The Constitution of the United States

The Constitution of the United States was written in May 1787 at the ‘Constitutional Convention’, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 55 men at the Convention (the delegates from the 12 out of 13 original states) are called the ‘Founding Fathers’ of the USA, and are also known as the ‘Framers of the Constitution’. Some of the more famous of the framers are George Washington (the first President of the USA), James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton.

The Constitution was ratified by nine states in 1788. It replaced the earlier set of government rules, the Articles of Confederation, which were the law of the country from 1781 until 1788. This document was an agreement between 13 semi-independent states with a weak national Congress as a central government.

The Constitution contains the preamble, seven basic articles and twenty seven amendments.

The Preamble is a short, one-sentence introduction to the Constitution which explains that the document is written on behalf of the people to establish a more perfect government.

The Articles establish the United States with a federal (central) government plus state governments. However, the US Constitution specifies only the powers and duties of the federal government with three separate branches: the legislative (Article I), the executive (Article II), and the judicial (Article III).The supreme power under the Constitution is not given to any of the branches. Nor does it belong, as in many other countries, to a political group or party. It belongs to the people, in fact and in spirit.

The relationships between the states and the federal government are set up in Article IV which also describes how to admit new states to the Union. The Founding Fathers did not intend to establish a static system which could not be changed. They referred to the Constitution as a ‘living’ document which should be changed or interpreted to meet the changing needs of society – and they did just that. Article V of the Constitution specifies the procedure to amend the Constitution and ratify amendments. Article VI establishes the Constitution as the supreme law of the USA. And Article VII lists the requirements for ratification of the Constitution.

The US Constitution has been formally amended only 27 times in more than two centuries. To all Americans, the first 10 Constitutional Amendments are known together as the Bill of Rights, adopted in 1791.

In the Bill of Rights, Americans are guaranteed freedom of religion, of speech and of the press. They have the right to assemble in public places, to protest government actions and to demand change. They have the right to own weapons if they wish. Because of the Bill of Rights, neither police nor soldiers can stop and search a person without good reason. They also cannot search a person’s home without legal permission to do so.

The Bill of Rights guarantees Americans the right to a speedy trial if accused of a crime. The trial must be by a jury and the accused person must be allowed representation by a lawyer and must be able to call in witnesses to speak for him or her. Cruel and unusual punishment is forbidden.

There were 17 other amendments to the Constitution as of 1991. Indeed, that is not many changes considering that the Constitution was written in 1787. Only a few of those 17 amendments need to be mentioned here. One abolishes slavery and three others guarantee citizenship and full rights of citizenship to all people regardless of race. Another gives women the right to vote and another lowers the national voting age to 18 years.

This Constitution was not perfect; it is not perfect today even with amendments, but it has continued longer than any other written form of government. The US Constitution is the oldest national constitution and the shortest. It has been the model for many national constitutions around the world.

 

3. SCANNING READING. Quickly scan the text to find the following information.

1) When was the United States Constitution written (ratified)?

2) How many original states were there in the United States?

3) How many delegates (states) were present at the Convention?

4) Who are the more famous of the framers of the Constitution?

5) What parts does the Constitution consist of?

6) What are the three branches of the US government?

7) What Article specifies the procedure to amend the Constitution?

8) When was the Constitution amended last time?

4. READING FOR GENERAL UNDERSTANDING. Choose a), b), or c) to complete the following sentences.

 

1. The Constitutional Convention is a(n) …

a) international agreement between the original states

b) meeting of delegates

c) tradition

2. The US Constitution specifies the powers and duties of each branch …

a) of the federal and state governments

b) of the federal government

c) of state governments

3. The supreme power under the Constitution belongs to …

a) a political party

b) the people

c) the government

4. The American Bill of Rights is …

a) a separate document

b) 27 Constitutional Amendments

c) the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution

5. The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution in …

a) 1781

b) 1791

c) 1991

6. The Bill of Rights guarantees …

a) the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

b) freedom from slavery

c) basic rights and freedoms

5.WORD STUDY.

5.1 Find a word or a phrase in the text that has a similar meaning. Suggest the Russian.

Paragraph 1 1 supreme law of the land c... 2 meeting of delegates c… 3 union of states by an agreement or treaty c… 4 partly independent s… 5 organized political and administrative parts of the United States s… Paragraph 2 1 introduction to a formal document p… 2 change proposed or made to a formal document a… 3 separate clause or item in a document a… 4 group of people governing a country g…

Paragraph 3 1 violation of law c… 2 group of persons who decide on issues of fact in a law court j… 3 examination in a court before a judge t… 4 act of allowing or permitting p… 5 persons who give evidence under oath in court w… 6full rights (either by birth or by gaining such rights) of a person in a State c…

5.2 Study the following verbs from the text.

1to hold (a meeting, etc.) 2to ratify 3 to refer to sb/sth as 4 to establish 5 to specify 6to belong 7 to admit 8 to intend 9 to amend 10to adopt 11 to assemble 12 to demand 13 to own 14 to search 15to accuse of 16 to forbid 17 to meet sth 18 to fulfill 19to abolish

-проводить (собрание и т.д.) -ратифицировать -обращаться к кому-либо/чему-либо как; называть кого-либо/что-либо как -устанавливать, учреждать -точно определять, специфицировать -принадлежать -принимать (в состав), признавать -намереваться -вносить поправки -принимать (одобрять формально) -собираться -требовать -владеть -обыскивать -обвинять -запрещать -соответствовать -выполнять -отменять

5.3 Fill in the synonyms from the list. Use a dictionary if necessary.

To prohibit, to ensure; to meet; to possess; to carry out; to repeal; to require; to adopt; to permit;

to ratify = to own = to abolish =

to guarantee = to assemble = to forbid =

to demand = to allow = to fulfill =

5.4 Word families: suffixes -(a)tion and - ment are used to form nouns from verbs.

a) Complete the following table showing the relationship between the verb and noun forms.

VERB	NOUN
1to ratify 2 to establish 3 to specify 4 to admit 5 to intend 6 to amend 7to adopt 8to accuse of 9 to fulfill 10to abolish

b) Which nouns have similar suffixes?

- (a)tion	- ment

5.5 Find in the text the English for:

свобода слова, вероисповедания, печати

право собираться в общественных местах

выражать протест по поводу действий правительства

требовать изменений

право на владение оружием

обыскивать человека без достаточного основания

законное разрешение

право на скорый суд

обвиняемые в преступлении

суд присяжных

право быть представленным адвокатом

запрещать жестокие и необычные наказания

вызывать свидетелей в свою пользу

отменить рабство

гарантировать гражданство

снизить возраст избирателей до 18 лет

 

5.6 Choose the words from the list to fill in the gaps.

Citizenship; change; Convention; trial; document; vote; Founding; actions; voting; lawyer; Bill; call in; own; accused; forbidden; forbid; assemble; search;

1 Constitutional … 2… Fathers 3 a ‘living’ … 4… of Rights 5 to … in public places 6toprotest government … 7 to demand … 8 the right to … weapons 9 to … a person without good reason

10 a speedy … 11 … of a crime 12 representation by a … 13 to … witnesses 14cruel and unusual punishment is … 15to … slavery 16to guarantee … 17the right to … weapons 18… age

5.7 Fill in the prepositions from the list where necessary.

To; in; without; by; of; under; between;

An agreement … 13 semi-independent states; is often referred … as; … the Constitution; to belong … sb (sth); … fact and … spirit; to search a person … legal permission; accused … a crime; trial … a jury; representation … a lawyer; regardless … race;

 

6. READING FOR DETAIL. Read the text carefully to find answers to the following questions.

1) When and where was the US Constitution written?

2) Who is referred to as the Founding Fathers of the United States?

3) When was the Constitution adopted?

4) What document governed the country before the adoption of the Constitution?

5) What are the main parts of the Constitution?

6) What is the preamble to the US Constitution?

7) What do the Articles of the Constitution establish?

8) What Articles specify the powers and duties of the federal government?

9) Which of the three branches of the US government has the supreme power?

10) What Article sets up the relationship between the states and the federal government?

11) What did the Founding Fathers provide to make the Constitution a ‘living’ document?

12) What do Articles VI and VII establish?

13) How many times has the Constitution been amended?

14) When was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?

15) What rights are guaranteed in the Bill of Rights?

16) What other important amendments regarding human rights were made to the Constitution as of 1991?

17) Is the US Constitution still a ‘living’ document?

 

SPEAKING.

7.1 Define the following:

constitution/(un)written constitution/preamble/article/amendment

 

7.2 Without looking at the text complete the following sentences.

 

1) The Constitution of the United States was written at the Constitutional … in … and ratified in …

2) The 55 men at the Convention are known as …

3)The Constitution contains …

4) It establishes the United States with a … government plus … governments.

5) However, the Constitution specifies only the powers and duties of three … of a federal government: …, … and …

6) The supreme power under the Constitution is not given to any of the …, it belongs to the …

7)The US Constitution has been formally amended … times in more than two centuries.

8) The first ten Constitutional Amendments are known together as …

9) In the Bill of Rights, Americans are guaranteed freedom of …, …, and the …, the right to assemble …, to protest …, to demand … and to own …

10) Because of the Bill of Rights, neither police nor soldiers can … a person without …. They also cannot search a person’s home without … to do so.

11) If a person is accused of a crime, the Bill of Rights guarantees the right to a speedy … by a …; representation by a … and the right to call in …

12) … is forbidden.

13) Some other amendments abolish …, guarantee … to all people regardless of race and sex, and lower … to18 years.

14) The US Constitution is the … and the … and has been the model …

 

8. DEVELOPMENT. Read the Preamble to the US Constitution.

“We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure 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.”

 

a) Find the corresponding English equivalents in the extract.

Установить правосудие, способствовать всеобщему благосостоянию, сохранить благословения свободы, сформировать более совершенный союз, обеспечить совместную оборону, гарантировать внутреннее спокойствие.

b) Translate the preamble into Russian in writing.

9. PRESENTATION. Use the information from the text and the vocabulary you have learnt in the exercises above, to describe the US Constitution.

10. RESEARCH. Use the vocabulary of this Unit and your personal knowledge to describe in written form the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus. Include the following points:

1) How old is the Constitution?

2) What parts does it consist of?

3) What are the branches of government under the Constitution?

4) Who has the supreme power under the Constitution?

5) Are there any amendments?

6) What rights and freedoms does the Constitution guarantee?

UNIT II
THE UNITED STATES SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

1. BEFORE READING. Before reading the text suggest your answers to the following questions.

1) What is the difference between a democracy and a dictatorship; a (constitutional) monarchy and a republic; a federal and a unitary state? Give examples.

2) Why do you think power is shared among three branches of government in democratic countries?

 

2. FIRST READING. Skim the text and put the following headings (a-c) into the correct numbered positions (1-3).

a) Checks and Balances

b) Decentralization of Power

c) Separation of Power