# Any other U.S. Constitution Amendments to be repealed? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 1, 2016, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-u-s-constitution-amendments-to-be-repealed/758842 "2016-07-01T01:54:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-u-s-constitution-amendments-to-be-repealed/758842/61 "2016-07-08T21:26:34Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > The First Amendment has to be severely cut back. Read literally, it prevents Congress from touching any abuse by the press, including fraud. > > The Tenth Amendment doesn’t make any sense. Is it reserving powers to the states or to the people? If the people decide to use the federal government to accomplish some end, and the Tenth stops them, isn’t that taking away the people’s power? Weird and dumb. The First Amendment have never been read to permit speech such as obscenity, libel, threats, fighting words, etc. This is a good reason why things are not read hyper-literally. Does “Freedom of the Press” mean that a newspaperman can drive drunk to his next scoop? Of course not. I’m not sure what you mean by your dispute with the Tenth. The People, large P, only have political power through elected representatives which would either be State or National officials. If the National government does not have the power, the Tenth reserves it to the states. Where the States also have no power to act (such as passing a bill of attainder or an ex post facto law) such things return to the people who had ultimate power to begin with. (But, again, have no power to enact them under the current constitution). Insofar as the Tenth Amendment “tak[es] away” power of the people, that what every portion of a constitution does. What if the people want to make the voting age 19? They cannot do it because of the 26th amendment. That is not a reason for repeal. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-u-s-constitution-amendments-to-be-repealed/758842/62 "2016-07-08T21:46:24Z")
> [@bump](#): > > And **Do Not Taunt** you seem to misunderstand the historical context of the Constitution and our Federal system- it was never in the Federal government’s power to grant the States ANYTHING. It was very much the other way around; the States granted the Federal government certain circumscribed powers (Constitution and Bill of Rights). That’s why the states have the plenary powers- they had them to begin with, and just didn’t give control of everything to the Federal government. Perhaps I was unclear. I understand that perfectly. I just think it’s archaic and should be done away with. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-u-s-constitution-amendments-to-be-repealed/758842/63 "2016-07-10T07:40:28Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I’d repeal the 17th. There’s too much populism in politics. We need to turn back the clock a little bit, to restore the Founder’s goal of preventing the tyranny of the majority. On the contrary, this election cycle’s showing that there has not been enough representation of the popular will and interest. In that vein, the provisions of the Constitution (not necessarily the amendments) that need to be repealed are the archaic provisions that were instituted by men (who for all their virtues) essentially foresaw the American Republic as an Anglo-Saxon, agrarian, Protestant commonwealth to be ruled by an elite mercantile-planter class. Since none of this is the case now, we should think of at the very least abolishing the Electoral College, reducing the powers of the Senate (make it more like the German or Canadian upper houses) or abolishing it, establishing a system of PR for Congress, and allowing for constitutional amendments to be ratified by supermajorities in national referendums. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-u-s-constitution-amendments-to-be-repealed/758842/64 "2016-07-10T16:27:55Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > The 13th abolished slavery. Actually no. Have to be duly convicted of a crime or somesuch, but it’s not illegal as such. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-u-s-constitution-amendments-to-be-repealed/758842/65 "2016-07-10T16:35:10Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > On the contrary, this election cycle’s showing that there has not been enough representation of the popular will and interest. In that vein, the provisions of the Constitution (not necessarily the amendments) that need to be repealed are the archaic provisions that were instituted by men (who for all their virtues) essentially foresaw the American Republic as an Anglo-Saxon, agrarian, Protestant commonwealth to be ruled by an elite mercantile-planter class. Since none of this is the case now, we should think of at the very least abolishing the Electoral College, reducing the powers of the Senate (make it more like the German or Canadian upper houses) or abolishing it, establishing a system of PR for Congress, and allowing for constitutional amendments to be ratified by supermajorities in national referendums. I don’t see why one necessarily follows the other. Getting rid of the EC and the Senate is an exercise in serious brain damage. Democracy is just mob rule, and is mentioned nowhere in the DOI nor BOR or constitution, they set up the government to have some democratic principles but generally speaking the idea was to preclude democracy or at least limit the “passions” of the electorate to the House. Of course the electoral college was a compromise, otherwise the small states would never have agreed to enter the union in the first place. The separation of powers was an excellent idea and anything done as a workaround on that has proved to be a mistake in my view. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-u-s-constitution-amendments-to-be-repealed/758842/66 "2016-07-10T18:32:35Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > Actually no. Have to be duly convicted of a crime or somesuch, but it’s not illegal as such. We discussed this in another thread a couple of years ago, but the consensus was that conviction of a crime would not allow a person to be sold into chattel slavery. It simply means that prison labor is permitted. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-u-s-constitution-amendments-to-be-repealed/758842/67 "2016-07-11T09:03:35Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > I don’t see why one necessarily follows the other. Getting rid of the EC and the Senate is an exercise in serious brain damage. Democracy is just mob rule, and is mentioned nowhere in the DOI nor BOR or constitution, they set up the government to have some democratic principles but generally speaking the idea was to preclude democracy or at least limit the “passions” of the electorate to the House. Why is it “serious brain damage” just because it goes against the intentions of the Founding Fathers? As I’ve said, they were great men but they were also (like everyone else) fundamentally driven by self-interest as wealthy merchants, lawyers, and/or landowners which led them to be suspicious of the common people. Representative liberal democracy where basic rights would be guaranteed is hardly “mob rule” and it’s not as if rule by the elites were any better. Consider that the most oligarchic states in the Union were in the Deep South where for a century after the War of the Rebellion, suppressed both black and poor white voters. Instead of these states being the shining stars of the Republic, they are instead almost universally the poorest and most backward of those in the Union. > [@](#): > > Of course the electoral college was a compromise, otherwise the small states would never have agreed to enter the union in the first place. The separation of powers was an excellent idea and anything done as a workaround on that has proved to be a mistake in my view. It may have been a necessary compromise in 1787 to secure the union of the 13 former colonies but not anymore. It’s not as if Wyoming and Vermont are going to secede over this. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-u-s-constitution-amendments-to-be-repealed/758842/68 "2016-07-11T09:04:35Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Broken is pretty strong, considering that the 17th Amendment was swept in as part of the early 20th century populist movement with William Jennings Bryan as its champion. Yes, I’m sure the Gilded Age was a lovely time. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-u-s-constitution-amendments-to-be-repealed/758842/69 "2016-07-11T13:28:08Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > It may have been a necessary compromise in 1787 to secure the union of the 13 former colonies but not anymore. It’s not as if Wyoming and Vermont are going to secede over this. They don’t need to secede: they, along with the other small states, have the power to block any proposed constitutional amendment which reduces their influence, such as eliminating the Electoral College. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-u-s-constitution-amendments-to-be-repealed/758842/70 "2016-07-11T13:29:13Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > reducing the powers of the Senate (make it more like the … Canadian upper houses) A near-impotent rubber stamp, you mean? 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-u-s-constitution-amendments-to-be-repealed/758842.md?page=3)