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To: Gritty

Bottom Line: How is the phrase “the people” defined in any OTHER amendments in which it appears?


11 posted on 07/06/2007 5:25:29 PM PDT by TalBlack
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To: TalBlack
"How is the phrase “the people” defined in any OTHER amendments in which it appears?"

The definition of "the people" differs, depending on the subject -- the Founders used the phrase to mean "the particular group".

If they meant every individual they would use the term "citizens", or "persons" or "he/him".

As an example, Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution reads (in part): "The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states ..."

There, "the people" only referred to white, male, citizen landowners -- not everyone.

The fifth amendment refers to "person", protecting the individual right of everyone.

47 posted on 07/07/2007 6:43:55 AM PDT by robertpaulsen
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To: TalBlack; y'all
TalBlack:
How is the phrase "the people" defined in any OTHER amendments in which it appears?

The communitarians among us insist that Congress or State legislators have the power to define "the people" depending on the how prohibitive they want the "law" to be.

56 posted on 07/07/2007 7:22:18 AM PDT by tpaine (" My most important function on the Supreme Court is to tell the majority to take a walk." -Scalia)
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