Part Two: Grand Jury Presentment of "Problems in Higher Education"
Portions of the Presentment of the Grand Jury for the Eleventh Judicial District of Iowa follow, with words added for clarification in brackets. Supplemental ideas are italicized.
The American Ideal Reflected in
the Constitutions of the States
Control over the use of government power has always been a test of wills. The Judeo-Christian approach to government was vehemently opposed by atheists during the writing of the Iowa Constitution. The following quotations are from the Constitution of the State of Iowa, which is similar to many other state constitutions.
1. Preamble: "We, the People of the State of Iowa, grateful to the Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence on Him for a continuation of those blessings, do ordain and establish a free and independent government, by the name of the STATE OF IOWA."
2. Article I, Section 2: "Government is instituted [by the people] for the protection, security and benefit of the people."
3. Article I, Section 1: "All men are, by nature, free and equal, and have certain inalienable rights--among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness."
4. Article I, Section 2: "All political power is inherent in the people."
5. Article I, Section 2: "They [the people] have the right at all times, to alter or reform the government, whenever the public good may require it."
6. Provision for unrestricted exchange of ideas for education and government policy, no matter how radical, is provided through frequent elections: candidates for office must go before the public and be chosen by mature citizens at the ballot box.
7. Article IX, Section 3: "The General Assembly shall encourage by all suitable means the intellectual, scientific, moral and agricultural improvement."
Image from http://www.brennancenter.org/blog/category/voter_registration/P16/
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