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Amendments v. Articles

The Constitution of the United States of America was ratified in 1788. Since then there have been changes, amendments, to it. There are currently 27 Constitutional amendments. 148 years later in 1948, The Universal Declaration of Human rights was adopted. The Universal declaration of human rights consists of 30 articles. Today the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the second most translated piece of text in the world, second only to the bible. The Constitutional amendments and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are similar in regards to articles 5, 18, and 27, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to Amendments 8 and 1, of the United States Constitution. However these two documents do oppose one another in articles 12, 21, and 23, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to Amendments 4, 16, and 16, of the United States Constitution.

Article five of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." This is similar to what Amendment eight of the United States constitution says, which is “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” What these two have in common is that a prisoner of war, or if a person was to be put in prison because they were loitering outside of a White Hen, they could not be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. In this case the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is superior to that of the United States Constitutional Amendments. Article five is based on a worldly spectrum, where as Amendment eight only pertains to the United States of America.

Article eighteen of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.” This is similar to what Amendment One of the United States Constitution says, which is “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” What these two have in common is that a person can choose their own religion and that there shall be no interference with their choice and practice of religion. Although both deal with the same issue, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is superior because it deals on a worldly bases, and not just on one country. Before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was established World War II broke out. The first Amendment still existed, but because what was happening in Europe and not happening in America, the Constitutional Amendments had no power.

Article twenty-seven of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.” This is similar to what Amendment One of the United States Constitution says, which is “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; of the right of the people peaceably to assemble.” What these two have in common is that they do not limit ones ability to speak their mind. You have the right to participate in your culture and the culture of others. Both of these deal with expressing one self, but because the Universal Declaration of Human Rights deals with a bigger audience it is superior. Before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in Soviet Union not everyone could speak their mind. If a person wanted to create a funny show on how Soviet Union was different from America, it would not have been allowed. America could do nothing to help the people of the Soviet Union because the First Amendment only deals with citizens of America, and not the rest of the world.

Article twelve of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.” This conflicts with Amendment four of the United States Constitution which says “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” This proses a problem because article twelve says that no one can interfere with