Spiritual Direction: What Has Happened To Our Constitution?

The United States Constitution has long been taught and held in high esteem to provide us with rights. However, is this truly the case? Was the document that we call our Constitution, the same one that we so revere-the run that runs our government institutions today? Are our rights, the ones that we have been taught and cherish really rights or are they get something that can be taken away in a split second?

In this article, we are going to take a closer look at the original intent of the Constitution and what has happened to change this. This change was created on purpose and used by people in the government to take away many of the rights granted to us by the Founding Fathers. Why have we not been looking into this before? Why are we not screaming to the top of our lungs about this? Why are you not more upset? Who is doing this and what is their agenda for us and our country, and our Constitution?

In the beginning, we had a Constitution. From 1789 (the beginning of the Republic) to 1803 we had a Constitution with the Government following the wishes and dictates of the Founding Fathers. Then 1803 happened and everything had changed.

The events of 1803 actually began in January of 1801. However, these events were foreshadowed in some of the discussions at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia and in the events of 1795 when John Jay quit the Supreme Court to become the Governor of New York. He did this because a Governor's position was much greater than that of a Supreme Court Justice.

Now, fast forward to the election of 1800. President Adams, a graduate of Harvard and a trained attorney, lost a re-election bid to Thomas Jefferson. These were probably without a doubt two of the most brilliant people who were ever President and were by far the most brilliant pair of candidates who faced each other in a Presidential election. Jefferson won the election and for almost five more months Adams was President. In those days (pre-1932) the President was inaugurated or took office in March not January. In January of 1800, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court resigned. Adams needed to find a person to take his place quickly. He first asked John Jay and he flatly refused. He then turned to his Secretary of State John Marshall of Virginia to take this position. Marshall accepted and for almost two months he was the Secretary of State and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Today you could not do both but in those days, the Supreme Court was clearly not as important. In fact, powers of the Supreme Court were actually stated in Article Three of the Constitution.

Article III of the US Constitution

Section 1.
The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behaviour, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.

Section 2.
The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority;--to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls;--to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction;--to controversies to which the United States shall be a party;--to controversies between two or more states;--between a state and citizens of another state;--between citizens of different states;--between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of different states, and between a state, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects.

In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.

The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the state where the said crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any state, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed.

Section 3.
Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.

One can clearly see that the US Supreme Court was not very powerful and the idea of three equal branches of Government taught in the 21st century was clearly mistaken. Congress (Article 1 and about 65% of the Constitution) was the powerful branch of government. Next in line was the President with powers listed in Article 2. Finally, the Supreme Court in Article 3 was by far the least powerful branch. This can also be attested to by applying the fact that Adams easily got Marshall appointed to the Supreme Court and the fact that Marshall held down two major government positions for the last two months of the Adams administration.

On the last day in office, President Adams sent to Sec. of State John Marshall 42 names of people who Adams wanted to get commissions to become judges (Justice of the Peace) while he was still in office. To obtain these positions the President had to sign, Marshall had to sign, and then the paper had to be filed with the proper office. Marshall completed that task on all of them but four of these people. One of these people happened to be a Virginian Politician William Marbury. When we did not get this position, Marbury was upset and wrote a letter to Sec. of State James Madison to complete his commission. Madison asked Jefferson and he refused Marbury his commission. Madison refused to give him the appointment. Marbury asked the Supreme Court to issue a Writ of Mandamus to make Madison issue the commission. Marbury based this request on the 1789 Judiciary Act, Section 13, which allowed the US Supreme Court to issue Writs of Mandamus.

The US Supreme Court’s Chief Justice was John Marshall, the same man who was responsible for not delivering the commissions to the proper authorities on his last day as Secretary of State. Does this sound like justice to you? Should Marshall have recused himself from the case? To make matters even much worse John Marshall who wrote the opinion of the Court came up with the idea of Judicial Review- something that was not written in Article Three of the Constitution and something that Congress had not given him or the Court the ability to do.

Please note that nowhere does it mention in the Constitution that the Supreme Court has the power to take it upon themselves to interpret the constitutionality of the law- in effect the Court has amended the Constitution in a way that was not intended in the Constitution. Yet this is what Marshall did. In effect, he is the one whose decision amended the Constitution illegally and changed individual rights in the United States forever.

Article Five explained how you could legally amend the Constitution.

Article Five: The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.

Congress had the power to amend the Constitution but the Supreme Court did not. Now, after Marbury v Madison (1803) every time the Supreme Court Rules on a case that case can amend your rights. This makes no rights protected by the Constitution and all rights conditional to the whims of nine justices. Is this justice? Did the Founding Fathers have this on their minds when they wrote the Constitution?

Now that you know about your rights, what are you going to do about them? With such things as Freedom of Speech, Right to Assemble, and Freedom of Religion on the line, are you going to trust the same institution to protect us when these rights under the First Amendment are actually subject to the Court’s interpretation? Think about it! Amen.