Constitutional-Literacy-2

=**Section 2: Article 1 Section 1**=

What part of the Constitution do you think is the most important? Most citizens would talk about the Bill of Rights or a certain power. Probably the most important clause is Article 1 Section 1, which says "All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a House of Representatives and a Senate. It's the most important and also one of the most violated clauses in the Constitution. All legislative power is with the Congress - this means only Congress can make laws.
 * Comprehension Question: What does Article 1 Section 1 of the Constitution say? What does it mean?**

All organizations have rules. However, what is really important is who has the power to make the rules. In our government, the Congress has the constitutional authority to make the rules - the laws. However, the numerous bureaus and agencies as well as federal courts have also done this.
 * Discussion Question: Who should be allowed to make laws that the American people must obey? Who else is attempting to make laws today?**

Remember taxation without representation was one of the major reasons the colonies fought for independence against Britain. It's important to understand that the dispute was over representation, NOT the actual taxes. In 1766, Britain repealed the hated Stamp Act, a tax imposed without consent of the people through the elected colonial legislatures. At the same time, the British Parliament passed the Declaratory Acts that said the British Parliament could legislate for the colonies in all cases whatsoever. This was a major change from the traditions and practices of British law, which included the English Bill of Rights that said taxes are to be made by elected representatives. Self-government being violated was the big reason for the colonial movement for independence.
 * Comprehension Question: What was the real meaning of "no taxation without representation?"**

John Locke (an Enlightenment philosopher who had a major impact on the Founding Fathers) wrote that "the first and fundamental positive law of all commonwealths is the establishment of the legislative power." In his Second Treatise of Government, Locke also said "//nor can any edict of any body else, in what form soever conceived, or by what power soever backed, have the force and obligation of a law, which has not its sanction from that legislative which the public has chosen and appointed: for without this the law could not have that, which is absolutely necessary to its being a law,* the consent of the society, over whom no body can have a power to make laws, but by their own consent, and by authority received from them//..." The Founding Fathers had much respect for Locke's work and Locke's influence became a major source for our Constitution.

Article I Section 1 gives 100% of the legislative power in the U.S. to the Congress. No other agency can legitimately make laws for the nation. This means the president, bureaucracy, and the courts cannot make laws. Then, how do they get away with making laws? The public takes the actions of the government as constitutional whether those actions are agreed to or not by the public and doesn't elect candidates that abide by the Constitution. Many in the public think it's perfectly fine for the IRS, or EPA, or FCC or any other bureau to make administrative law rather than simply enforce the laws of Congress. When the Supreme Court rules and makes a law itself, the public accepts it and they are not impeached for abuse of power by the Congress, many of which aren't completely aware of the constitutionality. The voters can vote out a representative or senator if the voters don't like a law. However, voters can't vote out a bureaucrat or federal judge. Whether bureaucrats and judges can make good statutes or not is irrelevant. The lawmaking power is with the Congress and the Congress only.

For example, the EPA makes environmental regulations. Congress never gave the EPA jurisdiction over wetlands - only the "waters of the U.S." This means navigable waters, not all bodies of water. A big ship isn't going to be navigating on a small pond. There were ponds in abandoned gravel pits. The EPA assumed control since sometimes migratory birds landed on the ponds. There's a big difference between a body of water that can hold a ship versus a pond. The EPA still regulates the ponds. Who gave them that power? The EPA did themselves. Eventually, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the owners of gravel pits, but stopped short of ruling that the EPA can't make laws. Today, the EPA still is making laws (they refer to them as regulations) that hinder business and farming (just ask the coal industry). Some of these laws may be good (depends on who you ask), they may be bad laws, but they ARE laws and Article 1 Section 1 says only Congress can make laws. This isn't just the EPA, but rather all bureaus and agencies that make regulations that have the force of law. Congress is suppose to make the laws. Congress could make a law on environmental policy and the EPA is there to help enforce that law - the job of the executive branch is to enforce the law, not make laws. However, not many in our Congress are holding the bureaus and agencies accountable and our voters aren't holding our Congress accountable.
 * Comprehension Question: How has the bureaucracy violated Article 1 Section 1?**

The Supreme Court is suppose to interpret laws passed by Congress to be certain the laws are constitutional. However, sometimes the Supreme Court also makes laws. One example is Roe v. Wade 1973, which said states could not outlaw abortion. If you read the text of the Supreme Court's decision, you'll see that the Supreme Court didn't just say states could not ban abortions, but the Supreme Court wrote exactly when and under what circumstances the states could impact abortions in their states. [|click here to view the text] They laid out abortion rights in each trimester, something that is done in lawmaking. This is bad because (1) judges aren't elected officials that can be voted out if the people disagree and (2) the people's right to choose the law through the democratic process is thwarted. Regardless of whether or not abortion should be allowed, limited, or whatever, the job of the Court is to say yes constitutional or no unconstitutional to a law...not write the law. The Court was within its boundaries to strike down abortion laws...but the Court went beyond that...it wrote a statute, a job of a legislature.
 * Comprehension Question: How has the Supreme Court violated Article 1 Section 1?**


 * Discussion Question: Why should judges follow the original meaning of the Constitution to be consistent with the principle of democratic self-government?**

If a law was passed in the past by a Congress and that law needs changed, it should be the current Congress. If the Constitution needs a change, there is a process to amend it. Today's legislators should be able to manage the laws of yesterday's legislature, but today's judges shouldn't be able to rewrite yesterday's laws passed by yesterday's legislators.

Sometimes international law tries to dictate behavior in nations. This is a growing threat for our nation as the U.N. has been promoting more of a global government. Since World War II, treaties grew to be less about how nations treat nations and more to how nations treat citizens. There will be a whole section on this aspect later.
 * Comprehension Question: What is a proper role for treaties?**


 * Comprehension Question: Why would a U.N. treaty that would, for example override American law on how American parents must treat children, fit the Progressive vision of global government?**

**Overall: Summarize the main idea of this section and why it's important.**

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