To scroll through this material, use the scroll keys on your keyboard, or click/drag on the scroll bar at the right side of this (the comments) box.
At this point, the PG UP, PG DN, HOME, END keys should provide scrolling, and the arrow keys should provide cursor movement. If not, turn off caps lock and num lock on your key board. Also, on some key boards, the 2, 4, 6, and 8 keys on the numeric key pad will provide cursor movement even if not so marked; the 9, 3, 7, and 1 keys on the numeric key pad will provide PG UP, PG DN, HOME, and END scrolling, respectively.
To print these exercises (you may want to refer to them in those parts that require you to leave this screen), press F7.
Try to determine what the Constitution has to say about the flag. The "Vocabulary List" box (left column of this screen, same height as the comments box) contains an alphabetical listing of every word used in the Constitution.
Press F6, type 'flag' (initial caps, all lower case, or all caps), and press ENTER. The words five, fix, fixed, fled, and flee appear at the top of the "Vocabulary List" box.
Flag does not appear there.
The word "flag" does not appear in the vocabulary list box because the word "flag" is not currently used anywhere in the Constitution. You can verify this independently by visually scanning a hard copy of the Constitution, or by performing a search using your word processor on a text file of the Constitution.
Now, try to determine what the Constitution has to say about rights. Press F6, and then type 'right'. The words right and Right appear at the bottom of the Vocabulary List box. In this program, Right and right, one being initial caps and the other all lower case, are treated as two distinct words.
Access the "Vocabulary List" box and highlight right. Then double click on "right" or press the space bar. Three buttons appear below this box. Above this box, the text of the Constitution is scrolled to the first occurrence of the word "right". The word "right" is highlighted in red on color screens. The other words on the same line appear in blue. Move among occurrences of the word "right" using the Previous and Next buttons below this box.
Press F2 and peruse the phrases that appear. Each of these phrases contains the word 'right'. Press the F3 key when you are through looking at the phrases.
So the Constitution has a little to say about rights. In fact, it has a lot more to say than what you just saw. More information about how the Constitution uses rights and various synonyms is provided with this program. After you go through the rest of these exercises, you will access this information.
Determine what the Constitution has to say about official language. Press F6 and then search for words such as language, English, French, German, etc. As you can see by the results of this effort, the search feature helps you determine quickly what does and what does not appear in the Constitution.
************************************* The use in the Constitution of the word "Rights" is what inspired the list of words in the "Key Words" box on this screen, not to mention the entire TCN program.
Not so much so you could have THIS specific list of cross references and key words associated with "Rights", but also and even more so in order that you could add or delete from this list as you see fit - and so you could make similar lists of key words and cross references related to any area of Constitutional interpretation that is of interest to you.
It's funny how "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" in the Declaration of Independence became "life, liberty, and property" in the Constitution - not just in one place, but in two places.
Another echo of the Declaration that can be heard in the Constitution is found in the 9th Amendment of the Bill of Rights. Compare "certain unalienable rights" in the Declaration to "rights . . . retained by the people" in the Constitution.
*************************** The phrases displayed when F2 is pressed each contain two or three of the words in the "Key Words" box. The use of more than one word to denote a meaning may have resulted from the failure to find a single word on which every one could agree to denote a specific meaning.
Keep in mind that neither the TCN program nor your computer can figure this out. The TCN program lets you use your computer to find and make lists of such words that YOU identify.
***************************************** The word age is used in the context of qualification for election to various Federal offices or for voting rights.
***************************************** Clearly this amendment prescribes that established procedures of Justice be followed when the state contemplates the exercise of its martial instruments against an individual.
Amazingly, at the same time, in the phrase "nor shall any person . . . be denied life, liberty, or property, without due process. . .", it REQUIRES that the martial instruments of the State be exercised whether the transgressor be another individual or the State.
***************************************** The term United States appears 94 times in the Constitution. In most cases it is preceded by a singular article adjective, the. However, in a few cases, United States is the antecedent of a plural pronoun such as them or their. These few instances are indexed under this heading. The key word used to index each occurrence is the plural pronoun.
The first-occurring index appears in the Constitution text box above this box. You can see the text of the other occurrences by using the previous and next buttons below this box. Or you can press the Phrases F2 button below this box to see the indexed phrases.
Union occurs six times and in each case is definitely singular, being preceded by a, this, or the.
***************************************** A Brief Historical Overview of the 2nd Amendment
The Declaration of Independence asserts that governments derive their legitimate powers from "the consent of the governed."
The United States Constitution, which many believe to be written in order to effect the aims stated in the Declaration of Independence, provides for separation of powers and trial by jury.
The Constitution, by virtue of separate articles devoted to each branch of government (legislative, Article I; executive, Article II; and judicial, Article III), explicitly states the separateness of these powerful functions of the government it proposed.
Another separation of powers, very clearly stated, but presented in a less obvious manner, is tactical control of the military and the power to tax. Congress has the power to lay and collect taxes. The President is the Commander in Chief of the military. The Constitution contains explicit statements concerning the separateness of these powerful functions in the government it proposed.
The People expressed their satisfaction with these measures by ratifying the Constitution, thereby endorsing the government it proposed. Albeit, this was a conditional, not an unconditional, endorsement, as can be seen by the text of the resolution that prefaces the Bill of Rights.
The second amendment is part of the Bill of Rights. It is part of what the People required as a condition to ratify the Constitution.
One of the complaints cited in the Declaration is "He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power." Keep in mind that this act is in direct violation of the English Bill of Rights paragraphs 19 and 20, a legal document by which George III was bound. Hence, documents are no guarantee of anyone's rights.
True, the Constitution limits the President's legal authority to exercise the martial instruments of the State. Constitutionally, he is limited (as well as obligated) to the enforcement of duly passed legislation. Also, Constitutionally, he is limited (as well as obligated) to the execution of wars declared by the Congress.
The American Colonists, including the authors of the Constitution, had just completed a war made necessary by the wanton abuse of legitimate powers by an executive officer, the king of England. What could they write on any piece of paper to prevent this from happening within the government they proposed? Nothing. That's what.
Which brings to mind the phrase, "A well regulated militia . . ." at the beginning of the second amendment. What is a well regulated militia?
A well regulated militia depends first on the integrity of its commanders. If they follow orders originating from a Civil Power, then they are not independent of it, and they are not superior to it as was cited in the Declaration.
Should that integrity falter, fail even briefly, what are the likely results? For a good model in history, look at what happened when the king of England stepped outside the bounds of his legitimate authority. Did he voluntarily diminish the extent of his illegitimately gained powers? Did he voluntarily relinquish them?
While the memories of this abuse of power and the results thereof were still fresh in the People's minds, the Citizens-to-be insisted upon the 2nd amendment, among others, as a condition of ratifying the Constitution. To be sure, they wrote into the Constitution the Command hierarchy with the Congress, representing the People, at the apex.
But that wasn't enough.
Realizing that no words written on any piece of paper could ever guarantee their rights against wanton abuse by a small group of individuals, or even perhaps by a single individual, they, into the very Constitution, wrote for themselves the right to keep and bear arms. In their minds, "A well regulated militia" was apparently a militia not only under command of the Civil Power on paper, but a militia also out manned and out gunned by the civilian population.
Ambitious generals who might ignore words written on a piece of paper cannot ignore what is provided by the second amendment; that is namely, the very real power by which the People may oppose them.
True, the king of England abused his powers. Has such an event ever actually occurred in the American military? Consider the Newburgh conspiracy, which took place during the Revolutionary War. Also, consider actions against veteran protesters in the early 30's taken by General Douglas MacArthur in direct violation of orders given by President Hoover.
If General Washington and Jesus of Nazareth could resist the temptations of power, then what about the king of England and General MacArthur? And what about the rest of us?
Then, if placing power into the hands of the few does not always work well, then what of placing power into the hands of the many, as in an armed populace?
To the extent that it did not, in the 1960's, prevent the legitimate exercise of military power to restore order (ensure domestic tranquility) during "civil" riots, an armed populace has worked well enough.
To the extent that it did not, in the 1930's, prevent the illegitimate exercise of military power by General MacArthur against Presidential orders, an armed populace has worked poorly enough.
Both events demonstrate the need for and the viability of an armed populace.
To those who would cite (and legitimately so) the increasingly common use of Constitutionally guaranteed arms in acts of violence, TCNbP Company calls your attention to the comments made in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights seminar, preamble paragraph 3 and articles 12, 18 and 19.
TCNbP Company completes its discussion of second amendment rights in the seminar entitled The Tenth Amendment and State's Rights.
****************************** To see the "Table of Contents for the United States Constitution", click on the Phrases F2 key.
Each line displayed is the first line in a paragraph of the US Constitution.
To see the reference number of a given phrase, click on it. The reference number is displayed toward the right end of the line above the phrases box.
Highlighted in the middle of each phrase is the key word (or in some cases a comma) that was used to index the phrase.
Each of these highlighted words (and the comma) appear in the "Key Words" box this screen.
Reading the opening phrase of each paragraph gives a good feeling for the flow of the Constitution.
Press the F3 key while the phrases are displayed and use the Previous and Next buttons to move through the text of the Constitution paragraph by paragraph.
The table of contents is a good way to memorize the Constitution. Use the opening phrase to get yourself started. Try to verbally complete the first sentence. Press F3 to verify your success.
