Outline Overview Constitutional Comparison The State and National Bill of Rights Separation of Powers Balancing the Powers of the Three Branches Dismemberment, the Establishment of the State of Kanawha Copyright © 2019 Carolina Academic Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

Overview The social contract Article 3 of the West Virginia Constitution is the most important Bill of Rights for West Virginia citizens Mirrors the Declaration of Independence closely as well as the U.S. Constitution Copyright © 2019 Carolina Academic Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

The State of West Virginia West Virginia Constitution was ratified in 1872 Original West Virginia Constitution was written by representatives of another state Based upon the Virginia state constitution, and written by Virginians On June 20, 1863 West Virginia was founded 35th State of the Union Copyright © 2019 Carolina Academic Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

The English System of Government Brought to the Colonies Local governance and enforcement of laws was the English Tradition Citizen groups of ten families, tithings, were set up to enforce the Common Law, the law known to everyone, but not written as a formal code Tithings were grouped into hundreds, or parishes, and hundreds were grouped into Shires for governance Law enforcement officials and judicial officers were included in the larger groupings The citizens in these groupings had rights guaranteed under the Magna Carta, or Great Charter of England When the colonies were formed, these breakdowns of citizens and officials were reestablished in the colonies, as were the laws Copyright © 2019 Carolina Academic Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

Classical School of Philosophy Philosophers argued from two opposite perspectives based upon the nature of man and how man would be if left alone in nature without government Thomas Hobbes Believed that the natural state of man was a state of war and that life without government would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” (Hobbes, 1651 as cited in Owen, Fradella, Burke, & Joplin, 2012). John Locke Believed the state of nature was not a state of war. People were very social and only entered government because of desire to protect their property Copyright © 2019 Carolina Academic Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

Classical School of Philosophy School of thought that proposed limiting the power of government, the monarchy, and increasing the power of the people Very popular in 1700s and led to the American and French Revolution The concept favored the social contract--an agreement between the citizens and the government of the country that ultimately kept the power of the government in the hands of the people Copyright © 2019 Carolina Academic Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Making of a Social Contract The concept of limiting governmental power and the power of government remaining with the citizens of the state was adopted by many of the American colonists Fueled the separation from England, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution Copyright © 2019 Carolina Academic Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

Laws Based on the Social Contract Legal definitions should include: Actus Reus, Actions or Omissions forbidden Mens Rea, evil intent/state of mind of the actor Concurrence, that the actus reus and mens rea must be present at the same time for the behavior to be criminal Penalty for violation Copyright © 2019 Carolina Academic Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

The West Virginia and U.S. Constitutions Written as an expression to the social contract The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the United States, to which all federal laws must adhere The West Virginia Constitution is the supreme law of the state It must adhere to the Constitution of the United States in matters specified as reserved for the federal government Copyright © 2019 Carolina Academic Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2019 Carolina Academic Press, LLC. All rights reserved. The full set of 174 slides is available upon adoption of this book. If you are a professor using this book for a class, please contact Beth at bhall@cap-press.com to request your slides.