Talk:United States

'current' constitution

In the intro I had removed 'current' before 'constitution' on the thesis that it is the only constitution the United States has ever had. My edit was reverted on the grounds that the Articles of Confederation had preceded it and constituted a 'constitution'. While the Articles were adopted by the Continental Congress in 1781, and therefore certainly preceded the Constitution which was ratified in 1788, the Articles were actually a wartime confederation which did not establish a central government, and therefore were not a 'constitution' as that term is recognized today. In view of the fact that the Founding Fathers agreed with this definition by deciding to abandon the Articles and write a new Constitution establishing a federal republic with a strong centralized government, one Constitutional scholar has stated that the U.S. Constitution "is regarded as the oldest written and codified constitution in force of the world."[citation 2] (see WP article U.S. Constitution - lead). Therefore, to use the word 'current' implies that other constitutions preceded the Constitution. I would like to remove the word 'current' and add the citation 2 noted immediately above, but I would appreciate other editors' opinions. American In Brazil (talk) 20:00, 10 March 2018 (UTC)

Take note of the words in force in what you quoted above. The Articles of Confederation are older, but not still in force. So, "the oldest" doesn't contradict the use of "current" in the article. I think that it's fair to consider the Articles a constitution, as they describe, or constitute, the basic processes of governance, which otherwise might be according to accepted, but unwritten, usage. Dhtwiki (talk) 22:32, 10 March 2018 (UTC)

What you say about the Articles no longer being in force is certainly correct. However, the issue is whether the Articles were a 'constitution'. Dictionary.com defines 'constitution' as:

   noun
   1. the system of fundamental principles according to which a nation, state, corporation, or 
   the like, is governed.
   2. the document embodying these principles.

Since the Articles never provided for a centralized government, there is a strong argument that it was never a constitution. Therefore, the 'current' Constitution is the only constitution the United States has ever had. American In Brazil (talk) 02:27, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

The Articles reserved to Congress the right to make treaties, coin money, resolve disputes between the States, etc.; and it enumerated a number of rights, mostly those of the States. There wasn't an executive branch as we know it, nor a judiciary, and the power given to those branches that they now have; but the Articles set out a "system of fundamental principles" as I understand it. Dhtwiki (talk) 05:42, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

Executive power was exercised by Congress. It was similar to the weak mayor system of government where executive power is exercised by the mayor and council, as is the case in some U.S. cities and some major cities outside the U.S. such as Toronto. Heads of departments are selected either by the mayor and council or by relevant committees. That does not mean these cities have no constitutions. TFD (talk) 14:32, 18 March 2018 (UTC)

Is this article citing (current Constitution) referencing towards a revised version of the original? Meaning, other amendments added.

I think it's fair to say that we've always had a constitution since our founding, and many founding Federalists like (Alexander Hamilton), pushed for a strong Central government. So we've always had that as well. NocturnalDef (talk) 08:00, 29 March 2018 (UTC)>>>>NocturnalDEF

Actually, the United States has not "always had a constitution since our founding". The nation was founded on July 4, 1776 by the Declaration of Independence; the Articles of Confederation were adopted in 1781; the Constitution was ratified in 1788; and the Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments) was ratified in 1791. But the issue I have raised is whether the Articles can be termed a 'constitution' as understood today since they did not create a strong federal government, and did not establish a judicial or executive branch. If not, then there were no constitutions prior to the U.S. Constitution. I have argued that the current Constitution is the only 'constitution' in U.S. history. However, there is a plausible (though in my opinion, weak) argument that the Articles were a governing document sufficient to be defined as a 'constitution'. As I've indicated, the definition is arguable and therefore I will not make any changes without further discussion that reaches consensus. American In Brazil (talk) 01:16, 13 April 2018 (UTC)

I meant "generally." >>>>NocturnalDef NocturnalDef (talk) 19:12, 20 April 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 20 March 2018

Change the default motto of the United States from "In God We Trust" to "E Pluribus Unum." The original is the latin and the alternative is "In God We Trust." Digital2analog (talk) 16:13, 20 March 2018 (UTC)

Not sure what you are asking. E Pluribus Unum translates to Out of Many, One not in God we trust. According to this, "In God we Trust" is the motto. ~ GB fan 16:23, 20 March 2018 (UTC)

 Not done: As GB fan's cite shows, request is incorrect. Eggishorn (talk) (contrib) 16:30, 20 March 2018 (UTC)

Unitarians

change ((Unitarians)) to ((Unitarianism|Unitarians)) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:541:4500:1760:218:8bff:fe74:fe4f (talk) 13:41, 6 April 2018 (UTC)

 Done L293D (☎ • ✎) 15:03, 6 April 2018 (UTC)

Type of Government

It should be a “Federal Constitutional Republic” Willis Hanger (talk) 01:32, 11 April 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 11 April 2018

The sentence in the lead, " is the foremost military power in the world needs to be reworded, the source is from 2013 but now China has the largest active military in the world, followed by India. The source is used to validate the largest army claim, which no longer holds true. So please replace it or reword the sentence. 31.215.112.224 (talk) 13:34, 11 April 2018 (UTC) 31.215.112.224 (talk) 13:34, 11 April 2018 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. —KuyaBriBri^Talk 17:03, 11 April 2018 (UTC)

@Kuyabribri: See the sources at List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel. 31.215.112.224 (talk) 19:24, 11 April 2018 (UTC)

Number of humans is not the only measure of military power; there's also hardware, weaponry, tactics, etc. Also, that's not how the semi-protected request works. You discuss and get a sentence you want, then make the request. Telling us "fix it" without giving what you want to be put in doesn't fly; we're not doing all your work for you. --Golbez (talk) 19:29, 11 April 2018 (UTC)

Religion year

Hello. I think we have to change |religion_year from 2017 to 2016. Because source data is for 2016. --Drabdullayev17 (talk) 06:21, 16 April 2018 (UTC)