Questions tagged [constitution]
A document or documents which set the fundamental principles and rules to which a state, or organisation agrees to govern itself.
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How did the United Kingdom government come to be responsible for defence of the Channel Islands?
The government of the United Kingdom is responsible for the defence of, and foreign relations of, the Channel Islands.
How did this arrangement come about?
Was there a specific agreement/decision/...
2
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1answer
321 views
Besides Massachusetts and Rhode Island, have any other U.S. states changed their names?
In 1781 the State of Massachusetts Bay became the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
In 2020 the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations became the State of Rhode Island (when most people who ...
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0answers
115 views
Were ordinary people aware of the US Constitution when it all started?
I read somewhere long ago that even ordinary people knew the content of the US Constitution well enough when it was adopted. Many people, not only rich and well-educated, knew what it was about. Now I ...
5
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0answers
60 views
Was the Protectorate's Instrument of Government influenced by other near-contemporary European constitutions?
John Lambert drafted the Instrument of Government, the constitution of the Protectorate, in 1653. How much was Lambert influenced by—or even aware of—the relatively recent near-contemporary European ...
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3answers
504 views
Why was the wording on war in Japan's postwar constitution so much stronger than in Germany's or Italy's?
From Hathway and Shapiro (2017):
The Allies supervised the drafting of new constitutions for each of the Axis powers and enshrined the prohibition on war into each state’s own governing documents. ...
9
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2answers
2k views
Was the Bundesbrief a forgery?
Steinberg (2015, Why Switzerland?) writes:
The famous Bundesbrief of 1291 is one of many ‘Fälschungen’ – forgeries which carbon-dating has shown to be from a later period.
But briefly googling, it ...
3
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2answers
414 views
Why wasn't England/Britain officially an empire (as a form of monarchy)?
An overwhelming article does not answer my question: Why perhaps since Elizabeth I was England not officially an empire and its head of state an emperor/empress?
I mean, it is said that the British ...
7
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1answer
89 views
Was the issue of women's suffrage debated during the drafting of the 1809 Instruments of Government?
The Kingdom of Sweden had a limited vote for women between 1718 and 1772, during the Age of Liberty, which was based on the 1719 Instruments of Government. This was only the case in two of the four ...
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0answers
64 views
Did James Madison sign all copies of the Bill of Rights?
I'm aware that James Madison wrote the Bill of Rights but then 13 copies were distributed to the 13 original colonies to review and edit. Is it James Madison's signature on the copies that were sent ...
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0answers
217 views
What did Harry Truman think about the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution?
The American Presidential succession process is interesting in that it starts off in the executive branch (with the VP), moves to the legislative branch (Speaker of the House, then President Pro Tem), ...
4
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3answers
837 views
Was the United States meant to be a confederation of states?
I read the Constitution, and, if I recall correctly, no members of the Federal government were to be elected by the common people according to the original documents. Governors, however, were elected ...
3
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3answers
871 views
What was the goal behind the 9 state approval of the United States constitution?
My US History textbook states the following:
But since absent Rhode Island was certain to veto the Constitution, the delegates boldly adopted a different scheme. They stipulated that when nine ...
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1answer
2k views
What were the founding fathers' views on Native Americans? [closed]
What were the founding fathers' views on Native Americans?
Did the founding fathers have a lack of respect for the natives, or were they accounted for positively in the enacting of the constitution? ...
6
votes
2answers
318 views
What unknown laws were mentioned in earlier Coronation Oaths of England?
In 1688, the English Parliament passed the Coronation Oath Act, establishing a new Coronation Oath for monarchs of England. This Coronation Oath, with some modifications, is still used in the United ...
11
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1answer
597 views
Is there any documentation on the creation of Article 1 Section II of the US constitution
I'm doing some personal research on the electoral college as it has been becoming more and more relevant in modern US elections. I've seen tons of people talking about how it was designed to protect ...
8
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1answer
635 views
Organizing the 1788 presidential and congressional elections
In 1788 the new Constitution of the United States went into effect in the states that had ratified it, and that meant elections had to be organized for representatives in Congress and for members of ...
5
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1answer
386 views
Virginia's ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment
A footnote on page 30 of this document says that the date of Virginia's ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment (which abolished slavery) was on the 9th of February, 1865. (If I recall correctly, ...
53
votes
10answers
10k views
What was the historical context of the 2nd amendment to the US Constitution?
The 2nd amendment states:
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.
There is a lot of ...
2
votes
1answer
161 views
History of the 1793 revision of the constitution of Vermont
Is there any account of the politics of the revisions of Vermont's constitution in 1793? When Vermont was admitted to the Union on March 4, 1791, it continued to function under the constitution of ...
1
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1answer
176 views
Why was Schuyler Colfax not present at the vote to reconsider the 13th amendment?
According to this question about the thirteenth amendment and by extension this source it references, both say that Schuyler Colfax, the speaker at the time did not vote on the motion to reconsider ...
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0answers
80 views
Why was the Congressional Apportionment Amendment opposed?
The Congressional Apportionment Amendment only established a principal for congressional apportionment, which was followed out of custom for many years after the adoption of the constitution. If these ...
4
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1answer
249 views
Why was the Titles of Nobility Amendment proposed?
Why is it that the Titles of Nobility Amendment was proposed in congress? Were there instances of Americans accepting foreign noble titles?
3
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1answer
147 views
History of ways of choosing members of the electoral college
The Constitution of the United States Article II, Section 1, second paragraph, says:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to ...
19
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2answers
2k views
What was the original process for becoming a US citizen?
So it's 1789 and the US constitution has just come into force. Who is now a citizen of this new government? Were some granted citizenship automatically, or were there also forms to fill out and ...
9
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1answer
948 views
Are there records of federal courts under the Articles of Confederation?
The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union were the agreement among the thirteen United States of America to unite under a federal government consisting of a Continental Congress. They were ...
4
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1answer
185 views
What "other property" was considered for representation at the Constitutional Convention?
In the Wikipedia article on the US Constitutional Convention, it states that:
The most contentious disputes revolved around the composition and election of the Senate, how "proportional ...
2
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1answer
184 views
Governors' veto power
If I'm not mistaken, governors in the thirteen colonies, appointed by the king, had veto power over acts of colonial legislatures. In 1996, I was living in North Carolina. At that time NC was the ...
12
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1answer
959 views
How were new states admitted to the Union?
Admission of new states into the United States must be consistent with Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution, but that leaves some discretion to Congress in a number of matters. What were the ...
6
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3answers
4k views
What was the earliest known written constitution?
I was reading Wikipedia today, specifically the Constitution of Medina article and it states:
This was the first written constitution in the history of the world.
With two book references (that I'...
2
votes
1answer
191 views
Primary sources for ratification of Constitutional amendments
How would I know that Constitutional amendments were ratified on certain dates? What evidence would I have?
For example, a search result from the Library of Congress website states that the 15th ...
8
votes
1answer
263 views
How was the lower chamber of the Japanese Imperial Diet elected under the Meiji constitution?
During the period 1868-1945, Japan was ruled under the "constitution of the empire of Japan" better known as the "Meiji constitution". Under this constitution, the Imperial Diet was the legislature ...
12
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2answers
520 views
Why did 1906 Iranian constitutionalists use the Belgian constitution as inspiration?
The Constitutional Revolution of Iran in 1906 resulted in a constitution that established a parliament and a constitutional monarchy. Interestingly, it was based on the Belgian constitution.
Was ...
3
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2answers
1k views
Why was a gold standard not stipulated in the U.S. Constitution? [closed]
It is a known fact that some of the founding fathers wanted to limit the power of the federal government.
I have heard it said on the History Channel that one of the ways they did this was by ...
3
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1answer
120 views
Were the doors kept open for the entire Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention?
On November 20, 1787, the fourth day of the Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention, before any debates had taken place, it was "Ordered, That the doors of the Convention be left open during the session" ...
11
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3answers
2k views
How did the Alien and Sedition acts pass?
The Alien and Sedition acts, passed in 1798, are said to have been an attempt by the Federalist Party to suppress opposition.
In Chapter 74 Section 2, the law seems to put restrictions on freedom of ...
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3answers
284 views
What is the oldest regulation in the world regarding a head of state?
With a regulation I mean something akin to a constituional codex. It doesn't have to be a constitution per se, but it should outline the head of state's limitations or privileges. The oldest I have ...
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1answer
256 views
How did Lincoln legitimize the constitutionality of his Emancipation Proclamation? [closed]
How did he convince the south to legitimize the emancipation proclamation?
2
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1answer
593 views
Voting enfranchisement in the USA in the 18th century
It is frequently asserted that when the US constitution was ratified in 1788, it was a very progressive piece of legislation because it gave everyone the right to vote, making the US the first modern ...
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1answer
292 views
Are there notes by the Founding Fathers which indicate why DC citizens were denied a vote in Congress?
Are there any records from the Constitutional Convention that establish why the District of Columbia was denied voting representation in the Senate and the House? Was there even any expression of ...
5
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1answer
162 views
Framers and Criminal Voting Rights
At the time of the drafting of the Constitution, who can and cannot vote was left up to the states. Despite leaving it up to the states to decide, did any of the Framers view that criminals, either in ...
17
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4answers
6k views
Did the U.S Constitution revoke or merely amend the the Articles of Confederation?
This may seem like a silly question, but I only ask because of a U.S. Supreme Court case that actually cited the Articles of Confederation.
After the civil war, there is this case called
Texas_v....
9
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2answers
2k views
What did the word 'unconstitutional' mean to Americans prior to the Revolution?
I'm reading about the Townshend Acts on Wikipedia, and it says that the American colonists rejected any taxation because it was unconstitutional. Were they referring to a specific document, like the ...
3
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0answers
162 views
Contemporary objections to the Bill of Rights's 1st Amendment / Declaration of the Rights of Man, art. 10? [closed]
What were the objections to the Bill of Rights's 1st Amendment when it was first published?
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise ...
13
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6answers
7k views
Did the Founding Fathers believe that states had the right to secede?
This question is a follow-up to the Founding Fathers and the Civil War question.
Although the Constitution dictates how a state may join the Union, there is no written provision for secession. Did ...
4
votes
1answer
128 views
Were NC, IL, and VA's latest concurrent constitutions' effective dates coincidental?
The latest Constitutions of North Carolina, Illinois, and Virginia all became effective on the same day (July 1, 1971). Was this coincidental, or was there some coordination going on? If so, why did ...
2
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1answer
534 views
Do authoritative Jewish historical records record the expulsion
The following wiki extract demonstrates the possibility that the Muhammad's expulsion of Banu Qaynuqa and execution of Banu Qurayza to be a myth. Do authoritative Jewish historical records track or ...
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1answer
86 views
Why was Lakhdar Boumediene, in the Boumediene v Bush case, acquitted of his charges? And, why was the habeas corpus not suspended? [closed]
From my knowledge, the habeas corpus can be suspended in times of rebellion and danger of public health and safety. Wouldn't this be ground to ultimately suspend the habeas corpus in Bush's favor? (...
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2answers
151 views
Government started within another government
Has an independent constitution ever been enacted and claimed the territory of another independent constitution in whole or part, and did its government actually exist after enactment within the ...
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1answer
191 views
The Constitution of the United States: Background material for the original, esp. the Bill of Rights?
During the work and debate around the Constitution of the United States; where there much background-material like surveys, notes and minutes (from debates)? How much of such material have survived? ...
9
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3answers
53k views
Does Japan have the constitutional and legal right to have its own army or navy?
After WW2 Japan capitulated and was disarmed. And as I know Japan was not able to have its own army, and its boundary would be protected by the United States. So, does Japan have the legal right to ...
