scholarly journals State Constitutions and the Federal Constitution and Organic Laws of the Territories and other Colonial Dependencies of the United States of America

1919 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 476
Author(s):  
J. M. Mathews ◽  
Charles Kettleborough
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
State Constitutions ◽  
Federal Constitution

Evolution of the Procedure for Empowering the Governors in the States of the USA

2020 ◽  
pp. 37-41
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
The United States ◽  
The State ◽  
Executive Power ◽  
State Constitutions ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
The Usa

The article discusses the development of the procedure for empowering the governors of the states of the United States of America. The models of empowerment of governors, requirements for candidates for governor positions, the terms of the latter’s exercise of power both now and in retrospective are examined. The provisions of the constitutions of the states of the United States of America, fixing the requirements for candidates for the positions of governors of the states, are not always identical. Despite the existing differences established by the state constitutions regarding the requirements for candidates for governor positions and the terms for exercising the powers by governors, the procedure for electing state governors is the same. The increase in the term for exercising the powers by governors is due to an increase in the role and importance of governors as officials in charge of state executive power. Particular attention is paid to the study of requirements for candidates for governors. In addition to age qualifications and qualifications for citizenship, residency qualifications in the state where the candidate is running for governor are of prime importance. An in-depth study allows to track trends related to both the development of the procedure for vesting powers with governors and the change in the constitutional and legal status of governors as a whole. A key advantage of the constitutions of some states is the limitation of the duration of the state governors in their posts, thereby ensuring the effectiveness of the activities of the governors and executive power of the states.

John Adams, Cicero and the Traditions of Republicanism

2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-37
Author(s):  
PAUL JOSEPH CORNISH
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Human Society ◽  
John Adams ◽  
Human Reason ◽  
State Constitutions ◽  
Republican Government

ABSTRACT John Adams' approach to republican politics emphasizes the need to check and balance powers in a republican constitution, but also the need to check the power of the ‘aristocracies' that arise in society. The need for checks on power is explained in terms of the weakness of human reason relative to the passions, and in terms of the need for harmony and justice to promote happiness in society. Adams retains a Ciceronian view of the origins of human society and of republican government, and relies on Cicero's definitions of ‘people' and ‘republic' to help frame his Defense of the Constitutions of the United States of America. His approach is conservative in that part of his defense is to stress that the colonial governments that existed before Independence were republican, and that the institutions of the colonial governments were the primary models for the new state constitutions after Independence. The study suggests that historical interpretations of the ‘republican tradition' are better understood in terms of a ‘traditions of republicanism.’

Constitutional Limitations on Reëligibility of National and State Chief Executives

1952 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 438-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph E. Kallenbach
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Constitution ◽  
Chief Executives ◽  
State Constitutions ◽  
Second Amendment ◽  
Federal Constitution ◽  
Current Term ◽  
Executive Officers

On March 1, 1951, the Administrator of General Services certified that the proposed presidential tenure amendment submitted to the states by Congress in 1947 had been ratified by thirty-six states, thus making it a part of the United States Constitution. Adoption of this proposal, which becomes the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, disposes of an issue that has agitated American politics periodically since the establishment of the Presidency. Hereafter no person will be eligible for a third term as President if he has served two full elective terms or one full elective term plus more than one-half of another term through succession to the office. President Truman, who would otherwise be rendered ineligible for reëlection following completion of his current term, is exempted from the ban by a qualifying clause which excludes from coverage “any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress.”Hostility to long continuance in office, particularly for executive officers, has been a prominent feature of American political thinking since Revolutionary times. Seven of the original state constitutions, all of which were formulated prior to adoption of the federal Constitution, carried clauses limiting reeligibility of the state chief executive.

The Philosophical Background of the American Constitution(s)

1985 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 273-293
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Reck
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Constitution ◽  
John Adams ◽  
Constitutional Convention ◽  
Founding Fathers ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Federal Constitution ◽  
Philosophical Background

The Constitution of the United States was constructed by men influenced by fundamental ideas of what a republic should be. These ideas hark back to the ancient philosophers and historians, and were further articulated and developed in modern times. From time to time scholars have sought to collect and reprint selections from the classical, biblical, and modern sources upon which the Founding Fathers fed. Remarkably, however, the best anthology of these sources to understand the republican idea that undergirds the Federal Constitution was prepared on the eve of the Constitutional Convention by John Adams, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, then in London as American envoy to Great Britain and eventually the second President of the United States. I refer to Adams' A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, against the attack of M. Turgot, in his letter to Dr. Price, 22 March, 1778.

A Case Study in Federalism - the United States and Michigan Constitutions: Not Double Vision, Double Constitutions

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-219
Author(s):  
MICHAEL WARREN
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Separation Of Powers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
State Constitutions ◽  
Federal Constitution ◽  
Compare And Contrast

ABSTRACT Each citizen in America lives under two Constitutions - the United States, federal Constitution which applies to all citizens, and the constitution of the state in which the citizen lives. Often overlooked and basically unknown, the state constitutions play a vital role in governance and preserving our unalienable rights. Perhaps the best way to understand each constitution is to compare and contrast them. Accordingly, as a case study, this article examines the age, length, predecessors, drafting process, conventions, ratification process, and amendment procedures of the State of Michigan Constitution of 1963 and the U.S. Constitution. Furthermore, this article examines how each of these constitutions addresses the separation of powers, legislature, executive, judiciary, local government, transportation, education, finance, taxation, and the protection of unalienable rights. Armed with this understanding, we will be better informed citizens, and more ably equipped to participate in self-governance and protect the unalienable rights of the citizenry. Note: At times this article quotes constitutional text which refers to “he” or “him.” The grammatical convention at the time was to make masculine all generic gender references. That this article quotes the text does not equate to an endorsement of the convention nor did the drafters intend that only men could serve as public officials.

Austria’s Permanent Neutrality and the United Nations Organization

1956 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfred Verdross
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
United Nations ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Military Bases ◽  
Territorial Integrity ◽  
Military Alliance ◽  
Federal Constitution ◽  
Take All

In the Memorandum signed at Moscow, on April 15, 1955,1 the Austrian and Soviet Delegations came to an agreement binding the Austrian Delegation to carry out the following decisions and measures:1. Referring to the declaration made at the conference of Berlin in 1954 neither to join a military alliance nor to allow foreign military bases in its territory, the Austrian Government will make a declaration in a form which will obligate Austria internationally to practice in perpetuity a neutrality of the type maintained by Switzerland.2. After having ratified the State Treaty, the Austrian Government will submit this declaration to the Austrian Parliament for confirmation according to the Austrian Federal Constitution.3. The Austrian Government will take all suitable steps to obtain international recognition of this declaration.4. The Austrian Government will welcome a guaranty by the four Powers of the independence and territorial integrity of Austria.5. The Austrian Government will seek to obtain from the governments of France, Great Britain, and the United States of America such a guaranty.

The Philosophical Background of the American Constitution(s)

1985 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 273-293
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Reck
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Constitution ◽  
John Adams ◽  
Constitutional Convention ◽  
Founding Fathers ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Federal Constitution ◽  
Philosophical Background

The Constitution of the United States was constructed by men influenced by fundamental ideas of what a republic should be. These ideas hark back to the ancient philosophers and historians, and were further articulated and developed in modern times. From time to time scholars have sought to collect and reprint selections from the classical, biblical, and modern sources upon which the Founding Fathers fed. Remarkably, however, the best anthology of these sources to understand the republican idea that undergirds the Federal Constitution was prepared on the eve of the Constitutional Convention by John Adams, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, then in London as American envoy to Great Britain and eventually the second President of the United States. I refer to Adams' A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, against the attack of M. Turgot, in his letter to Dr. Price, 22 March, 1778.

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