Part C

What is the importance of the 12-15th amendments?

Amendment 12 is an extremely important amendment because it is the rules on how a President (or Vice President) comes into office. It is stated in the amendment that the electors would cast their vote for President and then the votes would be counted and the candidate with the most votes wins the election. This amendment basically gives our government its structure and makes people believe we have a democracy. The 13th and 14th amendments are very important as well because when they were created, they introduced the idea that slaves and all people born in the United States are thereby under the law of the United States and shall not be discriminated against based on what or who they are. The 14th amendment goes into greater detail and talks about the qualifications for being a Senator and the qualifications for those who will be voting. The 15th amendment continues this trend in saying that all people shall have the right to vote and this shall not be revoked based on color, gender or previous status in society.

These amendments are extremely important because they show how the views of the United States were in the process of changing. These amendments reiterate constantly the fact that slaves will be (in a way) treated as equals and that people will not be discriminated against. It also gives us our voting procedure which, if we had none, would create confusion and possible chaos in our government.

How does the 14th amendment conflict with gay marriage and abortion rights?

The 14th amendment states that: "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." This means that no state may create a law that takes away a citizen’s right to be happy or to make decisions for them that will better their situation. This amendment strongly conflicts with certain rules that state that gay marriage is illegal and that abortion is illegal. The 14th amendment gives people the right to better their lives and make decisions that will make them happy. Should any state ban gay marriage, they are taking away a person’s “liberty” and the right to be happy. The conflicts in this amendment are great and can cause many issues. The amendment states that “we the people” have the right to choose what we need, want and will make us happy.

Enforcing this amendment will be extremely hard because there are many, many different people with views that support and are against gay marriage, abortion and a female’s rights to her body so no one will ever agree on an amendment to this amendment. States will have their own laws because it is their constitutional right, but their laws may go against this amendment. It is stated in the constitution that the federal government has the most power over every government, yet the federal government can’t enforce this amendment because within the Federal Government, many people disagree with the idea that gay marriage and such should be legal.

The significance of Amendments 11-27:

Amendments 11-27 go on in detail about how the President will be elected. They state that no one shall be denied the right to vote based on gender or race. We see that most of the amendments after #12 are regulations, rules or qualifications about the election of Presidents, Vice Presidents, and the rules for Congress and Senators etc. We see that the importation or exportation of intoxicating liquors are denied access into the states. The Congress has control over this and other imported and exported goods. Some of the amendments give people the right to choose their happiness and that the government cannot get in the way of other people’s justice.

Personally, I think that all of the amendments in which we find qualifications for the voting process and rules for who shall enter office are the most important. These amendments (such as the 12th) give our government its structure. They tell each house in some small way a short summary of what powers they have and how they are all even. We see what happens if the President dies, when a Vice President takes over, what are more powers the Congress has and many other jobs of the houses of government. Without these amendments, our government would not have any constructive way of choosing a leader and the government would not be split up into the powers that it has so each house would be fighting for the most power.