23
votes
What was the historical context of the 2nd amendment to the US Constitution?
Just a supplement to @BenCrowells excellent answer, it was partly based on the English Bill of Rights 1689. The Roman Catholic James II had attempted to disarm Protestants, and set up a standing army -...
- 7,831
20
votes
Accepted
What was the original process for becoming a US citizen?
tl;dr: Common Law, inherited from Britain, says you're a citizen by right of birth or parentage... but a citizen of what? The principles of the US revolution imply your first obligation is to your ...
- 54.5k
19
votes
What was the historical context of the 2nd amendment to the US Constitution?
The historical context shows that it intends that everyone be armed, both for the defense of the state and for their own personal use; that the "militia" is intended to consist of all capable adults; ...
- 388
17
votes
Accepted
Could the leader of the Soviet Union have been removed legally?
Sure he could be removed legally, as the example of Khrushchev shows. Officially the only source of power in USSR was the Communist Party as defined in article 6 of the constitution from 1977 which ...
- 294
14
votes
Accepted
Is there any documentation on the creation of Article 1 Section II of the US constitution
Yes, there is.
The deliberations took a while and the participants were all literate, letter-writing folk, so there is actually a lot more documentation about the deliberations than many people think....
- 115k
13
votes
Accepted
Why did 1906 Iranian constitutionalists use the Belgian constitution as inspiration?
Comparing just to the Constitution of the Netherlands, that of Belgium was for a Unitary State with no substantial body of Common Law and tradition, while that of The Netherlands was for a Federal ...
- 71.3k
13
votes
Accepted
Why was a gold standard not stipulated in the U.S. Constitution?
Basically, the Pseudohistory Channel or whoever you heard this from is simply wrong. Rather than a gold standard, the framers of the US Constitution tried to introduce a bimetallic standard - that is, ...
- 96.9k
13
votes
How did the United Kingdom government come to be responsible for defence of the Channel Islands?
I'm afraid you're chasing a chimera. The answer really is there in the Wikipedia article on the Channel Islands, although perhaps it requires a bit of unpacking. And some details are scattered among ...
- 4,331
11
votes
Was the Bundesbrief a forgery?
Despite the carbon dating results, there remains a degree of uncertainty as to whether or not the Bundesbrief (Federal Charter) of 1291 is a medieval forgery and, if it is, to what extent it has been ...
- 107k
8
votes
Accepted
How was the lower chamber of the Japanese Imperial Diet elected under the Meiji constitution?
Male citizens over the age of 25 were eligible to vote, except for members of the Imperial Army or Navy and the Imperial family. Originally, suffrage was limited to only those who had paid 15 yen in ...
- 96.9k
8
votes
What unknown laws were mentioned in earlier Coronation Oaths of England?
I remember being taught about this when I studied the Stuarts at college. As I recall, the phrase:
" ... ancient Laws and Constitutions at this time unknowne."
meant laws that were no longer ...
- 77k
7
votes
Did the Founding Fathers believe that states had the right to secede?
tl; dr
As far as I can tell, there is insufficient information to answer this. We have quotes & indications that point in both directions. It is clear that the Supremacy clause means that any ...
MCW♦
- 31.7k
7
votes
Was the United States meant to be a confederation of states?
According to Klarman, and Maier the founders explicitly addressed this in the Constitutional Convention, and rejected a confederation.
To me there are two questions within your question.
Was the ...
MCW♦
- 31.7k
6
votes
Accepted
Virginia's ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment
From the beginning of the American Civil War, Virginia had two governments. The original pro-succession government with it's capital in Richmond, and a newly formed Restored or Reorganized Government ...
- 54.5k
6
votes
What were the founding fathers' views on Native Americans?
I think we can adress one issue rather easily, concerning
Did the founding fathers have a lack of respect for the natives
A very simple answer would be to look at how relations with the Native ...
- 37.2k
6
votes
Why wasn't England/Britain officially an empire (as a form of monarchy)?
In short, the creation of empires and emperors/empresses was not something that was done casually due to the respect accorded to the title internationally and domestically.
Emperors in Western Europe
...
- 10.7k
6
votes
Accepted
What was the constitutional status of Finland within Russian Empire?
Q: What was the constitutional status of Finland within Russian Empire?
Answer in one sentence: For the longest time Finland had a constitution (inherited from Swedish times/the Swedish constitution ...
- 80.2k
5
votes
Accepted
Why was the Titles of Nobility Amendment proposed?
Yes, the Titles of Nobility Amendment was prompted by the marriage of Jérôme-Napoléon Bonaparte, brother of Napolean Bonaparte, and Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte who together had a child named Jérôme ...
- 1,248
5
votes
Accepted
How did the Alien and Sedition acts pass?
Fairly simply, the Federalists had a majority in both houses of Congress at the time, and held the Presidency. So they had the power to do it.
They were suffering withering attacks from Jefferson ...
- 115k
4
votes
What was the original process for becoming a US citizen?
In 1788, residents of the thirteen colonies would have been citizens of their state. The Constitution didn't go into effect until 1789.
Furthermore, since the Constitution was ratified by the ...
MCW♦
- 31.7k
4
votes
Accepted
What was the earliest known written constitution?
The use of this so-called "constitution of Medina" is purely modern and has no historical usage at all. Originally, the document referred to was called a "treaty". It was not even called a charter ...
- 37.7k
4
votes
What was the historical context of the 2nd amendment to the US Constitution?
America of the 1780s had to worry about a variety of enemies, both internal and external.
In some ways, the America of that time was much like today's "Switzerland" (which has universal male ...
- 104k
4
votes
Was the United States meant to be a confederation of states?
The US Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled NO.
What you're describing is similar to Compact Theory, the idea that the United States was formed by an agreement between the states. This idea comes up a ...
- 54.5k
3
votes
Accepted
Organizing the 1788 presidential and congressional elections
For one thing, the 1788 elections were held in 1789.
The following quote is from p. 166 of Sol Bloom, The Story of the Constitution, United States Constitution Sesquicentennial Commission, House ...
- 466
3
votes
How were new states admitted to the Union?
Not only were they "re-admitted," but some were thrown out a second time for failure to act upon the 14th and 15th Amendments. Look at these dates: Secession, then readmission, and finally &...
3
votes
Accepted
History of the 1793 revision of the constitution of Vermont
The Vermont Secretary of State maintains a site, Vermont Constitutions, which contains a link to the Records of the Council of Censors, which downloads a document, published in 1991, and containing ...
- 6,779
3
votes
Accepted
Why was Schuyler Colfax not present at the vote to reconsider the 13th amendment?
This custom developed because it was always the custom of the British House of Commons, from which most legislative traditions of the United States ultimately derive.
This custom also serves a ...
- 71.3k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible