The Nevada Constitution and the United States Constitution
United States Government has a constitution that resembles the Constitution of the State of Nevada. This essay seeks to establish the significant differences in the amendment process, the branches of government and the relationship between the people and government power in each document.
Introduction
The Constitution of the United States of America is known to be very old, probably the oldest federal constitution since the early 1780s. The Philadelphia states formed a delegation to frame the constitution in May 1787. The State of Nevada was amended on March 21st in 1864, where the residents of the state of Nevada voted on October 31st to resolve their constitution, and form a constitution and state government that would be admitted into the union with equal footing as the rest of the original states in the United States. The amendment procedure for the union with the United States required that the territory of Nevada amend the following:
The first amendment required that the Nevada territory abolish all forms of slavery or servitude, which would be punishable by criminal conviction.
The second amendment stated that there would be complete toleration of religious sentiment, and no one residing within would be molested in person or property on account of their religious worship.
Thirdly, that the people of Nevada disclaim their titles and right to appropriated public lands within Nevada, thus remaining in entire disposition of the United States. Neither was Nevada to expect land belonging to citizens of US living outside Nevada be taxed higher than the land belonging to residents of Nevada, nor was there an allowance to tax the US, the land bought within Nevada by the US, unless otherwise provided by the congress of the US (John Bevis Reid 30-36).
Amendments
Constitutional amendments in the Nevada constitution take the following procedure:
Proposed motions are put through concurrent amendment before being voted by the members of the Senate or Assembly, and entered into respective journals. The Legislature reviews them, and publishes them for three months. The House then puts a majority vote before the Legislature then submits the proposed amendments to the people. If the people also agree to the amendments through a vote, the proposed amendment goes into the second section of the amendment, the consecutive amendment stage. In this stage, the favored amendment goes into constitution if it does not contradict with any other that is in the same vote and is seen to be affecting the same clause. If the case is that of two which contradict, the one that receives majority vote becomes part of the Constitution. However, if another proposal affecting the same clause is proposed contradicting the previous proposal, then the Legislature will not submit the proposal to the people. Additionally, if the House sees it necessary to revise the Constitution or part of it, then they request, at the next Members of Legislature elections, for a vote for the Convention. If it gets a majority vote, the Legislature then calls for a Convention to be held within six months with a Convention of members, more than or equal to that of both Legislature branches, and not less than a third of the two branches of Legislature (THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEVADA).
Comparing this to the US constitution, we find significant difference in the amendment procedure; it takes two thirds of both Houses to propose amendments, or two thirds of the total Legislatures from the various States, to make a valid proposal. Three quarters of the total Legislatures, or three quarters of total Conventions held for this purpose, are required to ratify amendments, as both constitute the Congress. However, it is provided that amendments made will not affect the first and fourth Clauses in Section Nine of the first article, and that no state will be deprived of its equal right to Suffrage in the Senate without its Consent (Thomas Jefferson 20).
The Government as provided by the constitution of the state of Nevada consists of the following branches:
- The Legislature Department
- The Executive Department and
- The Judiciary Department
We find the Government of the US having the same three branches, but with the powers of each branch vested in a different office of the government of the US as compared to the state of Nevada (Roland).
The power and authority of the Legislature, in the state of Nevada, is vested in the Assembly and Senate, which holds sessions at the seat of government of the state, with the members of the senate not exceeding half the members of the assembly, nor less than one third. With the US constitution, the powers of the legislature are vested in the congress, which consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives (THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEVADA).
The power of the executive branch, in the State of Nevada, is vested in the Chief magistrate, also called the Governor of the state (Thomas Jefferson), while the President of the United States holds the power of the Executive. The Federal courts of the United States comprise the Judiciary branch of the United States Government as provided by the US constitution, while the Judiciary of the State of Nevada vests its judicial powers in the court system comprising mainly of its Supreme Court justices and the lower Courts.
Relationship established between the people and the Government
There is little difference in the rights established by the bill of rights in the US constitution and the Constitution of Nevada. Notable changes can be seen where
freedom of religion, speech, assembly, press, and right to petition are expressed in the first amendment of the US constitution. On the other hand, these rights are contained in the first amendment of the Nevada constitution: inalienable rights, quartering soldiers, jury trials, and right to bear arms plus much more. Freedom of speech and press are expressed in Nevada’s Constitution, in Section 9. Section 10 of the Nevada Constitution handles the right for petition and assembly. Also found in the Second and Third amendments are the right to bear arms and quartering soldiers; sections 11 and 12 of the Nevada Constitution Bill of Rights.
Works Cited
John Bevis Reid, Ronald Michael James. Uncovering Nevada’s past: a primary source history of the Silver State. Nevada: University of Nevada Press,, 2004.
Roland, Jon. “Constitution for the United States of America.” 16th May 2009. More on the Subject . 17th March 2011 <http://nevada-history.org/constitution.html>.
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEVADA. <http://www.leg.state.nv.us/const/nvconst.html>.
Thomas Jefferson, Second Continental Congress, Constitutional Convention. The Constitution of the United States of America, with the Bill of Rights and All of the Amendments; The Declaration of Independence; And the Articles. New York: Wilder Publications, 2008.
Vile, John R. Encyclopedia of constitutional amendments, proposed amendments, and amending issues, 1789-2002. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2003.
Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.
[order_calculator]