Category: FAQ

Constitutional FAQ Answer #15 <<Previous Question | Question Index | Subject Index | Constitutional Index | Next Question>> Q15. “When the 26th amendment was being considered, why did the Congress settle on 18 as the minimum age? Why not 17 or 16?” A. To be sure, you’d have to check the Congressional Record to read…

Constitutional FAQ Answer #149 <<Previous Question | Question Index | Subject Index | Constitutional Index | Next Question>> Q149. “What are some of the weaknesses of the Constitution?” A. Of all the questions asked about the Constitution, this is actually one of the most common — the most frequently asked. The problem with finding an…

Constitutional FAQ Answer #148 <<Previous Question | Question Index | Subject Index | Constitutional Index | Next Question>> Q148. “In class today, we learned that the Constitution had to be ratified by nine state conventions. Why conventions and not votes by the people and why not by the state legislatures?” A. There are good reasons…

Constitutional FAQ Answer #147 <<Previous Question | Question Index | Subject Index | Constitutional Index | Next Question>> Q147. “I read somewhere that Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed are depicted in the Supreme Court. Is this true? Does this violate the separation of church and state?” A. There is a frieze in the Supreme Court building…

Constitutional FAQ Answer #146 <<Previous Question | Question Index | Subject Index | Constitutional Index | Next Question>> Q146. “Your page on the Articles of Confederation says that there are no more confederations existing in the world. I beg to differ — Switzerland is a confederation.” A. There have not been many confederations in the…

Constitutional FAQ Answer #145 <<Previous Question | Question Index | Subject Index | Constitutional Index | Next Question>> Q145. “What kind of paper was the Constitution written on?” A. Urban legend is that the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights were written on hemp paper, hemp being the industrial name for the fiber…

Constitutional FAQ Answer #144 <<Previous Question | Question Index | Subject Index | Constitutional Index | Next Question>> Q144. “When changes are made to the Constitution, is anything added to the original document to show that something has been changed or is now being omitted?” A. The short answer is: No. The Constitution is best…

Constitutional FAQ Answer #143 <<Previous Question | Question Index | Subject Index | Constitutional Index | Next Question>> Q143. “What are the duties of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?” A. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is only mentioned once in the Constitution. The mention indicates that the Framers assumed there would…

Constitutional FAQ Answer #142 <<Previous Question | Question Index | Subject Index | Constitutional Index | Next Question>> Q142. “What was the first constitution of the United States?” A. Some teachers, thinking they can be tricky with their students, will ask this question. Don’t get me wrong, it is a good one, but you have…

Constitutional FAQ Answer #141 <<Previous Question | Question Index | Subject Index | Constitutional Index | Next Question>> Q141. “When do you refer to the Constitution with a capital C and when do you refer to it with a small C?” A. Ah, an English usage question — I don’t get many of those. Generally,…