Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/United States Constitution
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[edit] United States Constitution
I've done a little work on this, though most of the credit goes to others, so I guess I'll call it a self-nom. This is an excellent article that provides a fine overview of the document, its role, and its procedures. [[User:Meelar|Meelar (talk)]] 14:33, 2004 Jul 29 (UTC)
Object. The writing of this article is good, but I find the structure to be rather messy and confusing: 1) The history section is very brief, even though there is a lengthy article on its history. I would expect a bit more here than just this short and vague section. Can it at least be a bit more specific? 2) The list of signers could be move to a separate list article. The information is not vital to understanding what the US constitution is, and many articles on the signers themselves have listed signing the constitution as that person's most important feat. 3) The preamble -- just a single sentence -- is discussed at great length, while the articles and amendments are only listed here. This is inconsistent. 4) The "The principles of government" section doesn't seem at the right place between "preamble" and "articles". 5) Many of the articles and amendments of the constitution have long articles written about them, yet they are dealt with here with a single sentence or less. I would expect a longer treatment, especially since several failed amendments get more attention than the parts actually in the constitution! 6) The section on impeachment seems out of place here. Many other issues discussed in the constitution are not discussed in this article, so why is impeachment? If this part remains, it should at least provide some background on why it is in this article. Jeronimo 17:14, 29 Jul 2004 (UTC)- I've tried to address your objections: 1) Rewrote history with more detail. 2) Moved signers to list. 3) Shrunk preamble section, content of which was duplicated at another article. 4) Moved to a more appropriate place in the article. 5) Expanded sections for the articles. 6) Removed impeachment section. Best, [[User:Meelar|Meelar (talk)]] 20:28, 2004 Jul 29 (UTC)
- Support. My objections were addressed satisfactory. I have one minor point left: there are too much links to the original text. It is mentioned in the lead section, in the external links, in the Wikipedia articles on the articles/amendments, so it seems unnecessary to mention it again in the text of this article, especially since several links are dead. Jeronimo 10:25, 30 Jul 2004 (UTC)
- I've tried to address your objections: 1) Rewrote history with more detail. 2) Moved signers to list. 3) Shrunk preamble section, content of which was duplicated at another article. 4) Moved to a more appropriate place in the article. 5) Expanded sections for the articles. 6) Removed impeachment section. Best, [[User:Meelar|Meelar (talk)]] 20:28, 2004 Jul 29 (UTC)
- There are several errors in the article. For example, the article also wrongly states, "Appointed officials serve at the pleasure of the person or authority who appointed them, and may be removed at any time. The exception to this practice is the lifetime appointment by the President of justices of the Supreme Court and other federal judges, so that they may be free of political obligations or influence." The Bill of Rights section also includes some mistakes. I would most respectfully recommend that this article be sent to peer review. -- Emsworth 21:01, 29 Jul 2004 (UTC)
- Of course. This is not my area of expertise; my help was mainly stylistic. I'll move this there now. [[User:Meelar|Meelar (talk)]] 13:00, 2004 Jul 30 (UTC)
- I've gone over the Bill of Rights section myself, as has User:Ww, and neither of us could find any blatant errors. Could you elaborate as to what they are, and perchance, how to fix them? Thanks a lot, [[User:Meelar|Meelar (talk)]] 20:58, 2004 Jul 30 (UTC)
Perhaps I will go over the whole thing myself later. But some errors that I spotted while skimming through include: 1. The establishment clause, one of the most important clauses in the Constitution, is not even mentioned. 2. The Second Amendment does not guarantee the rights of "citizens." It protects "the people" (under some interpretations, the whole body of the people, not any particular person -- see the Second Amendment article). 3. The Fifth does not "prohibit repeated trials for the same offense"; it prohibits double jeopardy, that is to say, retrials following acquittals. 4. The Bill of Rights section does not make it clear that the first 10 amendments, by themselves, do not apply to the states. The doctrine of incorporation under the Fourteenth Amendment needs to be explored. -- Emsworth 15:33, 31 Jul 2004 (UTC)
- Support. This is topic about which much could be said. This article doesn't even try to say most of that. WP hasn't (most likely) enough disk space. But it gives a reasonable, and well written, brief account which is worthy of featured status. Most everyone will have ideas about additional material that 'should be here' (I did), but there is little unanimity about what. There are sufficient links to keep anyone busy. A good job. ww 18:51, 4 Aug 2004 (UTC)
