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Virginia Declaration Of Rights
The Virginia Declaration of Rights was drafted in 1776 to proclaim the inherent rights of men, including the right to reform or abolish "inadequate" government. It influenced a number of later documents, including the United States Declaration of Independence (1776) and the United States Bill of Rights (1789). Drafting and adoption The Declaration was adopted unanimously by the Fifth Virginia Convention at Williamsburg, Virginia on June 12, 1776, as a separate document from the Constitution of Virginia which was later adopted on June 29, 1776. In 1830, the Declaration of Rights was incorporated within the Virginia State Constitution as Article I, but even before that Virginia's Declaration of Rights stated that it was '"the basis and foundation of government" in Virginia. A slightly updated version may still be seen in Virginia's Constitution, making it legally in effect to this day. Ten articles were initially drafted by George Mason , 1776; three other articles were a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Library Of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law of the United States, copyright law through the United States Copyright Office, and it houses the Congressional Research Service. Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the oldest Cultural policy of the United States, federal cultural institution in the United States. It is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill, adjacent to the United States Capitol, along with the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia, and additional storage facilities at Fort Meade, Fort George G. Meade and Cabin Branch in Hyattsville, Maryland. The library's functions are overseen by the librarian of Congress, and its buildings are maintained by the architect of the Capitol. The LOC is one of the List of largest libraries, largest libra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Bill Of Rights
The Bill of Rights 1689 (sometimes known as the Bill of Rights 1688) is an act of the Parliament of England that set out certain basic civil rights and changed the succession to the English Crown. It remains a crucial statute in English constitutional law. Largely based on the ideas of political theorist John Locke, the Bill sets out a constitutional requirement for the Crown to seek the consent of the people as represented in Parliament. As well as setting limits on the powers of the monarch, it established the rights of Parliament, including regular parliaments, free elections, and parliamentary privilege. It also listed individual rights, including the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment and the right not to pay taxes levied without the approval of Parliament. Finally, it described and condemned several misdeeds of James II of England. The Bill of Rights received royal assent on 16 December 1689. It is a restatement in statutory form of the Declaration of Right ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freedom Of The Press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, should be considered a right to be exercised freely. Such freedom implies the absence of interference from an overreaching State (polity), state; its preservation may be sought through a constitution or other legal protection and security. It is in opposition to paid press, where communities, police organizations, and governments are paid for their copyrights. Without respect to governmental information, any government may distinguish which materials are public or protected from disclosure to the public. State materials are protected due to either one of two reasons: the classified information, classification of information as sensitive, classified, or secret, or the relevance of the information to protecting the national interest. Many governm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Search And Seizure
Search and seizure is a procedure used in many Civil law (legal system), civil law and common law legal systems by which police or other authorities and their agents, who, suspecting that a crime has been committed, commence a search of a person's property and Confiscation, confiscate any relevant evidence found in connection to the crime. Some countries have certain provisions in their constitutions that provide the public with the right to be free from "unreasonable searches and seizures". This right is generally based on the premise that everyone is entitled to a reasonable right to privacy. Though specific interpretation may vary, this right can often require law enforcement to obtain a search warrant or consent of the owner before engaging in any form of search and seizure. In cases where evidence is seized in a search, that evidence might be rejected by court procedures, such as with a motion to suppress the evidence under the exclusionary rule. Italy In Italy protection ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cruel And Unusual Punishments
Cruelty is the intentional infliction of suffering or the inaction towards another's suffering when a clear remedy is readily available. Sadism can also be related to this form of action or concept. Cruel ways of inflicting suffering may involve violence, but affirmative violence is not necessary for an act to be cruel. Etymology The term comes from Middle English, via the Old French term "crualte", which is based on Latin "crudelitas", from "crudelis". The word has metaphorical uses, for example, " The cliffs remained cruel." (i.e., unclimbable when they desperately needed to be climbed) in ''The Lord of the Rings''. Usage in law The term ''cruelty'' is often used in law and criminology with regard to the treatment of animals, children, spouses, and prisoners. When cruelty to animals is discussed, it often refers to ''unnecessary suffering.'' In criminal law, it refers to punishment, torture, victimization, draconian measures, and cruel and unusual punishment. In divor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Separation Of Powers
The separation of powers principle functionally differentiates several types of state (polity), state power (usually Legislature#Legislation, law-making, adjudication, and Executive (government)#Function, execution) and requires these operations of government to be conceptually and institutionally distinguishable and articulated, thereby maintaining the integrity of each. To put this model into practice, government is divided into structurally independent branches to perform various functions (most often a legislature, a judiciary and an administration, sometimes known as the ). When each function is allocated strictly to one branch, a government is described as having a high degree of separation; whereas, when one person or branch plays a significant part in the exercise of more than one function, this represents a fusion of powers. History Antiquity Polybius (''Histories'', Book 6, 11–13) described the Roman Republic as a mixed government ruled by the Roman Senate, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peerage
A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgian nobility Canada * Canadian peers and baronets#Canadian nobility in the aristocracy of the United Kingdom, British peerage titles granted to Canadian subjects of the Crown * Canadian peers and baronets#Canadian nobility in the aristocracy of France, Canadian nobility in the aristocracy of France China * Chinese nobility France * Peerage of France * List of French peerages * Peerage of France#Peerage of Jerusalem, Peerage of Jerusalem Japan * Kazoku, Peerage of the Empire of Japan * House of Peers (Japan) Portugal * Chamber of Most Worthy Peers Spain * Chamber of Peers (Spain) * List of dukes in the peerage of Spain * List of viscounts in the peerage of Spain * List of barons in the peerag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest extant institutions in the world, its origins lie in the early 11th century and the emergence of bicameralism in the 13th century. In contrast to the House of Commons, membership of the Lords is not generally acquired by Elections in the United Kingdom, election. Most members are Life peer, appointed for life, on either a political or non-political basis. House of Lords Act 1999, Hereditary membership was limited in 1999 to 92 List of excepted hereditary peers, excepted hereditary peers: 90 elected through By-elections to the House of Lords, internal by-elections, plus the Earl Marshal and Lord Great Chamberlain as members Ex officio member, ''ex officio''. No members directly inherit their seats any longer. The House of Lords also includes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Good
In philosophy, Common good (economics), economics, and political science, the common good (also commonwealth, common weal, general welfare, or public benefit) is either what is shared and beneficial for all or most members of a given community, or alternatively, what is achieved by citizenship, collective action, and active participation in the realm of politics and public service. The concept of the common good differs significantly among List of philosophies, philosophical doctrines. Early conceptions of the common good were set out by Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek philosophers, including Aristotle and Plato. One understanding of the common good rooted in Aristotelianism, Aristotle's philosophy remains in common usage today, referring to what one contemporary scholar calls the "good proper to, and attainable only by, the community, yet individually shared by its members." The concept of common good developed through the work of political theorists, moral philosophers, and public ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Life, Liberty And The Pursuit Of Happiness
"Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" is a well-known phrase from the United States Declaration of Independence. Scanned image of the Jefferson's "original Rough draught" of the Declaration of Independence, written in June 1776, including all the changes made later by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and other members of the committee, and by Congress. The phrase gives three examples of the unalienable rights which the Declaration says have been given to all humans by their Creator, and which governments are created to protect. Like the other principles in the Declaration of Independence, this phrase is not legally binding, but has been widely referenced and seen as an inspiration for the basis of government. Origin and phrasing The United States Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson, and then edited by the Committee of Five, which consisted of Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston. It was then further ed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All Men Are Created Equal
The quotation "all men are created equal" is found in the United States Declaration of Independence and is a phrase that has come to be seen as emblematic of America's founding ideals. The final form of the sentence was stylized by Benjamin Franklin, and penned by Thomas Jefferson during the beginning of the Revolutionary War in 1776.Peterson, Merrill. ''Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation: A biography''. p. 90. Oxford University Press, 1970. It reads: Drawing from Enlightenment philosophy, the phrase reflects the influence of John Locke's second treatise on government, particularly his belief in the inherent equality and individual liberty. Similar ideas can be traced back to earlier works, including medieval and classical sources, which emphasized the dignity and worth of all human beings. Jefferson applied the concept in his original draft of the declaration. The phrase was subsequently quoted and incorporated into the speeches and writings of prominent figures throu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stamp Act 1765
The Stamp Act 1765, also known as the Duties in American Colonies Act 1765 (5 Geo. 3. c. 12), was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of Great Britain which imposed a direct tax on the British America, British colonies in America and required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper from London which included an embossed revenue stamp. Printed materials included legal documents, magazines, playing cards, newspapers, and many other types of paper used throughout the colonies, and it had to be paid in Pound sterling, British currency, not in Early American currency, colonial paper money. The purpose of the tax was to pay for British military troops stationed in the American colonies after the French and Indian War, but the colonists had never feared a French invasion to begin with, and they contended that they had already paid their share of the war expenses. Colonists suggested that it was actually a matter of British pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
