Words   |  10 Pages Symbols In The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family experiences many hardships on the journey to and in California, ranging from dying family members to a lack of sufficient food. In the third chapter of the novel, author John Steinbeck introduces a determined turtle who attempts to make its journey across a highway. The turtle is apparently nearly run over multiple times, and is actually hit by a car. This causes the turtle to be flipped on its shell, until it catches its footing and â€Å"littleRead MoreThe Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck2144 Words   |  9 PagesThe Grapes of Wrath is a well-known beloved novel of American Literature, written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. Whoever said a road is just a road has not read The Grapes of Wrath. From the time we read when Tom Joad, novel’s protagonist, returns home after four years in prison; the meaning of roads changed. Route 66, also known as the mother road the road of flight, was a lifeline road, which allowed thousands of families to pursue their hopes and dreams. This road is also the road thatRead MoreEssay on The Grapes Of Wrath: Symbolic Characters2879 Words   |  12 Pages The Grapes of Wrath: Symbolic Characters Struggling through such things as the depression, the Dust Bowl summers, and trying to provide for their own families, which included finding somewhere to travel to where life would be safe. Such is the story of the Joads. The Joads were the main family in John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath, a book which was written in order to show what a family was going through, at this time period, and how they were trying to better their lives at the same time. It

The Irish Republican Army free essay sample

This paper discusses the Irish Republican Army. This paper presents a detailed examination of the Irish Republican Army. The writer presents a history of the I.R.A. and an overview of its political and social structure. The writer looks at how events in world history, beginning in 1790, with the organizations inception in order to see how world events would influence the path that the I.R.A. would follow. The writer also looks at the support or lack of support the organization receives from the world community. This show of compromise by the Irish Republican Army has re-established the lines of communication with the United States and President Bush has given his support to IRA and applauded its effort to move the disarmament along to resolve the issues. This disarmament is being done to comply with the 1998 Good Friday agreement between Britain and the Irish Republican Army (Are, 2001). Other nations around the world have also shown recent support for the IRA. We will write a custom essay sample on The Irish Republican Army or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In years past there was little support form the rest of the world with some exceptions. One of those exceptions is Libya.

My personal belief is that tha... free essay sample

My personal belief is that that stereotypes are one of the most harmful of human actions, and affect individuals negatively in many ways, especially from the perspective of mental health. Studies have shown that negative stereotypes and beliefs by ourselves and others can become self-fulfilling prophesies, resulting in negative outcomes even if they are not true. This in turn leads to the internalization of emotions and feelings of shame, or feelings that you have to achieve certain goals in order to be happy in life, even when these are not true or realistic. These false beliefs which are forced on us also impact peoples struggles with mental illness. The best way I have come to understand the effects of false perceptions is through the Student/ Teacher self-fulfilling prophecy concept. In one study testing this concept , for example, teachers at a school were told that a certain group of students were expected to achieve greater academic success based on a test they had just taken. We will write a custom essay sample on My personal belief is that tha or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page At the end of the school year, the students who had been expected to achieve higher marks scored 10%-15% higher than their fellow classmates. Later it was revealed that the students were randomly selected – with no basis for stating that some would do better than others. This study demonstrates how a pre-existing idea has the ability to manipulate peoples attitudes. Studies have also shown that the same situation exists for labels used for a persons gender, race, religion and so much more when some people have wrong perceptions or biases about someone else, this shared perception can actually determines that persons actions. Although a lot of discrimination and bias been reduced, peoples prejudices often result from automatic tendencies to support people (and beliefs) that are similar to themselves or their own views – even if this hurts other people. We invented labels with the view that there is a physical perfection and exactness to everything in our world which simply isnt the case. We as humans need to grow and change as the worlds and peoples perceptions of the world change. When people are told that they are something or that they must choose from a pre-existing limited range of ideas, it confines the human mind and has the capa city to psychologically harm individuals, since they are unable to understand how they can express themselves if there isnt a precise word for who they truly feel and believe they are and they are having many different labels being forced upon them. This was confirmed in another study where it was found that if both parents believed that their child was abusing alcohol the child would end up abusing alcohol in the future. Survey HypothesisThrough my survey, I will show that societys younger generations have been misinformed as to what will create feelings of success, happiness, versatility and resilience for the duration of ones life. My survey will identify the values and ideas that young people believe will lead to their own successful, happy, resilient life. I expect that these personal values and ideas will be different than the standard values that our society and parents have led us to believe bring success and happiness: for example, a good education, a high-paying job with status, raising a family, etc.According to Psychology Today; the four primary life objectives are meaning, integrity, success and happiness. My study is focusing on determining which goals most people strive for during the course of their lives and which social constructs we are told to fulfill in order to achieve these qualities. My hopes would be to understand the effect of society and its constructs on the individuals like me who are beginning to plan the rest of their lives. It is possible however that societys views are so deeply set in people, that even my survey will not be able to separate peoples actual views and the beliefs of others, like their parents, that they have adopted without knowing it. Trial and ErrorI began this experiment by handing out several preliminary surveys to find out if there were any additional social constructs or important characteristics which I had not yet considered in my surveys. After receiving comments from my peers, I decided to add Social Media as a characteristic since I had missed it in my preliminary surveys and I believe that everyone is either directly or indirectly affected by it in our current society.Comparison What does the average teen believe will keep them feeling safe and validated and which social constructs have falsely informed them of unfounded methods of attaining those virtues? This comparison I believe is relevant because it would inform us of the ideologies and values of the generation which is about to enter the adult world. Hopefully this study will help those understand more thoroughly the influence that society has on the psychological health of my peers.Results My surveys confirmed a strong connection between unfounde d social constructs and those values which truly bring fulfilment in life. For example, this can be shown that although monogamy has been disproven as a natural occurrence, 70% of responses to my survey indicated that this was believed to be a critical factor in the pursuit of meaning, integrity, success and happiness.