《The American Dream: An Alternate, Time-Travel Timeline》Chapter 47: Drafting the Constitution
Advertisement
Philadelphia, United States of America
September 16th, 1776
“A well-armed Populace, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. Does that sound better?” Jefferson asked his colleagues.
John Adams frowned and looked at the text written on the parchment, “A bit more specific than the "other" Second Amendment, but perhaps it’s better to make this Amendment more specific in order to prevent confusion in the future.”
A group of men was in one of the private rooms of the Pennsylvania State House. Five delegates were assigned to the framing of the Constitution and all of them but Madison were the original authors of the Declaration of Independence, with only Franklin missing due to his current duties in France. James Madison was invited by Jefferson personally and was introduced into the Watchmen Society, the official name of the organization that consisted of those that knew of General Kim's secret. Originally, James Madison was bewildered at the sudden invitation to be one of the authors of the Constitution but realized the reasoning behind the invitation after learning of his history in the other world. They were tasked with crafting a new and improved Constitution, that would then be presented to the other delegates and further debated upon.
"We should take into consideration the evolution of culture and weaponry over time, which is why I reasoned that we shift the wording. The term "militia" was considered outdated in modern times due to the presence of a standing military and the "National Guards" of each state," Jefferson stated.
"Perhaps there should be an extension to this amendment to recognize the need for some governmental regulations regarding weaponry, especially the transport of weapons in and out of states," Madison suggested.
Jefferson looked at his fellow Virginian for a few moments and wrote on a separate piece of parchment, "A fine suggestion, but the text will need to be crafted carefully. Too many governmental regulations will result in a tyrannical government in the future."
"This much more tiring than I expected," Robert R. Livingston, a lawyer from New York, mentioned as he wiped his forehead with a handkerchief, "I expected the process to be much easier since we had the entirety of the Constitution already written out for us, but there are numerous changes that are critically needed."
Advertisement
Roger Sherman, the fifth delegate in the room who was also a lawyer by trade and originally from Connecticut, placed down a copy of the "other" Constitution onto a nearby table and looked at the other delegates, "It's fairly simple; we have incredible foresight on the problems that this Constitution faced in the "other" America's history. While they did the best they could with the original Constitution and modified it sparingly, they were numerous other problems with the Constitution that politicians were unwilling to change or modify due to their own interests. However, since we know what the problems are, we are able to do our best to fix them. In essence, we are tearing down chunks of the other Constitution and replacing it with "improvements," so to speak."
"We have been working on this for nearly a month now, yet we have just barely reached the Bill of Rights," Jefferson muttered, "But thank heavens that we have managed to finish the "core" of the Constitution."
Article I was modified in several different ways. Slaves were considered as "one person," but all slaves were to be freed twenty years after the ratification of the Consitution. Afterward, a "sunset" policy would go into effect, banning slavery in total across the United States. "Gerrymandering" or the manipulation of district boundaries to favor a certain party or class, was to be illegal in every shape and form and a nonpartisan committee was to draw the district lines fairly and without bias. The Habeas Corpus was only to be suspended in times of rebellion, not during wars. Term limits were to be established for every elected federal and state positions (with the basis being four years, barring Senators and Representatives). The maximum number of terms for Senators (only federal) would be three, while the maximum number of terms for Representatives would be six. In total, a Congressman could only serve in Congress for twenty years maximum. A "Delaware" Rule was to be implemented in order to designate the number of seats in the House of Representatives, with the lowest populated state serving as the number of people represented by one representative. However, there were talks to potentially implement the “Cube Rule” to allow Congress to grow more “naturally.” The redistribution of House seats was to be implemented every twenty years after a national census was taken (the census would be every ten years). Organized territories (with 10,000 settlers or more) were granted one representative in the House of Representatives until their statehood. Congress had to power to levy income taxes when that option became available (the official deal with the other delegates was that tariffs, in turn, would be set incredibly low if that happened). Additionally, Congress was authorized to charter a national bank. Both the representatives and senators would be elected by popular vote, though the state legislature had the power to recall a senator with a supermajority vote. The age requirement for Senators was lowered to match with the age requirement for Representatives (25 years old). Additionally, bribes were specifically banned and donations for active Congressmen were also banned.
Advertisement
Article II was slightly trickier. There were plenty of debates between the five men for the power of the executive, but all of them recognized that a semi-powerful executive was needed during certain times. As such, the powers of the executive were broadened to encompass a new power; the Executive Order. An Executive Order was an order that a president was legally able to use during times of crisis or great interest. Once an Executive Order took effect, it was to be active for sixty days maximum. During those sixty days, Congress would vote on the matter and if it passed through Congress with a majority, then the Executive Order would become permanent. If the Executive Order was rejected by Congress through a vote or expired after sixty days, then the Executive Order would be null. As such, the President had some say in law-making, but even that was limited by Congress. However, the Executive Order power allowed a president to respond to a national or foreign crisis rapidly, which was the main basis for the new addition to Article II. Even then, the president was not allowed to declare wars without explicit Congressional permission. Additionally, the President's form of veto was a "line-item veto," not an over encompassing total veto. The Electoral College was to remain as the method of electing presidents, but electoral votes of each state were not "winners take all." Instead, candidates would be awarded electoral votes according to the voter's preference. The age requirement for Presidents was lowered to 30 years old, and the qualifications were modified to a person that had been an American citizen for at least thirty years and a resident of the United States for at least fifteen.
Article III was also debated fairly intensely, with the five men differing on their views of the Judicial powers. However, they came to an agreement that judicial review was a necessary check to the Legislature. Due to this, judicial review was designated as an official power of the Supreme Court, though the power of judicial review was limited to only the State Supreme Courts and the Federal Supreme Court. Judges were limited to one, twenty-year tenure, including the judges of the Supreme Court. The official number of Supreme Court Justices was to expand by two every century, with the starting basis being seven.
The remaining articles were left alone... for the time being.
Afterward, the Framers moved onto the Bill of Rights. They were aware of the necessity to incorporate some of the later amendments into the original Bill of Rights for a more equal and better United States, but they were careful in choosing the texts of the amendments and implementing them to a new Bill of Rights.
Now they were finishing up on the Second Amendment, which was considered (if what they read were to be believed) a very controversial amendment.
"Moving on," Jefferson announced as he read through the papers that contained the texts of the other Bill of Rights, "Third Amendment is worded well enough, I believe it can remain as it is."
"The Fourth Amendment. Most definitely something I agree with. But in the notes given to us by General Kim, it says that due to the evolution of technology and the expansion of government powers, numerous loopholes have appeared for the government and law enforcement to find exceptions to the Amendment." Adams noted.
"A right to privacy, along with a bit more narrow definition of the Fourth Amendment may fix this," Livingston muttered, "However, this is not an easy one to fix, that is for sure."
Jefferson wrote on a parchment rapidly as the talks continued behind closed doors.
Advertisement
- In Serial56 Chapters
Trails of Ascension
At the top of countless universes that constitute the Great Cosmos, stands the Divine Realm also known as the "Peak of all worlds" where the Gods reigned supreme and all ascension stopped. But the Path is endless, and upon the discovery that there were actually higher realms in the path of ascension, a revolutionary army of ascenders and warriors of many dimensions rose up to overthrow the reign of the so-called Gods. The resulting Cataclysm shattered the Heavens and the death of the majority of powerhouses threw the Cosmos into chaos, but it also granted freedom to all.Upon the destruction of the chains that oppressed them and now that the seal upon the countless worlds has been broken, how will the new ascenders face these challenges and how will their paths intercross each other? This is the story of how new powers rise into existence, heroes and overlords ascend to the higher realms and the new order of the eras is formed, now that the regents of the laws and elements of the multiverse are gone, new paths are created and a future of infinite possibilities opens!
8 153 - In Serial13 Chapters
The Reborn Runesmith
We have all read stories about the reincarnated or portaled earthling going to the fantasy world and gaining a cheat and super abilities. This isn't one of those. The hero or villian here is just a smart guy who only gets to choose a few things like what he is and then given the ability to have mana. He doesn't even get to choose what kind of mana he gets it could be fire,water,air, etc. This world is different than ours. Gunpowder, medicines, and other things will probably not work or be availible. Who is to say that the beings of this new world will even have the same internal anatomy. These are all things our MC will have to discover. Just like our world you can be born with great genetics but if you are a lazy and undriven person nothing will come of it. This is my first attempt to write. There WILL be mistakes. I am a mathmatician not an english major so be prepared for questionable grammer and spellings. One of these days if I enjoy doing this I will get me an editor who did english instead of math and science.
8 93 - In Serial18 Chapters
Dragon's Roar
Follow the story of Logan miles as he plays his first virtual reality game while also dealing with real life problems.Cover art credits to my good friend Ashay
8 106 - In Serial6 Chapters
Kingdom's And Armies
Summon into a different world. Declared as a hero to rescue the fate of the world from destruction.The hero finally defeats a violent, powerful enemy. Who dare to endanger the world. A boy who did his best to overcome any situation. To bring Safety and Peace for everyone. Now, finally returning back to give the news to a Ruler of the kingdom. Expecting a handsome reward. And to be with the girl that he deeply loves. But things turn unexpectedly and for the worse. When the ruler of the Kingdom and his friends and the girl he loves betray him. Declared as a threat to society. After the betrayal and being eliminated by the Rulers Knights. He wakes up in an unknown and a different fantasy world. And notice that he isn't a hero anymore. But a General now. That is, able to Spawn an Army and build a powerful military according to his rank. The more he levels up. The more soldiers increases. And the more he ranks up. He unlocks more soldiers from a different Era. From his own world. How would he use his new founded abilities for? For Good or for bad?
8 68 - In Serial29 Chapters
Trollex
I love the movie "Moana" and I often wonder how it would go for King Trollex. Hope y'all enjoy it!
8 208 - In Serial18 Chapters
Essays for Blowjobs (NOT MINE)
Sans x Reader.Not mine!!!!!Check out Lama_Goddess on Archive of our own
8 217

