Why wasn’t the Bill of Rights originally in the US Constitution? - James Coll

Zašto Povelja o pravima prvobitno nije postojala u Ustavu SAD-а? - Džejms Kol (James Coll)

Prevodilac: Ivana Krivokuća Lektor: Tijana Mihajlović

Take a moment to think about the US Constitution.

Pomislite na trenutak na Ustav SAD-a.

What's the first thing that comes to mind?

Šta vam prvo pada na pamet?

Freedom of speech?

Sloboda govora?

Protection from illegal searches?

Zaštita od nezakonitog pretresa?

The right to keep and bear arms?

Pravo držanja i nošenja oružje?

Ovi paragrafi se toliko često citiraju

These passages are cited so often

that we can hardly imagine the document without them,

da teško možemo zamisliti dokument bez njih,

but that's exactly what the writers of the Constitution did.

ali baš to su pisci Ustava uradili.

The list of individual freedoms known as the Bill of Rights

Spisak sloboda pojedinaca poznat kao Povelja o pravima

was not in the original text

nije postojao u prvobitnom tekstu

and wasn't added for another three years.

i nije pridodat još tri godine.

So does this mean the founders didn't consider them?

Da li to znači da ih osnivači nisu uzeli u obzir?

The answer goes back to the very origins of the Constitution itself.

Odgovor seže do samih korena samog Ustava.

Even prior to the first shots of the American Revolution,

Čak i pre prvih hitaca Američke revolucije,

the Thirteen Colonies worked together through a provisional government

trinaest kolonija je sarađivalo preko privremene vlade

called the Continental Congress.

zvane Kontinentalni kongres.

During the war in 1781,

Za vreme rata 1781. godine,

the Articles of Confederation were ratified

usvojeni su Članci o Konfederaciji

as the first truly national government.

kao prva istinski nacionalna vlada.

But establishing a new nation would prove easier than running it.

Međutim, osnivanje nove nacije

pokazaće se kao lakše nego upravljanje njome.

Congress had no power to make the states comply with their laws.

Kongres nije imao moć da učini da se države pridržavaju svojih zakona.

Kada se pokazalo da nacionalna vlada nije u stanju da prikupi sredstva,

When the national government proved unable to raise funds,

enforce foreign treaties,

primeni inostrane sporazume

or suppress rebellions,

ili da suzbije pobune,

it was clear reform was needed.

bilo je jasno da je neophodna reforma.

So in May 1787, all the states but Rhode Island

Stoga su u maju 1787. godine sve države osim Rod Ajlanda

sent delegates to Philidelphia for a constitutional convention.

poslale delegate u Filadelfiju na ustavnu konvenciju.

A majority of these delegates favored introducing a new national constitution

Većina ovih delegata podržavala je uvođenje novog nacionalnog ustava

to create a stronger federal government.

da bi se formirala jača savezna vlada.

Thanks to compromises on issues like state representation,

Zahvaljujući kompromisima u pitanjima poput državnog predstavništva,

taxation power,

oporezivanja

and how to elect the president,

i načina odabira predsednika,

their proposal gradually gained support.

njihov predlog je postepeno dobio podršku.

But the final text drafted in September

Međutim, konačni tekst, napisan u septembru,

still had to be approved by conventions held in the states.

tek je trebalo da bude odobren na konvencijama održanim u državama.

So over the next few months,

Tokom narednih nekoliko meseci,

ratification would be debated across the young nation.

debatovalo se o ratifikaciji širom mlade nacije.

Among those who championed the new document

Među onima koji su se zalagali za novi dokument

were leading statesmen Alexander Hamilton,

bili su vodeći državnici Aleksander Hamilton,

James Madison,

Džejms Medison

and John Jay.

i Džon Džej.

Together, they laid out eloquent philosophical arguments

Zajednički zu izneli ubedljive filozofske argumente

for their positions in a series of 85 essays

u prilog svojih stanovišta u seriji od 85 eseja,

now known as the Federalist Papers.

danas poznatih kao Federalistički spisi.

But others felt the Constitution was overreaching

Međutim, drugi su smatrali da je Ustav previše obuhvatan

and that more centralized authority

i da bi centralizovanija vlast

would return the states to the sort of tyranny they had just escaped.

vratila države u neku vrstu tiranije iz koje su upravo pobegli.

These Anti-Federalists were especially worried

Ti antifederalisti bili su naročito zabrinuti

by the text's apparent lack of protections for individual liberties.

zbog očiglednog nedostatka zaštite sloboda pojedinaca u tekstu.

As the conventions proceeded,

Dok su se konvencije nastavljale,

many of these critics shifted from opposing the Constitution entirely

mnogi od ovih kritičara

napravili su zaokret od potpunog protivljenja Ustavu

to insisting on adding an explicit declaration of rights.

ka insistiranju na dodavanju jasne deklaracije o pravima.

So what was the Federalists problem with this idea?

Koji su problem imali federalisti vezano za ovu ideju?

While their opponents accused them of despotism,

Dok su ih protivnici optuživali za despotizam,

wanting to maintain absolute power in the central government,

želju da održe apsolutnu moć u centralnoj vladi

their real motives were mostly practical.

stvarni motivi su bili uglavnom praktične prirode.

Changing the constitution when it had already been ratified by some states

Promena Ustava kada su ga već usvojile neke države

could complicate the entire process.

mogla bi da iskomplikuje čitav proces.

More importantly, Madison felt that people's rights were already guaranteed

Što je još važnije, Medison je verovao da su ljudska prava već zagarantovana

through the democratic process,

kroz demokratski proces,

while adding extra provisions risked misinterpretation.

dok bi se dodavanjem dodatnih odredbi rizikovalo pogrešno tumačenje.

And some feared that creating an explicit list of things the government can't do

Neki su se bojali da bi stvaranje izričitog spiska stvari

koje vlada ne može da uradi

would imply that it can do everything else.

podrazumevalo da može da radi sve ostalo.

After the first five states ratified the Constitution quickly,

Nakon što je prvih pet država brzo usvojilo Ustav,

the debate grew more intense.

debata je postala intenzivnija.

Massachusetts and several other states

Masačusets i nekoliko drugih država

would only ratify if they could propose their own amendments for consideration.

usvojili bi ga samo ako bi mogli da predlože

sopstvene amandmane na razmatranje.

Leading Federalists recognized the need to compromise

Vodeći federalisti su prepoznali potrebu za postizanjem kompromisa

and promised to give them due regard.

i obećali da će im posvetiti dužnu pažnju.

Once ratification by nine states finally brought the Constitution into legal force,

Kada je ratifikacijom devet država Ustav konačno stupio na pravnu snagu,

they made good on their promise.

ispunili su svoje obećanje.

During a meeting of the first United States Congress,

Tokom sastanka prvog Kongresa Sjedinjenih Država,

representative James Madison

predstavnik Džejms Medison

stood on the House floor to propose the very amendments

ustao je u Domu da bi predložio baš one amandmane

he had previously believed to be unnecessary.

za koje je prethodno smatrao da su nepotrebni.

After much debate and revision,

Posle mnogo rasprave i revizija,

first in the Congress,

najpre u Kongresu,

and then in the states,

a zatim i u državama,

ten amendments were ratified on December 15, 1791,

deset amandmana je usvojeno 15. decembra 1791. godine,

over three years after the US Constitution had become law.

više od tri godine nakon što je Ustav SAD-a postao zakon.

Today, every sentence, word, and punctuation mark in the Bill of RIghts

Danas se svaka rečenica, reč i znak interpunkcije u Povelji o pravima

is still considered fundamental to the freedoms Americans enjoy,

i dalje smatra suštinski značajnim za slobode koje Amerikanci uživaju,

even though the original framers left them out.

iako su ih prvobitni tvorci izostavili.