Constitutional Change

During the debates on the adoption of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights was introduced which stated the many rights of individual citizens. The Bill of Rights contained the first ten amendments that were known to the United States Constitution. Amendments to the United States Constitution have changed our government and our society by guaranteeing a number of personal freedoms, the government’s power limits, and reserved powers to the states and the public. Both the First Amendment and the Second Amendment were established due to its historical circumstances, and had a huge impact on the United States government, and American society. The First Amendment states that "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." Before the independence of the United States, they were under British rule. They lived in a nation of tyranny and official control of information and rights. The new American settlers brought a desire of democracy and freedoms once the United States gained their independence. As soon as the Constitution was established, the Bill of Rights was added containing the ten amendments. The First Amendment was best known for these freedoms and protections; it requires the separation of church and state, it allows citizens to practice any religion, guarantees the freedom of speech and the press, and the right of peaceable assembly. The amendment changed the United States and American society by allowing them to limit the amendment as a form of order and protection. There were court cases involving concerns about speech and other rights given from the First Amendment: Words used to start a conflict also known as fighting words, words jeopardizing national security, destroying draft cards as a means to protest, and newspapers releasing false information is considered to be not protected under the First Amendment. As issues began to develop, the government will be able to establish limitations in the amendments just like “the right to know.” The government can censor things that are found to be unmoral and collect information if necessary. It might sound like the government is trying to control the rights of citizens but citizens have the right to know and the right to privacy as well. There is a balance between the power of the government and the rights of the citizens. The Second Amendment states that “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.” The Second Amendment was established a long with the other ten amendments in the Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment gave citizens the right to keep and bear arms because at that time, many citizens owned guns for many reasons: it allowed citizens to own firearm and transport it if you are in connections with organized state militia units, if it is necessary in terms of self-defense, and for hunting purposes. Since this is a dangerous amendment because it allows citizens to own firearm that can kill anything and anyone, the court tried to strengthen the amendment. There were court cases that wanted to ban handguns and also, have firearms disassembled or bound by a trigger lock. The law violated the Second Amendment and made it impossible for citizens to use arms for the purpose of self-defense. The court stated that the right to keep and bear arms is subject to regulation because of its danger to others, such as concealed weapons prohibitions, limits on the rights of criminals and the mentally ill, laws forbidding the transport of weapons in certain areas, laws with conditions on commercial sales, and prohibitions of carrying dangerous and unusual firearms. Even with all the regulations of the Second Amendment, people are capable of retrieving firearms illegally and legally in means to hurt others, not for the main reason of self-defense. This is an example of how the amendment of the United States government and American society. Citizens take advantage of our right to bear arms and use it for unnecessary reasons. Because of this issue, many other citizens have tried their best to stop this from happening. It has been a while since there was a change in gun control laws. As time passes by, more shootings and deaths have increased. This amendment is the barrier between American citizens and total chaos. Also, this has to be the most important and discussed amendment ever. The amendments played a key role in our government and law. Each amendment in the Bill of Rights stated the rights of every citizen. As our economy improved and our society changed, the limits and regulations in the amendments changed just like in the First and Second Amendment. In the First Amendment, the limits were meant to keep order in our main freedoms to prevent future problems. In the Second Amendment, the limits were meant to protect our lives form the dangers of firearms and also, the right to use it for self-defense. There are more limits not in a way to control us, but a way to maintain order and still have the protection of our rights. The limitations served to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. Even though the rights only applied to white men, our society changed and applied to every citizen.