> -----Original Message-----
> From: piclist-bounces@mit.edu On Behalf Of Rich
> Sent: Sunday, March 09, 2008 12:37 AM
>
> The purpose of government depends on the political philosophy of that
<snip>
>
> The political philosophy upon which most Western nations rest is
> in John Locke's (1632-1704) treatises on government. The U.S.
> Constitution, for example, rests largely on the works of Locke
> which the Founding Fathers interpreted for America such that the
> Constitution was finally accepted. John Locke was adamant about
> the sanctity of private property and so it is written into the
> constitution. However it was deleted from the section that
> states "...life, liberty and property..." and changed to read
> "...life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness..." because

You are confusing the U.S. Constitution with the Declaration of Independence
which sadly seems to be a common mistake among US citizens. The Declaration
is not a document containing U.S. law rather it is a document by British
subjects declaring their intention to break away from Great Britain.

> slaves were considered property and the framers did not want a
> constitution that would sanction slavery or elevate one man
> above another.
>
> The level playing field here is in this part of the constitution
> which makes everyone equal in the eyes of the law (an idea from
> the Roman Republic). Everyone could own property and everyone on
> merit could achieve their best. The legal impediments to
> achievement were not established in law but the opposite was. It
> is sometimes referred to as "The American Dream," rags to
> riches.

It was not until nearly 100 years later (1868) that the Constitution was
amended to include equal protection:

Amendment 14, Section 1
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State
wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States;
nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its
jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

However, even with this and the 15th amendment (voting rights) there were
still no Constitutional rights guaranteed to women. In 1920 the 19th
amendment granted U.S. women the right to vote but even to this day there is
no constitutional guarantee of other rights to women. There are laws
granting property and other rights to women but the Constitution does not
provide the rights. Many people interpret the 14th and 15th amendments as
applying to women however the fact that they did not receive the right to
vote from the 15th clearly shows that interpretation to be unenforceable.
Some states denied woman full property rights as late as the 1970's. This is
why we tried to clarify the situation with a simple three sentence
Constitutional amendment:

"Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged
by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate
legislation, the provisions of this article.

Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of
ratification."

Which sadly was never ratified leaving the door open for more easily
repealing previously legislated rights to women in the future.

Paul Hutch

> But no legal system can level the proverbial playing field simply by
<snip>

-- 
http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
View/change your membership options at
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist