Constitutional Law

By James Tonty

The Development of the United States Constitution This book is an overview of the development of the United States Constitution, starting from the beginning of its founding documents of the first settlements through the war for independence from Great Britain through the establishing of the republic. This dissertation will examine the writings, statements, and proclamations of the founders of this great nation and their meaning of government as the first rule of law for America. It will also examine the forming of these documents into articles of law that were first written by the settlers, incorporating their heritage and beliefs into principles of rights integrated into the legal process of law for the final development of our Constitution. It will go on to scrutinize the historical development of the Constitution by briefly reviewing the character and motivations of the founding fathers before, during, and after the ratification process in determining the true intentions of these great men. It will evaluate the idea of Christianity in Colonial America and scholars' ongoing debate that this nation was founded on Christian principles or, as some claim, were men of deist, having a belief in God based on reason rather than revelation. This book will explore this avenue from the prospective of their writings, statements, legislation, and articles that helped form the original Constitution of the United States of America.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 26, 2017
• ISBN: 9781635751031

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Constitutional Law

James Tonty

ISBN 978-1-63575-102-4 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63575-103-1 (Digital)

Copyright © 2017 by James Tonty

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

296 Chestnut Street

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Dedication

Abstract

Introduction

Magna Carta

The Fundamental Purpose of the Constitution

The Origin of the Constitution

The First Charter of Virginia

Virginia Bill of Rights

The Mayflower Compact

New Hampshire Exeter Compact

New England Articles of Confederation

The First Charter of Maryland

The Portsmouth Compact

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

Massachusetts Body of Liberties

Old Deluder Act

New England Primer

Rhode Island Charter

Charter of Carolina

The First Charter of New Jersey

The Pennsylvania Charter of Privileges

British Intolerable Acts

The Declaration of Independence

The Philosophies and Intent of the Framers

The Articles of Confederation

The Development of the Constitution

The Establishment Clause

Conclusion

References

About the Author

Dedication

In memory of my mother

The unending love, gentle spirit, and overwhelming kindness that she illustrated in her life that was an inspiration to me, her family, and all she came in contact with. She was a Christian woman that built her family foundation on her faith in God and illustrated in her character throughout her life. Her legacy will never be forgotten.

To my lovely wife, Linda

Thanks, Lin, for believing in me and inspiring me to accomplish a greater cause. Your love, encouragement, and support made it possible for the success in my law career and the writing of this book. I would not be who I am today without the prayers you have sown in my life.

Abstract

The Development of the

United States Constitution

This book is an overview of the development of the United States Constitution, starting from the beginning of it’s founding documents of the first settlements through the war for independence from Great Britain through the establishing of the Republic. This book will examine the writings, statements, and proclamations of the founders of this great nation and their meaning of government as the first rule of law for America. It will also examine the forming of these documents into articles of law that were first written by the settlers, incorporating their heritage and beliefs into principles of rights integrated into the legal process of law for the final development of our Constitution. It will go on to scrutinize the historical development of the Constitution by briefly reviewing the character and motivations of the founding fathers before, during, and after the ratification process in determining the true intentions of these great men. It will evaluate the idea of Christianity in Colonial America and scholar’s ongoing debate that this nation was founded on Christian principles or, as some claim, were deist at best. This thesis will explore this avenue from the prospective of their writings, statements, legislation, and articles that helped form our Constitution.

Introduction

In this book, we will examine the origin and development of the United States Constitution. We will look at the historical documents of law as free and independent states evolving into the unity of the Declaration of Independence, with such principles that further developed into the Constitution. However, the principles of a free republic started years before these documents were so carefully drafted. It started with the first settlers fleeing persecution from Spain, France, and Great Britain looking for a land of freedom. Through the development of their settlements, they governed their new land through their Christian beliefs and biblical principles. As such, were these same documents also influenced by these indistinguishable beliefs?

Were the framers of documents such as the Mayflower Compact, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, the First Continental Congress, the Declaration of Independence, and other documents and testimonials made by the founders and writers of these great documents that developed into the Constitution truly Christian oriented? Or are these first ruling documents drafted by men having a belief in God based on reason rather than revelation, having the view that God has set the universe in motion but does not interfere with how it runs? Where then did the ideas basic to American government originally emanate, and to what source must we look for clarification of the true original purpose of these documents that shed the first light from which our political and social system was actively conductive to be the law of the land?

We will examine thoroughly the philosophies and mind-set of our founding fathers and what their true intent of this so precious document for government rule genuinely was. This will so carefully be addressed through their statements, their testimonies, their legislative addresses, and their so precious writings that helped form the final documents that would rule this new and wild land of the free.

Thereafter, this book will delineate the Constitution, by the meaning of the Establishment Clause, proclamations, presidential decisions, years of legislation, concluding with the Supreme Court decisions that alter the path of law that have tainted the original intent of the Constitution to fit the more modern and developing nation of today.

Magna Carta

The Magna Carta, referred to as the Great Charter of English liberty, was granted under considerable duress by King John at Runnymede on June 15, 1215. This declaration of law required the king to proclaim certain rights of free men, respect certain legal procedures, and accept that his will could be bound by the law. It explicitly protected certain rights of the king’s subjects and implicitly supported what became the "writ of habeas corpus," allowing appeal against unlawful imprisonment for the first time in English law. The Magna Carta was arguably the most significant early influence on the extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law in the English speaking world of today. The Magna Carta actually influenced the development of the common law and many constitutional documents, including the United States Constitution, specifically in the aspect where the Magna Carta declares that No free man shall be taken, imprisoned … or in any other way destroyed … except by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to none will we deny or delay, right or justice.

History has acknowledged some relationship that American law and constitutionalism had to the Magna Carta and English common law; however, as close as Magna Carta and American concepts of liberty are, they remain distinct. The Magna Carta is a charter of ancient liberties guaranteed by a king to his subjects; the Constitution of the United States is the establishment of a government by and for the people.

The Fundamental Purpose of the Constitution

The United States Constitution was written in the year 1787 in the state