Constitution of U.S. in 1750 Words or Less

The U.S. Constitution created a House and Senate. (1-1-1) House terms are for two-years. (1-2-1) House members are directly elected by the people. (1-2-1) Representatives must be at least 25 and citizens for at least seven years. (1-2-2) House seats are apportioned equally based on a census taken every 10 years. (1-2-3) Washington DC receives one House seat. (A-23) Vacancies are filled by elections called by state executives. (1-2-4)

Senate terms are for six years. (1-3-1) Senators, initially chosen by state legislatures, are also directly elected. (A-17) Senators must be at least 30 and citizens for at least nine years. (1-3-3) Each state is entitled to two Senators, regardless of population. (1-3-1) Senators are divided into three classes; one-third are elected every two years. (1-3-2) The Vice-President serves as the President of the Senate (1-3-4)

The time, place and manner of elections is determined by Congress. (1-4-1) Citizens 18 years of age may vote. (A-26) Those born in the U.S. or naturalized are citizens. (A-14) Congress may write rules for naturalization. (1-8-4) No one may be denied the right to vote due to race or sex. (A-15, A-19) No poll taxes are permitted. (A-24)

No member of Congress may be subjected to a religious test. (6-3) Members are compensated. (6-1) Pay changes cannot become effective until after the next election. (A-27) The House and Senate determine if those elected met the qualifications for office (1-5-1) Members may not simultaneously retain other offices. (1-6-2) They cannot accept gifts or titles of nobility from foreign states. (1-9-8) Senators and representatives may be disciplined for disorderly behavior and expelled if two-thirds agree. (1-5-2)

Congress convenes on Jan. 3 and is in session at least once a year. (1-4-2) A majority constitutes a quorum. (1-5-1) While in session, neither body may adjourn for more than three days. (1-5-4) Members may not be questioned about their House or Senate speeches or debates. (6-1) They are privileged from arrest. (6-1) A journal records all proceedings and votes. (1-5-3) The Vice-President votes only to break a tie in the Senate. (1-3-4)

The President must be a natural-born citizen. (2-1-5) He must be at least 35. (2-1-5) Each state receives Electoral College electors equal to their number of representatives and Senators. (2-1-2) Elections are held on the same date in every state. (2-1-4) A majority of electors choses the President. (2-1-3) If no candidate receives a majority, the House elects the President. (2-1-3)

The Presidential oath of office, written into the Constitution by the Founders, makes no reference to god. (2-1-8) The President may not be subjected to a religious test. (6-3) The President is entitled to compensation. (2-1-7) He is elected to a four-year term that begins on Jan. 20 (2-1-1). He can serve no more than two terms. (A-22) If he already served more than two years of another’s term, he is limited to one term. (A-22)

The President defends the Constitution. (2-3) He is Commander-in-Chief of the army and navy. (2-2-1) He may use the militia to suppress insurrections and enforce the laws of the union. (1-8-15) He appoints ambassadors, officers, and Supreme Court Justices. (2-2-2) He fills vacancies, including Vice-President. (2-2-3) He may grant pardons. (2-2-1) He gives a State of the Union address, which recommends legislation. (2-3) He can make treaties. (2-2-2) No state may sign treaties. (1-10-1) The President may veto bills (1-7-2)

The President may be impeached for treason, bribery, or high crimes and misdemeanors. (2-4) The crime of treason must be supported by two witnesses or a confession in open court. (3-3-1) The House has the sole power to file impeachment charges. (1-2-5) The Senate has the exclusive power to try and convict cases of impeachment. (1-3-6) The Vice-President becomes President if the President dies or is removed from office. (2-1-6)

The House and Senate have legislative powers. (1-1-1) Congress has several enumerated powers. (1-8) They may also pass laws necessary for carrying out the delegated powers. (1-8-18). They may legislate for the District of Columbia. (1-8-17) They may make rules for U.S. territories. (4-3-2) They may admit new states. (4-3-1) They may initiate constitutional amendments by a vote of two-thirds in both bodies. (5) Presidential vetoes may be overridden by a two-thirds majority in both bodies. (1-7-2) The Senate may ratify or reject treaties. (2-2-2)

All revenue bills begin in the House. (1-7-1) Congress has the power to lay and collect taxes. (1-8-1) They may use income taxes. (A-16) Direct taxes must be proportional (1-2-3) Congress, but no state, may coin money. (1-8-5, 1-10-1) They may punish counterfeiters of U.S. coins and securities. (1-8-6) They may borrow money. (1-8-2) They may pay the debt. (1-8-1) They may write uniform bankruptcy rules. (1-8-4) Money from Treasury must be appropriated. (1-9-7)

Congress may regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several states (1-8-3). They cannot tax exports (1-9-5) There shall be free trade within the U.S. from state to state, without preferences or tariffs imposed on ships (1-9-6) States cannot impose tariffs on imports from abroad or exports headed overseas. (1-10-2)

Congress may promote the progress of science and useful arts by protecting inventors and authors. (1-8-8) They may build post offices and postal roads. (1-8-7) They cannot prohibit intoxicating liquors. (A-21) They may provide for the general welfare. (1-8-1)

Congress provides for a common defense. (1-8-1) They may declare war. (1-8-11) They may raise and support armies for two-year periods. (1-8-12). They may create a navy. (1-8-13) They may organize the militia to repel invasions. (1-8-15, 1-8-16) Militia members cannot be denied a right to bear arms. (A-2) They may grant letters of marque and reprisal. (1-8-11) States may not. (1-10-1) Individual states may not maintain troops. (1-10-2) Congress may erect forts, arsenals, and docks, (1-8-17) but may not quarter soldiers in homes. (A-3)

The Congress may make rules for land and sea forces. (1-8-14) They may make rules for enemies captured on land and water. (1-8-11) They may punish offenses against the Law of Nations. (1-8-10) They may punish felonies on the high seas. (1-8-10)

The Constitution created a Supreme Court. (3-1-1) Tribunals inferior to it may be created by Congress. (1-8-9) Supreme Court Justices serve for good behavior. (3-1-1) They must be compensated.

The judicial power extends to cases where the issue involves the U.S. Constitution, federal law, a treaty, an ambassador, admiralty or maritime law, where the U.S. is a party, two states sue each other, or citizens of different states are involved. (3-2-1) Federal courts cannot hear cases between a state and citizens of another. (A-11) The Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction, and only a limited degree of original jurisdiction. (3-2-2)

Each state is guaranteed a Republican form of government. (4-4) States cannot grant titles of nobility. (1-10-1) They cannot enter into confederations with other states (1-10-1) They cannot enter into agreements with foreign powers or other states. (1-10-3)

Federal law is the supreme law of the land. (6-2) States reserve only those powers not delegated to the federal government, or barred by the U.S. Constitution. (A-10) States may initiate amendments to the Constitution, if two-thirds of the state legislatures agree. (5) A constitutional amendment becomes law, if three-fourths of the states ratify it. (5)

States must grant full faith and credit to the laws and judgments of the other states. (4-1) They cannot impair the obligations of contracts. (1-10-1) If they take private property for a public purpose, they must pay just compensation. (A-14) In civil cases at law, jury trials cannot be denied. (A-7) States cannot deny citizens the privileges and immunities of citizens of the other states. (4-2)

States cannot deny liberty, which encompasses many freedoms. (A-14) Liberty includes a freedom from religion, as well as the free exercise of it. (A-1, A-14) The government cannot deny free speech, or a freedom of the press. (A-1, A-14) They cannot deny a right to assemble to petition for a redress of grievances. (A-1, A-14)

The Founders made possible the abolition of the slave trade by inserting a provision that allowed it to be terminated in 1808, which is exactly what Jefferson did as soon as he could. (1-9-1) Slavery itself was ended by Lincoln’s efforts in 1865. (A-13) Persons cannot be denied the equal protection of the laws. (A-14) The enumeration of certain rights in the Constitution, does not mean others retained by the people are denied. (A-9)

Neither Congress nor any state may single out a person and convict them through a Bill of Attainder (1-9-3, 1-10-1) Neither Congress, nor any state, may change the rules of the game after the fact by passing Ex Post Facto laws. (1-9-3, 1-10-1)

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated, and no warrant shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. (A-4) One state may ask another to extradite an alleged fleeing felon. (4-2-2)

A person accused of a crime may not be denied liberty without the due process of law. (A-5, A-14) He is entitled to the assistance of counsel. (A-6) Writs of Habeas Corpus, which bring the accused out of a jail and before a judge, cannot be suspended, except in times of rebellion (1-9-2) While awaiting trial, the accused may not subjected to excessive bail. (A-8)

One accused of a felony must be indicted by a grand jury, or a judge must find probable cause to bind him over for trial. (A-5) He must be provided with the information that sets forth the nature of the accusation. (A-6) He is entitled to a speedy trial (A-6) He is entitled to a trial by jury. (3-2-3) The jury must be impartial. (A-6)

The trial must be held in the state where the alleged offense occurred. (3-2-3) The trial cannot be conducted in secret and must be open to the public. (A-6) The defendant cannot be compelled to be a witness against himself; in other words, he has a right to remain silent. (A-5) He has the right to confront witness against him. (A-6) He has the right to use the compulsory subpoena process to obtain witnesses for his defense. (A-6)

If a jury finds the defendant not guilty, he cannot be subjected to same offense twice (A-5) If the defendant is found guilty, he cannot be subjected to excessive fines, or exposed to cruel and unusual punishment. (A8)

Guantanamo Bay Base: Give It Up

The U.S. has a Navy Base at Guantanamo Bay, on the island of Cuba, has been operated illegally, against the wishes of the Cuban government for 117 years, should now be torn down, and the port should be returned to the Cuban people.

As far back as 1854, the U.S. has made frivolous claims to Cuba. When Franklin Pierce (1853-57) was President, future President James Buchanan, a member of his administration, issued the Ostend Manifesto, which claimed the U.S. had a right to seize the island by force, if Spain refused to sell it. Buchanan was afraid a slave rebellion would turn the island into a disorderly republic, like Haiti, but his real motive was to create another slave state.

After a revolt broke out in 1895 between the Cubans and colonial Spain, the Maine, an American ship, was blown up in Havana Harbor in 1898, and though there was no proof the explosion was caused by the Spanish, the U.S. invaded the island and won the Spanish-American War.

When the Americans first occupied the island, they were greeted as liberators, but the mood soon changed, as the newly liberated people were forced, under the Platt Amendment (1901), to grant the U.S. a right to intervene in their internal affairs. Although President Theodore Roosevelt granted independence, under the Cuban-American Treaty (1903), the catch was the Cubans had to give the U.S. a perpetual lease to Guantanamo.

A generation later, President Franklin Roosevelt offered to annul the right to intervene, provided the Cubans signed the Treaty between the U.S. and Cuba (1934), which continued the unwelcome U.S. military presence at Guantanamo. Realizing they would never get a better offer from conservatives in America, the Cubans accepted a half a loaf from the liberal FDR, instead of nothing at all.

The Cubans have since continued protesting the American military presence on the island. When Fidel Castro took over in 1959, he escalated the objection by shutting off the water to the base, in an attempt to get the U.S. to go home, but the Americans started filtering seawater through a desalination plant (1964). Cuba does not cash rental payment checks from the U.S.

The U.S. has no legitimate right to use the Guantanamo Bay Navy Base, as the lease was forced upon Cuba under what international law would refer to as an unequal treaty. Since President Obama promised to close Guantanamo, now would be the perfect time to give it back.

Cuba: End of U.S. Trade Embargo

The U.S. has had a trade embargo against Cuba since 1962 and it is time to end it. After 52 years, it has no purpose and most people now have no idea why it was imposed in the first place.

The story begins with Gen. Batista, who came to power in a coup backed by the U.S. (1952). He ran a dictatorship that censored the press and suspended constitutional rights (1953). Fidel Castro, a lawyer, led the overthrow of Batista’s regime in the Cuban Revolution (1953-59). While Castro’s dictatorship had some of the same faults as Batista’s, most Cuban people accepted Fidel, because at least he eliminated illiteracy and provided health care.

Anger at Cuba from abroad was not because Batista was removed, but instead due to Fidel’s subsequent confiscation of land from foreigners and the nationalization of U.S.-owned oil refineries, sugar mills, casinos and utilities. What Castro did was not however unique. Scores of nations that declared independence at that time also nationalized their natural resources and industries.

In any event, diplomatic relations with Cuba were severed. When President Kennedy took office, anti-Castro exiles unsuccessfully staged a military invasion at the Bay of Pigs (1961). Once the U.S. banned trade with Cuba (1962), Castro turned to Moscow for help. The Soviets said Cuba had a right to be free of foreign interference and supplied Cuba with weapons for their defense. This is when U.S. reconnaissance observed nuclear weapon sites in Cuba, triggering the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962). Although the weapons were removed when the U.S. Navy blockaded the island, the friction between the U.S. and Cuba continued.

The U.S. now trades with the People’s Rep. of China, Vietnam, and other communist countries. There is no logical reason not to trade with Cuba. Fidel Castro recently turned the presidency over to his brother Raul (2008), and soon both of them will be gone.

Today, the streets of Havana still show the effects of 1962 embargo. Most cars pre-date the 1959 revolution and there are no recreational boats in the harbor. Opening trade would not only benefit the Cuban people, it would create jobs for many U.S. businesses and their employees.