We are going to over the Constitution and its Amendments line by line. When Republicans wave their paper props and parrot their vile machinations, we will be prepared to expose the lies. The text comes from The US Constitution. It will be displayed in black, while my comments will be indented in blue. Earlier articles include:
Preamble – Article I, Section 5
Article I, Sections 6-10
Article II, Section 1
Article II, Sections 2-4
Article III
Article IV
Section 1
Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.
What happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas. It’s interesting to note that this section requires that marriages (Records and Proceedings) performed in one state be recognized in all others. Nowhere does this exclude LGBT marriages.
Section 2
1: The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
No state may deprive an individual of a federally derived right, such as a woman’s right to choose.
2: A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.
Extradition between states cannot be denied when requested with probable cause.
3: No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.
This is the basis for the Dred Scott decision. As hateful as it was, the decision did follow the Constitution. Slaves were property. This was the clear intent of our founding fathers. Therefore originalists must support a return to slavery to remain consistent with that paradigm.
Section 3
1: New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.
The sane people in Texas are out of luck.
2: The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.
Territories not belonging to any state are federally ruled.
Section 4
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.
Republicans may not use domestic violence as an excuse to declare martial law within the states they control.
Even in this comparatively sparse article, we find two jewels, one important to the LGBT community and one debunking the main Republican position on the Constitution, originalism.
I shall try to put up a new article in this series almost every day. It will take some time to cover it all, but when we’re done, we shall be immune to the lies with which Republicans seek to undermine our freedoms.
10 Responses to “Constitution: Article IV”
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The entire problem with any constitutional law is that every single word can influence a decision simply through some Justice’s definition of that word. Though it is a well crafted document it is past time to do away way the lifetime political appointments of the justices and find a new way to have them empowered free of politics and funding.
This amendment actuall is the force that is behind the AZ law: “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion I am willing to bet that any court decision will hinge on this wording.
Also wasn’t West Virginia carved out of a prtion of VIrginia during the Civil War because those of the west did not want slavery?
Mark, I agree with the principle that Supreme Court Justices ought not be appointed for life. At the time the Constitution was written, people had much shorter lifespans. To make that change we would need an amendment, because Article III is unequivocal in that regard.
While “invasion” is used in the military sense, I would not put it past the current Court to intentionally misinterpret it.
On WV, I’ll reply to you with Beach.
…or any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States…
Most everyone should know how West Virginia was formed but the idea of two states being merged or a part of a state braking off and joining another now that would be an interesting situation.
Beach and Mark, West Virginia is an unusual case. WV seceded from Virginia when Virginia seceded from the US. Congress admitted WV, illegally, as a separate state. After the war, Virginia challenged the secession, but SCOTUS sided with WV in Virginia v West Virginia. It was a political rather than constitutional decision.
Two states merging would be most impractical, because the area would lose two Senators.
I feel like I’m in 8th grade (yuck, I do NOT want to go back there) studying for my Constitution test. TC – you’re doing a great job explaining the obscure portions of this fine document. Are we doing the Declaration of Independence next?
Thanks, Lisa. I haven’t decided yet.
I got straight As on my Constitution tests, both federal and IL. Honestly, I just read your commentaries. I am sure that if I looked more closely that there would be some more discussion.
One thing that I have to say is that the Constitution did define a slave a 3/5 a person, but it never really says what a ‘person’ is. I think that is the loophole that the corporations are using.
The other thing not in the Constitution (Or any other laws) is Common Sense. If it is not litigated, it does not exist in the eyes of the law. Sad, but true. Common Sense is left to the courts and lawyers to decide. Then, it becomes regional, at best.
Feel free, Otis. I’d love the input. I has a college History course that covered the Constitution only, and got an A in it, but I don’t consider myself a constitutional scholar.
That may be their argument, but I think they did define a person.
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.
Whole persons includes free people, indentured servants, Indians (who got no representation). All others are 3/5 persons. Under this definition, the best a corporation can do is 3/5 of a person. As such, corporations can only have the status of slaves.
I think that the Constitution was written as a flexible structure for government, but most of the common sense in in the Amendments.
TC
The amount of work your putting into this is remarkable. I’m learning so much as well as remembering things I’ve forgotten. It’s appreciated…
Thanks
Tim
Thank you, Tim. You’re most welcome.