The Constitutional Convention

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Student Question

How does the Constitution establish justice?

Quick answer:

The Constitution establishes justice through the creation of the judicial branch, which interprets laws and resolves disputes. The Federal Judiciary Act of 1789 further supported this by establishing a federal court system. It ensures accountability by allowing for the removal of officials who break laws, emphasizing that no one is above the law. A bicameral legislature balances power between large and small states, ensuring fair representation and contributing to justice.

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One of the goals of the Constitution was to establish justice. There are some ways the Constitution allows for this to happen.

The writers of the Constitution created the judicial branch. This responsibility of this branch of government is to determine what the laws made the legislative branch mean. The judicial branch was aided by the creation of a court system when the Federal Judiciary Act was passed in 1789. The Federal Judiciary Act created three levels of federal courts. These courts allow for a place where a state may take its case if it believes another state has done something wrong that harms that state. Before the Constitution was written, there was no place for a state to resolve disputes with another state. The federal courts also hear cases involving individuals that have been accused of violating federal laws. Therefore, through court proceedings, these people have the opportunity to defend themselves against charges made against them. Justice is established by the decisions made by the courts.

Justice was also established in other ways. Some of these were subtle while other ways weren’t so subtle. The Constitution allows for the removal of the President, Vice President, or judges if they have broken laws. In this way, the message is clear that nobody is above the law.

The creation of a bicameral legislature was another example of justice. Allowing states with more people to have more representatives in the House of Representatives gave large states power that was proportionate to their population. The Senate has equal representation, two senators per state, that allowed smaller states to feel their voices would be heard instead of being silenced by the large states that had more representatives. This was a subtle way of establishing justice.

The goal of establishing justice was important when writing the Constitution. Through various methods, the Constitution created a plan of government that established justice.

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