Know thy government

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Friday Constitutional 1 - Preamble, Article One; Sections 1 And 2.

The basic intent of this series is to look at the base document of our Republic the Constitution of the United States of America... Each week this series will look at a section of the Constitution and give a basic explanation of what it seems to mean. The Dog knows that interpretation of the Constitution is a contentious field of expertise and that he is likely to be thought to be wrong.

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The Constitution starts with the Preamble, which many of you might remember from the great School House Rock animation:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The above are some of the most powerful and meaningful words that have ever been written in the English language. To the Dog this one very long and run on sentence is the core of what our country is. It talks of the people, not citizens, not land owners, not whites, not men but all the people. It is true that at least some (if not most) of the framers thought people equaled white, land owning men, when they wrote that, but the choice of words speaks to the inclusiveness that is a hallmark of our current democracy. Without those first six words, we would be a very different country. The preamble goes on to describe what the People intend to do with this document, the core needs that the framers felt had to be enshrined if their new country was to prosper and not become decedent. Work towards a more perfect (but not completely perfect or stagnant) Union. To establish Justice (which is different from revenge), insure domestic tranquility (avoiding war within the new Union), Provide for the common defense (we are stronger together than we are apart), promote the general welfare (we are only as strong as the weakest among us) and live in liberty for now and the future.Those 18th Century politicians set lofty goals for themselves and their decedents didn’t they? Call the Dog a freak if you like, but since he was a kid, any time those words are spoken or he reads them, a chill comes over the Dog. Now lets look at Article One:
Section One:

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Article 1, Section 1 sets out the form of the Congress, two houses, one called the Congress (thanks for making that confusing, founding fathers!) and the other the Senate. It also reserves all legislative power for these two Houses. Those elected to these Houses have the right to make all laws. It is their responsibility alone that brings new Federal laws into being. Of course they are not the final say, as the framers where very concerned that too much power would accrue into the hands of a few, but they are the only ones that can write and pass legislation.
Section Two:
There are five clauses in Section Two, all of which deal with the who can be in Congress and what responsibilities they will have.
Clause One:

The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

This clause sets out that we will elect our Congressmen/woman every two years from each state. They will have to be qualified as set out in Clause Two.
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