SECTION VI: The Present Day
Though the document itself is nearly two and a half centuries old, the words of the Constitution have a daily
impact on modern day business and commerce, law enforcement, the settling of legal disputes and the election
of government officials at every level of American society.
Other sections of KTBB Constitution Minute:
Prologue: Articles of Confederation || Section 1:
Constitutional Covention ||
Section 2: Ratification || Section 3: Creating the Bill of Rights || Section 4: The Amendments || Section 5: The
Courts and the Landmark Decisions || Section 6: The Present Day || Section 7: The
Founding Fathers
Episode 107: The Speaker of the House
The passage of the Judiciary Act of 1789 six months after the 1st Congress of the United States convened under the new Constitution would serve as a first major step toward establishing the role of the Judicial Branch of the United States government. Listen to Episode 107
Episode 109 - A Republic Rather Than a Democracy
Politicians of our present day often speak of the need to "protect our democracy." But is that the correct term? The fact is, the Founding Fathers were wary of democracy and labored over a sweltering summer of 1787 to create instead a representative republic. Listen to Episode 109
Episode 111 - Presidential Term of Office
The subject of the presidency was one of the last things to be settled at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. One of the points of contention was the subject of the president's term of office. Proposals ranged from three years to 20. It was Alexander Hamilton who most strongly advocated for a term of four years. Listen to Episode 111
Episode 114 - The Take Care Clause
The making laws is the responsibility of the legislative branch. But under Article II, Section 5 of the Constitution, the enforcement of the laws falls to the executive branch in the person of the president. Episode 114 - The Take Care Clause
Episode 118: - The Major Questions Doctrine
Congress passes laws and then places the enforcement of those laws into the hands of the executive branch. Executive branch agencies then write rules by which laws will be enforced. But how much discretion does an executive branch agency have in that rulemaking? Recent opinions of the Supreme Court have held that the amount of discretion depends upon the magnitude of the impact of the rulemaking and the specificity of the wording of the law. Episode 118: - The Major Questions Doctrine
Episode
119 - Trial By Jury
There are two places in American society where all citizens are considered equal - the ballot box and the courtroom. Equal treatment under the law is intended by our Constitution to be safeguarded by the right to a trial by jury - a concept that traces its modern day roots to 1215 in England with the signing of the Magna Carta by King John I. Episode 119 - Trial By Jury