The "Unwritten Constitution" refers to the ideas and processes that are accepted as a needed part of American government, regardless of the fact that they are not actually in the Constitution. These ideas and processes came about through the custom and precedent. Many aspects of the unwritten Constitution are so ingrained into the system that many do not even realize that they are not laws or provisions of the Constitution.
hope this helps.

Introduction:



The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the US constitution. They were introduced as a series of amendments in 1789 by James Madison. Ten of these amendments were passed and became Bill of Rights in 1791.They restrict the powers of the federal government, protecting the rights of all the citizens, residents and visitors on the US territory. These amendments guarantee the freedom of speech, religion and press, right to keep the and bear arms ,freedom to assemble and freedom of petition as well as right of protection against unreasonable search and seizure ,cruel and unusual punishment and compelled self-incrimination.

Prior to listing his proposals for amendments to the constitution, Madison acknowledged the major reason for discontent against the constitution by asserting that:

“ I believe that the great mass of people , who opposed the constitution, disliked it because it did not contain effectual provisions against encroachments on particular rights and those safeguards which they have been long accustomed to .”



Amendments:


First Amendment:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion on prohibiting the free exercise thereof , or abridging the freedom of speech and press, and the right of people to petition the government for redress.”


Second Amendment:
“ A well regulated militia , necessary to the security of a free state, the right of people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. “


Third Amendment:
“No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered at any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner prescribed by law.”


Fourth Amendment:
“The right of people to be secured in their persons, houses papers and effects against unreasonable search and seizure shall not be violated.”


Fifth Amendment:
“No person shall be made to answer for any capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment by a grand jury.”


Sixth Amendment:
“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed.”


Seventh Amendment:
“In suits at common law , when the value in controversy exceeds twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved.”


Eight Amendment:
“Executive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”


Ninth Amendment:
“The enumeration in the constitution of a certain rights shall not be consulted to deny or disparage the others retained by the people.”


Tenth Amendment:
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the constitution , nor prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the states respectively or to the people.”



Incorporation extends to the states:


Originally, the bill of rights applied only to the federal government and not the several state governments. Parts of the amendments initially proposed by Madison that would have limited the state governments were not approved by the congress and therefore the bill of rights did not appear to apply to the powers of the state governments. In 1833 case Barron vs. Baltimore the supreme court ruled that the bill of rights provided protection against encroachments of a general government and not those of a local government. However, in the 195 judgment in the Gitlow vs. New York the supreme court held that the 14th amendment made certain applications of the bill of rights applicable to the states.



Ratification Process:



On November 20, 1789, New Jersey became the first state to ratify these amendments . On December 15, 1791 ten of these amendments became the first through tenth amendment and the Unites States law ---------when they ratified by Virginia legislature.

Article 3 to Article 12 were ratified by 11/14 states (75%) Article 1 rejected by Delaware was ratified by only 10/14 states .Article 2 was ratified in 199 as 27th amendment.




Conclusion:

The idea of adding a bill of rights to the constitution was originally controversial. Hamilton argued against a bill of rights asserting that:
“Here, in strictness, the people surrender nothing and, as they retain everything , they have no need of particular reservations.”
Finally, Hamilton expressed the fear that protecting certain rights might imply that any of the unmentioned rights would not be protected. This is the basic reason why the ninth amendment was added. In reply to the question that a list of rights might be construed to be exhaustive, Jefferson wrote to Madison:
“Half of loaf is better than no bread if we cannot secure all our rights; let us secure what we can.”
The majority of the members of the first US congress agreed that a bill of rights was needed and most of them agreed on the rights they believed should be enumerated.

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CSS 2009, 2010, 2011 Qualifier

Introduction:


Responsibility for giving expression to the will of people of United States has been assigned to a bicameral legislature called the congress. The House of Representatives is the lower house of the US congress. The framers intended to make H.O.R a popular chamber; therefore, it was made much larger and responsive to the public will than the senate. It is elected by all citizens of US, who are at least 18 years of age.



Composition:



According to the constitution, “ The House of Representatives shall be composed of the members chosen every second year by people of several state.” ( Article 1, Sec 2)

The number of representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand but each state shall have at least one representative. The membership of the House of Representatives increased proportionally, till it is now fixed at 435 + 3=438 (435 from 50 states 3 from District of Columbia)




Qualification:


A member of the House of Representatives should be:
• At least 25 years of age.
• A citizen of that state(District)
• A resident of that state from which election is sought.



Disqualifications:


“No person holding any office under the United States shall be a member of either House Of Congress while he is in office.”



Sessions:


Under the 20th amendment in 1933, the constitution has fixed the third day of January next after the elections as the date of first meeting of the new congress. The congress meets at least once in a year. The president may, however, convene both houses and any one of them to an extra-ordinary session. The House of Representatives has never been so convened. There is no fixed length of a session; maximum possible is one year. Therefore, a bill introduced in the first session of congress has a maximum one year to be enacted into law, failing which it automatically dies.




Powers and Functions:


i.Legislative Powers:


The constitution declares in Article 1: “All the legislative powers granted herein, shall be vested in a congress of United States which shall be composed of a senate and a House of Representatives.” The H.O.R shares equal legislative powers with the senate in case of ordinary legislation and money bills. Most of the ordinary bills originate in the senate. The bills generally passed by the upper chamber are usually passed by the H.O.R, because the members of the lower house pay full respect to the verdict of their party leaders in senate. The money bills originate in the H.O.R , but senate has powers to reject or amend the money bill.


ii.Executive Powers:


The senate confirms nearly the sixteen thousand official appointments which the president can make. This is mostly done by the senators belonging to the presidents party. In case there are none, then the preparations of the president’s party have a great say in these appointments. The president keeps informed both houses of congress on international state of affairs by sending messages. The congress has the sole power to grant money to the federal government and its various agencies.



iii.Judicial Powers:

House of Representatives initiates most of the impeachment proceedings. The constitution has authorized the congress to impeach the president, vice-president and all civil officers and remove them from office. In case of impeachment the senate sits as a court of trial and all the impeachment proceedings are conducted before it by the House of Representatives.(Article 1 section )



iv.Miscellaneous Powers:


• It shares with the senate , powers to propose amendments to the constitution.
• In the election of a president, if no candidate gets the majority , the decision is made by the H.O.R. In the H.O.R each state casts one vote only out of votes (1 for District CIolumbia) a candidate needs 26 at least to be successful.
The greatest of all the differences between the British and the American constitutional practice lies in the widely different measures of authority enjoyed by the House of Representatives and the House of Commons.




Speaker of the H.O.R:


When the new congress meets on the first day it selects its speaker. The speaker has a number of important functions and performs certain duties.

Ogg says:

“The simple chairmanship grows into a vital dictatorship carrying the power of life and death over almost everything that the house undertook to do.”



Functions and Powers of the speaker:


1. Right of Recognition: The speaker has the power to nominate the member of the House to address the House or to offer any motion.

2. Right of appointment: The speaker appoints the chairman of the committee of the whole house and can appoint his deputy for a period of three days.

3. Right to refer bills to committee: The speaker has the power to refer the bills to appropriate standing committees for consideration and action.

4. Right to cast vote: The speaker may take part in the debate or cast vote in case of tie.

5. Order and Decorum: The speaker being the presiding officer, has the duty to maintain order and decorum in the house.

6. Right to interpret: The speaker has the power to interpret and apply the rules when any question regarding the proper procedure arises.

7. Signing of the bills: The speaker signs all the bills passed by the congress.


Finer says:” In fact, in importance his position is only next to the American president”.
“He has ,as Laski says, a kind of half veto upon the policy of the president.”




Reasons for the weakness of H.O.R:

• Shorter term
• Permanent nature of senate
• Quality membership of senate
• Special functions of the senate
• Rules of debate are less tougher in the senate

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CSS 2009, 2010, 2011 Qualifier

Brilliant Effort man.
I will be thankful if you could enlist past question related to each constitution separately.

all the above information was very helpful,it almost covered all the significant aspects i needed for my mid term but still i wanted to know if you provide any bullet vise or shorter syllabus.
just to get the idea because it way too lengthy.