Statues and Monuments Are Not The Problem But Hate and Disrespect Are.

The United States of America is in turmoil over historical statues. I don’t know about you but to me that statement sounds ridiculous yet that is what is happening all over the country. People are up in arms about the statues of Confederate soldiers being on display throughout the different cities in this country.

Over the past few weeks I have listened to the logical explanations of those for and against these images and I have come to a conclusion. Although I do feel the left is using this issue to split this country and cause a great divide where there shouldn’t be any, I also feel some of the arguments I have heard are fair and just.

If a statue or monument has been put in place since or around the time of the Civil War then most American’s accept this as a symbol and remembrance of the Civil War, what we fought for and against on both sides of the fence. What is disturbing to many are the statues that were put up after the 1960’s Jim Crow era. It’s not because they don’t believe in the Civil War and all those who served regardless of the side they were on but it is because they feel this is a slap in the face to those who marched for the Civil Rights and the advancements that were made in our country because of all those who fought so hard to see equality in this country.

That being said, I can understand how they would feel this way. I do not agree with taking away our history because we need to learn it and learn from it but no one is asking to remove it completely. What they are asking is for some of these images to be put in an area where they would be used for just that reason. A statue erected in the middle of a park where children play doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to learn about it, the person who it represents or the cause in which it was for. Place it in a museum or area where people go specifically for the historical value of the site and to learn what it was really all about, is exactly where these such statues should be moved to instead of destroyed and vandalized by those who seem to be too immature to understand what a peaceful rally means compared to an out and out street brawl or riot.

In this country there are 10 Civil War Battlefields where we can go and learn about what happened at this time in our history. The glory of it and the horrors of it. There are also 50 National Monuments erected in which we can learn from and be reminded of our mistakes with the hopes of never recreating them and our achievements. All these places around the country, I am sure, can find an extra spot or two, to add an unwanted statue or monument to their tour of education. Not to mention all the museums around the country who would love to have these statues in their displays to include in their tours.

That being said let’s take a look at a few of the battlefields today. First one being where it all started back on April 12, 1861, Fort Sumter, a sea fort in Charleston, South Carolina. There were two battles fought in Fort Sumter the first being on April 12, 1861 when the Confederate artillery fired on the Union garrison. The first shots fired were right there and the battle continued all day. It was a win for the Confederate side because the fort was cut off from its supply line so they had to surrender the next day. The second battle was fought in 1863 on September 8 but was a failed attempt by the Union to retake the fort. Even though the fort was reduced to rubble it still remained in the hands of the Confederacy. So it would remain until it was evacuated when General Sherman marched through South Carolina in February of 1865. Today it stands as a National Monument of where the American Civil War began. A place to go and learn what took place before and after the civil war erupted and how the Union forces tried to take the fort back. You can go there and tour this National Monument and learn the role it played in the American Civil War.

The Fort Sumter National Monument has three sites in Charleston starting with the original Fort Sumter. There is also the Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center, and Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island. In order to get to Fort Sumter itself you can go by private boat or a ferry ride which leaves from the education center or Patriots Point. The Visitors Education Center of Fort Sumter is, as you would have guessed, a museum which features exhibits about the problems between the North and South that led up to the battle itself.

Next let us look at Manassas National Battlefield Park in Manassas, Virgina.  Once again the North thought they would have a quick victory over the South but it didn’t happen that way in July of 1861. I learned during this battle, this first battle at Manassas that spectators traveled from Washington to watch what they believed would be a Northern victory however they were mistaken and ended up fleeing the field right along with the Federal troops. The Confederacy had the upper hand then and during the second battle in August of 1862 which set the stage for Gen. Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of the north. If you wanted to take a tour of this battle field start at The Henry Hill Visitor Center which is a museum. There you will find a statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas J. Jackson better known in history as Stonewall Jackson. The Henry Hill Museum is a great starting point for several walking tours around the smaller First Battle of Manassas field. There are driving tours around the larger grounds which were home to the second battle of Manassas.

Shiloh National Military Park, Shiloh, Tennessee is next on our list of Civil War Battlefields. This is the largest battlefield of the Civil War Mississippi Valley Campaign. The loss on both sides was insurmountable. The battle started on April 6^th, 1862 and ended the following day with 23,746 casualties between men who were killed, injured or missing in action. The Union may have won this battle but the casualties of war were costly. Shiloh was a battle that triggered a huge struggle for Corinth which was a busy railroad junction and very important to the South.

Today the Shiloh National Military Park preserves the American Civil War battlefields of Shiloh and Corinth. Situated about nine miles south of Savannah, Tennessee the main section of the park is the unincorporated town of Shiloh. The city of Corinth, Mississippi is 23 miles southwest of Shiloh. The Shiloh National Military Park was established on December 27, 1894. On September 22, 2000 sites associated with the Corinth battlefield were added to the park and on March 6, 1991 the Siege and Battle of Corinth Sites were designated a National Historic Landmark. 

At the visitor center there are permanent exhibitions, films, displays and self-guided 12 mile auto tour where you will hear the recount of the battle unfold as you drive along and envision all these men had to endure.

Richmond National Battlefield Park, Richmond, Virginia. Richmond, Virginia was the capital of the Confederacy so that made it the main target for the north. If Richmond fell the north would have more control and better footing in a very horrible war not just between states but in some cases between families, brother against brother. There are so many Civil War historic sites in Richmond so many of them have been grouped together and are represented at the Richmond National Battlefield Park. During the Civil War Richmond took more than one hit and they got it by land and sea. During the battle of Drewry’s Bluff Confederate guns were able to hold the U.S. naval fleet off. 

Unfortunately most of the city was burned during the battle in April of 1865. Still a number of historic structures remain. The visitor’s center is located in Tredegar Iron works. What was once the Chimborazo Hospital which treated the wounded from Virginia’s battlefields is now a museum and gives you a look at the wars medical history. When you visit the battlefield you will have a chance to learn the history of what happened there from the Rangers, follow in the footsteps of the soldiers who battled there as you hike the battlefields, and explore the artifacts as you take a tour of the museum exhibits.

It was on September 17, 1862 where we come to the bloodiest one day battle in U.S. history. The Battle of Antietam where some 23,000 lives from both sides were either killed, wounded, or missing in action. This battle had a profound effect on the course of the war and the lives of millions of people even though neither side could claim it as a definite victory. The north was able to turn back Lee’s invasion in Maryland and as Union armies moved south about one in every seven slaves escaped to join the Northern troops battling for their freedom as well as those still held as slaves.

If you wished to visit this historical site you can do so and either hike the battlefield which runs 8 ½ miles long but most visitors like to take the self-guided driving tour which makes about 11 stops along the way. The visitor center has a theater, exhibits, observation room, and of course a museum store where you can purchase a memory of your visit there. The audiovisual program is a 26 minute film which is narrated by James Earl Jones. Rangers will be more than happy to share a part of history with you and your family.

Other battlefields to look into are Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Vicksburg National Military Park, Vicksburg, Mississippi, Andersonville National Historic Site, Andersonville, Georgia, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, and Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, Appomattox, Virginia. These memorials, historic landmarks, didn’t pop up after the civil rights movement in the 60’s these areas were used for actual battles during the Civil War. The monuments there should be there and should have no reason for anyone to think they were erected as a smack in the face to the Civil Rights movement.

Somewhere along the line Americans need to stop taking the fight to the street and start taking it where it belongs, Capitol Hill. When you have Congressmen and women condemning all monuments in the country just because they are offended by who is in the White House and are adding fuel to an already smoldering fire it is time to let them know you want them to stop the propaganda and move on to what is important to all in this country. The issues which they promised the American people in their districts in order to get elected. I say this right at one of my own who unfortunately represents the state of New Jersey, Corey Booker, who feels he needs to put a bill forth to be rid of the monuments in the Capital because they are offensive.

Booker it is because of big mouths like you this country is still in unrest and not pulling together to be the United States we all know we can be. The United people we saw on September 11, 2001 who came together from all over the country to help strangers, no matter what the costs. I do believe if a statue was erected a hundred years after the civil war it is not there for education, sitting in the middle of a park somewhere so move them to a museum, battlefield, or some other historical point. However those monuments in the Capital that are so offensive belong there. Washington D.C. is the Capital of the United States of America. Monuments of those who fought for this country, died for this country, served this country should be on full display for all to see and learn from. You, Mr. Booker, are a disgrace to New Jersey and if these monuments offend you so much then perhaps you shouldn’t be representing the state of New Jersey and it’s time for us to get someone who really cares about what the people of your state need.

Remember the City of Newark where you came from? Remember all those wonderful people struggling, and many living in poverty? Remember your promises to them? Perhaps that’s what you should be working on Booker and not worrying about monuments and statues that should be in the Nation’s Capital.

All politicians on both sides of the fence need to stop feeding into this frenzy and start pulling this nation together. Stop looking for trouble when you have the ability to call a halt to this craziness. Listen to both sides and understand there has to be a happy medium. No one wants our history lost but in some cases the request to have the statue or monument removed is because of its symbolism to the people of the community. Compromise is the only way to fix what is broken. Not bullying, listening to the both sides and making an educated decision that will best suit both sides but the problem here is the left loves the drama and the right is now feeding into it.

We do not need to remove all statues from all cities around the nation but those who were not put up during the Jim Crow era need to be looked at and perhaps we all need to cool down and realize they would be better suited moved to a place where they would help educate our children and ourselves because it is obvious so many of us forgot what we learned in U. S. History. We forgot how destructive fighting among ourselves could be. So instead of bullying and demanding one side to listen to the other sit down and talk, hear what the other side has to say, listen with an opened mind and come to an agreement to fix this. Logically, its’ not complicated unless we allow it to be and right now we are.

So I call to all who are out there battling to bring this country together to realize moving these statues and monuments to a place where they would do some good and educate the people, remind us of our faults and failures, our achievements, and see that meeting in the streets to do battle with the ANTIFA or BLM is not a way to bring this country together. The removal of a statue or monument is not tearing our country apart, the people who want us to drown are and we cannot allow that. Pull together and make a plan to stay united. To stand behind our President and see to it the real issues at hand are what is addressed on a daily bases, not the little distractions the left puts up so the right losses focus.

May God Bless America and hear our prayers to heal this great nation.

How A Rally to Unite Turned to Division at Charlottesville, VA!!!!!!!

What happened in Charlottesville, VA this weekend was heartbreaking. My prayers go out to the family and friends of the victims of this madman's act of violence.

Why was there a rally this weekend? In this country we have been witnessing the removal of our history in the way of statues of Confederate soldiers, heroes in their time, being removed from cities around the country. It's as if they are trying to take an eraser and remove American History as it actually happened. As if by removing these statues we can remove the blemish of ignorance of the time. Ignorance being slavery and all the suffering of those held as slaves in this country. No normal person in today's society believes people should held as slaves but yet it is harped on by many activist as if it is still going on in today's society. Instead of encouraging people they continually bring up the mistakes of the past and live with hatred in their hearts as they fight to instill it in others.

Let's take a look at why these men fought in the civil war. What caused this war to begin with? We all know slavery was a big issue but there was also states’ rights on the table, the power of the federal government over the states, the "South's way of life", etc. So although slavery is what is usually cited as the cause of the civil war there were other factors at work, such as, political and cultural differences between the North and South. Let’s take a look at them.

Many northern states had moved away from farming and went into industry which meant a lot of people in the north worked and lived in large cities like New York and Philadelphia. In the south they were still maintaining a large farming economy. Unfortunately this economy was based on slave labor. Since the way of the north had changed from farming to industry there was no need for slavery because the citizens did the jobs in the factories and wherever else they were available but in the south they still relied heavily on slaves.

States’ Rights were another issue of the Civil War. It didn’t just pop up after the war began but was there since the writing of the Constitution. There had been arguments back then about how much power states should have versus how much power the federal government should have. In the South they believed the federal government was taking away their rights and powers adding fuel to the fire that was brewing.

As the country began to grow and move westward each new state added to the county shifted the power between the North and South. It got to where the south feared they would lose so much power to the north they would lose all their rights.

Although the south believed in slavery there were many people in the north who believed it to be wrong and evil. These people were called abolitionists and they wanted slavery to be made illegal throughout the United States. This scared the South for they feared their way of life would come to an end.

In 1854 the first fight over slavery issues took place in Kansas when the government passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act which allowed the residents of Kansas to vote on whether or not they would want to be a slave state or a free state. Of course people from both sides of the fence flooded the region trying to sway people to their way of thinking. It wasn’t a fight quickly won for it took years for Kansas to reach a decision and during that time several people lost their lives in small skirmishes but eventually Kansas did enter the Union as a free state in 1861.

It was when President Lincoln was elected that many of the southern states decided they could no longer be a part of the Union. It was time to separate their ways. They believed they had a right to leave so starting with South Carolina, eleven other states followed their lead to leave the United States and form a new country called the Confederate States of America. This was the country the Confederate soldiers honored in those statues being removed, believed in and fought for. President Lincoln said they did not have the right to leave the United States and sent troops in to stop them, thus beginning the Civil War.

Back to present day. Although there are people fighting for the right for these statues to remain on display it does not mean they believe in white supremacy. It does mean they believe in the history of this great nation right or wrong. We made mistakes along the way and one of the big mistakes made was slavery. We fought to free slaves and keep this nation together. The men who fought for the South during this time believed in what they were fighting for. They believed they had a right to a certain way of life and they feared the federal government would gain too much control over the people. They wanted a government for the people like we all did, but they saw it differently because one side had a different way of life then that other side.

To remove these statues does not remove the mistakes we made in history. It does not rewrite our history or erase the names of those who fought in these battles and those battles that were won. We lost many good men in these battles both North and South and in the North there were many free black men who signed up to fight for the Union, for their freedom. They were fighting as much for themselves as for their brothers and sisters in the South so one day we could live in a peaceful environment as one race, the human race. No need to see color or to fight for the right to speak our minds because all men are created equal.

Just a few short years ago during the Obama administration a group formed known as Black Lives Matter. Where was the outrage from America as this group protested, burned down towns, injured people, destroyed businesses, and fought for the thugs who were destroying their cities? Where was the DOJ and Obama on these issues? They were condemning the police for doing their jobs and inviting BLM to the White House and no one on the Democratic side had anything to say against it.

Now we have what should have been a peaceful rally interrupted on both sides of the fence by white supremacist and BLM and Anti-fa, who go at it as the ignorant people they are and unfortunately killed and injured innocent people. Enter President Trump who speaks out against the hate in this country that has been building, as he said, for years. Long before him or Obama.

People are upset because they felt President Trump should have been harsher in his way of talking to people. Seems like they can’t make up their minds he is either too harsh or not harsh enough. I however feel he hit the nail right on the head when he said, “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides.” He did not blame one side because in order for things to get to the boiling point they were there was more than one group at work and he knows it, unlike much of America who wants to lay blame and accuse all that were there with white skin tone as being white supremacists. It doesn’t work that way. Just because they were fighting for the right to keep a piece of history in place does not make them supremacists, it makes them American’s proud of their history, good or bad. It is what helped form this nation and instead of learning from past mistakes we are still making them. Shame on you!

President Trump also stated this kind of behavior, “It has no place in America.” He went on urging American’s to remember, “no matter our color, creed, religion or political party, we are all Americans first. We love our country, we love our God, we love our flag, we are proud of our country, we are proud of who we are.’

There was on person killed in this confrontation and 19 injured due to a man driving his speeding car into another car that was moving through the crowd of counter protesters. Why? Because they didn’t believe as he felt they should have. Why are there counter protesters no matter where or when a rally is set up? Why is it, no matter where you go people are so ready to blame it all on color instead of ignorance? Why are we as a nation repeating the same things over and over again and not learning from the past? Because in this country we give in to those who make the greatest noise and that’s not right.

If we are learn from our mistakes then we need to know taking the fight to the streets is one sure way to cause a battle. Taking the fight to the polls, to the courts, we may have a battle on our hands but at least there will not be blood shed from our own people. Americans should not be fighting other Americans on the streets in order to make their point. The government should not be giving in to these groups who scream injustice or mistreatment because of the color of their skin, their religion, or for any other reason. When a decision is made it should be one made because it is what is best for all of America and not just the big mouths who want to go out there and trash all that is good.

I know many people fighting for the Unity of the United States. They want to see this nation as a whole again and many of these amazing people are naturalized citizens who came here legally and proud to be able to say they are Americans. They wave that flag proudly and although they may not agree with all of our battles fought and why, they do believe in all of our freedoms and want to see to it we stay united and keep those freedoms so many fought for and that includes those who fought in the Civil War.

So now I call out to all Americans to listen to President Donald J. Trump and start uniting in this great nation regardless of the color of your skin. See your neighbor for the goodness in his or her heart, see past the color of their skin and see the person, the soul, inside. We all know there are good and bad in all races but we cannot let the bigmouths of this world destroy us. We cannot allow the hatred of others to invade us. We cannot allow the United States of America to be divided because as it has been said United we stand but divided we fall. There is strength in numbers and the United States of America has always been strong and true to itself and its citizens. We don’t always have to agree on everything because that would make life boring but at least let’s try to agree to Unite for the common good of all Americans and of the United States of America. Let’s keep our country strong and let’s keep America First as we fix our mistakes and Make America Great Again.

May God Bless America and May all Americans Unite for the common good of this great nation.

Our Constitution Article III Sections 1 to 3 Judicial Branch

Since I’ve been quiet for a while, I do apologize, I thought today would be a good day to talk a bit more about the Constitution of the United States. Let’s move on and take a look at Article III which has a total of 3 sections. Of course I will repeat myself and say I am not expert on the Constitution but I do have a love for this country, our founding fathers, our history, and our Constitution so my hope is we all learn a little something from breaking it down and trying to understand it. In doing so we will understand more what our founding fathers saw for this great nation and where we should be headed instead of where we are being pushed by so many of today’s political leaders.

Article III of the Constitution of the United States of America is the section that creates the judicial branch of the Unites States. What is the judicial branch? It is the system of courts that take a look at the law and then apply it to different cases. The United States judicial branch of the federal government includes the United States Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the country, and all the lower courts that are created by Congress. 

Section 1 of Article III creates the federal courts are of the United States. This court system must have one Supreme Court with one Chief Justice who presides over the court. What Section 1 does not tell us is how many justices there must be however, current law says there must me nine justices with one of them being the Chief Justice.

How is the Chief Justice chosen? The Chief Justice is chosen the same as the Associate Justices, they are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. There are no requirements for the Chief Justice to first serve as an Associate Justice however, 5 of the 17 Chief Justices have served on the Supreme Court as Associate Justices prior to becoming Chief Justice.

Article III does not say there has to be any lower courts but it does state Congress is given the power to create and remove lower courts as needed. As for the judges appointed to the courts Section 1 Article III says the judges can hold their offices for the rest of their lives or until they are convicted of a crime or impeached by Congress. As for their pay it says their pay cannot be decreased while they are in office but they it can be increased. The eight Associated Justices salary is $ 251,800 a year while the Chief Justice earns a bit more at $ 263,300 per year, as of January 2017. Ironically they make more than the Vice President of the United States who earns $ 230,700 per year.

Section 2 of Article III talks about the powers of the judicial branch. It describes the cases the court can preside over and what topics those cases can be about. The Supreme Court has the right to hear all cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a state shall be party, meaning it has original jurisdiction. Section 2 of Article III also says that crimes have to be tried by a jury, except cases of Impeachment, unless the defendant does not want one.  These trials are to be held in the states where the said crime has been committed. However when a crime is committed within any state, meaning across state lines from one state to another, the trial shall be at such a place as the Congress may by Law direct.

Section 3 of Article III talks about treason against the United States of America. This can consist of levying war against the nation, or helping enemies of the United States by giving them aid and comfort. A person cannot be convicted of treason without the testimony of two witnesses to the act or if they confess in open court to committing the act of treason.

So that’s the outline of our judicial system in America. Now let’s take a deeper look at the Supreme Court. In the years since the Article III of the Constitution was created the Supreme Court had a hand in many decisions which helped shape American history. They have heard cases on election issues, powers of business and government, civil rights and more. These issues are generally fought throughout the judicial system until they reach the final and last resort, the Supreme Court. Our Supreme Court has the final authority to interpret constitution questions, federal law, and they can uphold or reverse decisions made by lower courts.

Although they are now housed in a beautiful marble structure complete with their own police force and a gym on the top floor which includes a basketball court they didn’t start out that way. Our Supreme Court was functioning for about 145 years before they were granted their own home so to speak, at the urging of Chief Justice William Taft. In 1929 Congress authorized $9.74 million dollars for the project. When the Supreme Court convened for the first it was in February 1790 in New York City which was the nation’s capital at the time. From 1791 to 1800 Philadelphia served as the nation’s capital while Washington, D.C. was under construction so for these nine years this was their home. It wasn’t until 1801 that the Supreme Court made it to Washington but it still didn’t have a home of its own. They were moved around to various offices in the Capital building and when the British burned the Capital building down in 1814 the court actually met in a private home. So getting their own building in 1929 was long overdue.

As you know we now have 9 justices on the Supreme Court but that’s not how we started out. As I said before it was up to Congress to decide how many justices served on the Supreme Court. There was the Judiciary Act of 1789 passed which set the number at six which gave us a chief justice and five associated justices. In 1807 Congress increased the number to seven, in 1839 it went up to nine, and in 1863 it was bumped up once again to ten.

With Congress being in control of our justice system they took the opportunity in 1866 to pass the Judicial Circuits Act which not only dropped the number of justices back to seven but it prevented President Andrew Johnson from being able to appoint anyone new to the court. See Congress has been playing these games for a long time. Just three years later Congress decided to raise the number of justices to nine where is to this day.

When Franklin Roosevelt was President he attempted to get Congress to pass legislation to allow new justices to be added to the court since it would be beneficial to his New Deal programs. His idea was to be able to have up to 15 justices on the Supreme Court with one justice added for every justice over 70 who didn’t want to retire. Congress didn’t agree with his plan.

There are no official qualifications for becoming a Supreme Court justice. There are no rules about age, citizenship, or residency requirements like there are for other offices in the United States. Odd since this is the highest court in our land. Since the first time they convened the Supreme Court has had 6 justices who were foreign born, the youngest justice was 32 years old when he was appointed in 1811, and the oldest Associated Justice was Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. who was 90 years old when he retired.  He was in office for 30 years. They all however have one thing in common and that would be they were all lawyers before joining the court, obviously.

Before attending law school was standard practice, which was during the 18^th and 19^th centuries, many got their legal training by studying under a mentor. The last such justice was James Byrnes who served on the court from 1941 to 1942. Another amazing tidbit on Justice Byrnes is he also didn’t graduate from high school. He got his training in law as a law clerk and then took and passed the bar exam. To date, Harvard has produced more members of the court than any other law school since it was established in 1817, making it America’s oldest operating law school.

Even though justices are appointed for life they can retire or be impeached. More than 50 have chosen to retire or resign. Some of the names you may recognize are John Jay, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., William Rehnquist and Sandra Day O’Connor. As for being impeached, in doing my research I found there has been one justice who was impeached. I was surprised to find this out because I didn’t’ remember it from my history classes in high school. In 1804 Samuel Chase was impeached by the House of Representatives. He was accused of acting in a partisan way during some court proceedings but the U.S. Senate did not agree with them. Samuel Chase was acquitted by the Senate in 1805 and remained on the bench until he passed away in 1811. Can’t resist pointing out how the House and the Senate banged heads even then.

There was one Chief Justice who served both on the Supreme Court and as President of the United States, not at the same time of course. Taft had an amazing career in American politics and carved out a place for himself in American history. He was the 27^th President of the United States and held office from 1909 to 1913. During his time in the Oval Office he appointed five associate justices and one chief justice. After he lost re-election Taft went on to teach law at Yale and he also served on the American Bar Association. During his time as President Taft appointed Chief Justice Edward Douglass White who passed away in 1921. It was at this time that President Warren Harding nominated Taft for the Supreme Court as White’s replacement. He served as Chief Justice from then until February of 1930 when he resigned due to poor health. Unfortunately he passed away a month later.

During his time as Chief Justice, William Taft advocated for the justices to be able to hear the cases they wanted to hear. He was influential in getting the Judiciary Act of 1925 passed. The way it works today is at least four justices must vote to grant a petition to review a case before it can be heard by the court.

No one can nominate a Supreme Court justice except the President of the United States whenever there is an opening on the court. Just because the President makes the nomination does not mean the person nominated automatically becomes a justice. Each person nominated must be confirmed by the United States Senate. President George Washington made the most appointments to the Supreme Court appointing 11 justices. Franklin Roosevelt appointed 9 so he holds the second spot. We already know Andrew Johnson did not appoint any justices but there were three other Presidents who did not make any appoints as well, William Henry Harrison, who passed away only one month after he was sworn into office, Zachary Taylor who passed away 16 months after taking office, and Jimmy Carter.

Since the beginning there have been 160 nominations, 124 confirmed, and seven of them opting out of the position. We think President Trump is unpopular with the Senate but he isn’t the only one. 

When William Henry Harrison passed away John Tyler assumed the office of President from 1841 to 1845. During that time he made nine nominations but due to his unpopular political view he managed to only get one of those nominations confirmed by the Senate. Again, as you can see the games started long before 2017 and President Trump.

As I said the court does not hear every case presented to them. Most of their cases come to them on an appeal from lower federal courts and state courts. They do have the right to hear a case for the first time before any appellate review. In cases involving ambassadors or disputes between two states this would happen. Since they hear cases primarily appeal, it’s uncommon for witnesses or evidence to be presented to the court. The way it works is attorneys submit written legal briefs in advance and justices typically listen to oral arguments, in which each side has 30 minutes to make their presentation. This is where the justices ask their questions. During the oral arguments the courtroom is opened to the public but not allowed to be televised or photographed. There have been audio recordings of the oral arguments since 1955. These recordings are released after the arguments are over. Later the justices meet in private to discuss and vote on each case. If there is a tie vote, the decision of the lower court is then upheld.

A lot of responsibility rests on their shoulders. The Supreme Court has helped shape and mold the laws of this great nation. We started out as a nation fumbling to find its way. We were lucky to have some of the greatest minds in the world hash out our Constitution, our laws, and give us a blueprint to follow and hopefully improve on. In this great nation only the laws of the Constitution should hold true and strong and those who serve on our Supreme Court have the responsibility to see to it, it stays that way.

May God Bless America and keep us striving to improve our quality of life.